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After reading Tobey's thread, it pushed me over the edge to sign up for this two-day, 200 mile bicycle ride at the end of June. I'll be riding my Masi Gran Corsa with a very good team that averages just under 20mph over the course of the 200 miles. It's going to be a long (and sore) weekend, but I think that the money I raise will be going to a VERY good cause. I can't wait!

If you would like to support me by making a monetary donation, you can do so by CLICKING HERE. The money will obviously go right to the National MS Society and not my "flat tire, softer seat and beer fund".

Thanks for any support you can give, even if it's just some well wishes and/or prayers. I'll take what I can get!



(Admin/Mod: Perhaps I can request a sticky?)

The ride...

mountainman wrote: (Admin/Mod: Perhaps I can request a sticky?)

Thanks man

I’ve been thinking of becoming some sort of MS advocate, soon as my mental compass stops spinning. I have to learn to live with this and move forward.

Come to think about it, the Honda rep was an avid cyclist, I couldn’t believe how light his bike was.

Yes, the road bikes are super-light. I did a duathlon in 2007 with a mtn bike. Big mistake. The difference between my mtn bike and road bike is amazing.

I may put "Tobey" or "RoundEye" on my jersey somewhere during the race. Pics will (obviously with me) be posted!

I’m glad my plight has motivated you, that seems really cool to me. It also give me the incentive to be some sort of MS advocate.

If I could get you going just by me whining about it on the net, just imagine who I could motivate if I really put my heart into it.

I don’t know, it’s all just the speculation of an idle mind at this point.

Why We Fight MS
Having multiple sclerosis means that you may suddenly have blurry vision.

True. Especially in my right eye

Or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason.

True. I thought it was past traumas and head injuries.

Or that you may not always be able to walk, let alone ride a bike.

True. My equilibrium is shot. I have been reduced to drunken monkey status.

The symptoms of MS are different, and devastating, for everyone - the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day.

We really need to get together and support Brandon on this adventure. As small as the membership is on this board in the big scheme of things, I’m not the only one that MS has impacted their lives. I’m just the most vocal. We have other members here whose lives have been impacted by this insidious disease. Evidently it is more widespread then I was even aware of.

Even if it is just some pennies, show some support!

Kick some ass, err or maybe I should just say do well as its a charity event. lol

Will do, YoS.

Thanks.

I'm making a note for next months budget.

For those of you wanting to do more research into Multiple Sclerosis here’s a damn good forum I ran across during my journeys across netland.

http://www.msworld.org/forum/index.php

OSULLY wrote:I'm making a note for next months budget.

Thanks, OSULLY!

YARDofSTUF wrote:

Kick some ass, err or maybe I should just say do well as its a charity event. lol

Funny guy

It's a great cause, count me in.

Thank you very much for your help, Philip!

Philip wrote:It's a great cause, count me in.

Thanks man

This has been a mind-twisting bitch of an experience to say the least and the cost of meds is higher then giraffe nookie, ask MadDoc how high that is.

In researching matters I have found out they have made great strides in reducing the symptoms of this disease in the last five years but there is still no cure for it.

OSULLY wrote:I'm making a note for next months budget.

Way cool

In a few days I plan on making a donation myself. Please remind me Brandon if it's a week from today and that hasn't been done.

Roody wrote:In a few days I plan on making a donation myself. Please remind me Brandon if it's a week from today and that hasn't been done.

Thanks man,

A lot of people don’t realize how widespread this disease really is. I had no clue until I contracted it myself. Depending on what kind you caught, a lot of people never get out of their beds again or become shut-ins like me.

I have what’s called Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. I had my first “flare-up” at the age of 43, more then likely I will have plenty more, eventually reducing me to nothing more than a pet rock to my family.

I need to keep telling myself that I am unstoppable force but I still have no clue what’s in store for me when I hit that unmoveable object. I refuse to just fade away quietly, but one day *BOOM* and that’s all she wrote.

Thanks, Roody!

I got all my gear out and ready today. Tomorrow starts the rides to work myself up to double-century form. Between now and then, I'll probably ride somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 to 1000 training miles and I'll drop 15-20# or so.

I can't wait! (We're also planning on listing our house tomorrow to get to FL sometime this summer.)

The hell with it, Instead of waiting I gave this months budget a good kick in the rear.

OSULLY wrote:...Instead of waiting I gave this months budget a good kick in the rear...

Don’t do that. I have to admit that properly taking care of your family is much more important then donating to a charity event.


Please…. think of the Polar Bears in Africa.

lol I'm single and the world has many needs but I'll do what I can, where I can, and when I can.

mountainman wrote:Thanks, Roody!

I got all my gear out and ready today. Tomorrow starts the rides to work myself up to double-century form. Between now and then, I'll probably ride somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 to 1000 training miles and I'll drop 15-20# or so.

I can't wait! (We're also planning on listing our house tomorrow to get to FL sometime this summer.)

Sure thing man. It's a bigtime worthy cause and anything that can be done to help RE is always something I am for.

OSULLY wrote:....I'm single...

Well in that case, I have this really exquisite piece of swampland I can sell you. I’m from Louisiana, I have impeccable knowledge of what good swampland is. You can trust little ol’ me.

OSULLY wrote:lol I'm single and the world has many needs but I'll do what I can, where I can, and when I can.

Thank you very much, OSULLY!



From all the SG help I'm getting, I think I should represent somehow with some logoage...

I think putting the sites name instead of my name would rock.

Roody wrote:...anything that can be done to help RE is always something I am for...

I just caught this. Yeah it does indirectly help me but the proceeds go to the National MS society. He’s helping millions of others like me. Researching a cure, development of medications and y’all have seen me grump on the board about the crazy high cost of the meds.

Let me see if I can drum up some more support for Brandon here. MS is a non-contagious, incurable, nervous disorder. I have what’s called remitting/relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. As hard as it may be to for me to accept, I’ll have more “flare-ups” for the rest of my life, each time I’ll progressively worsen. I do have the potential of becoming nothing more then a drooling pet rock to my family.

While some people do share common symptoms, it does affect each person differently since it is brain and spinal column nervous disorder. The doctors told me that with the amount of damage “lesions” I have to my brain and spinal column people rarely, if ever, get out of bed much less hobble around again.

My symptoms include, equilibrium is shot, one eye is very blurry, speech is slow and slurred, short-term memory is gone, anything below my waist is virtually useless, I walk around like a drunken monkey and I have been forbidden to drive. I have become a shut-in in my own home.

I’m not asking for pity, just some help for finding a cure for this horrible disease. I honestly wasn’t aware of how nasty this was until I caught it myself. It’s rare (somewhat), it’s like getting hit by lightening. There is nothing I could have done differently in my life to avoid this. Lightening hit me and I have to figure out how to live the little bit of a productive life I have left.

Tobey

Thanks, Tobey.



The wind has been KILLER here lately for training rides. Today was 70F (nice!) and winds 23G30mph (ouch!).

I'm hoping to borrow a buddy's SPOT GPS tracker and allow people to track me on both days. It would be pretty neat to see be cruising across NW Ohio on Google Maps in real-time.

That would be cool. So we would be able to see your progress over the net?

If I can find one to borrow, yes.

It basically sends a GPS coordinate every 5-10 minutes and people can view it on a Google Map page.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

Update:

I've ridden almost 100 miles in the past few days. Yesterday I went to Toledo, OH for my first group ride and I met a few of the other guys in on the team. It is a whole different thing riding in a group where you can draft and take a break from the wind.

On Monday I left my house by myself and rode 36 miles, half of that into some pretty stiff headwinds. The ride home made me feel like a super-hero. I also realized that after twenty+ miles, I can still top 30MPH on level ground if a big dog starts running after me in the road. Yikes!

Yesterday I went to Toledo and met up with three other guys on the BTTB team. We rode from Sylvania, OH north into Michigan and turned around in Blissfield after taking the long way around via Riga up around Seager Rd. I sat up front and pulled quite a bit, especially during the headwinds into the East. I'm trying to earn some respect from these guys who average several thousand miles per year. I was told I did great and should have no problem at the BTTB. Great to hear.

Anyway, thought you guys might want an update. If anyone else feels the pull to donate to the National MS Society, you can do so by clicking the link below...

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/ ... fId=106585

Thanks for reading!

Another update... I'm getting ready to load up for another group ride in Toledo with the team I'm riding with. Where we start is about a 75 minute drive from my house, but it's a great group and great practice. Also, I have to prove myself before going.

I've been riding a lot locally too. I rode yesterday with a guy down the street, but he couldn't quite hang, so I didn't get a great one in.

All in all, it's going great! Feel free to donate too.

So the group ended up doing a 40 mile ride last night from Sylvania, OH down south of the Toledo Express Airport through a big park and then back up. The wind was KICKING!! Over the course of 40.25 miles, we averaged 18.3mph with a total of 8 people.

Good ride. I grabbed some Via's Italian food afterward on the river and then headed home.

Here's a pic of my stuff ready to go before the ride...



And yes... I wear the stretchy stuff.

Another update from Friday...

I decided that it's time to do a "long ride" finally. Unfortunately I couldn't make it up to Toledo with the team, so I decided to do one they normally do by myself. I planned out a couple different lengths and decided when I hit the 25 mile out mark to keep going to my final destination, the Findlay Airport (FDY).



Anyway, 64 miles later, I was back home and tired. The team usually does that as a group ride which makes it a lot easier. Having done that and some left in the tank, I know I'll be able to do 100 miles.

We'll see about doing 100 more the next day.



BTW...if you'd like to donate, even if it's a few bucks, you can do it by clicking below. Every dollar helps and if many folks just donate a few bucks, I'll make my minimum of $250 and not have to cough up another $120 myself. LOL

After my ride, I realized that my tire shredded a piece of rubber and is down to the belt. Suck. I need a new rear tire now.

DONATE!!! http://tinyurl.com/c3wt8r

Thanks for the support, Brian! It's greatly appreciated.



Another little update:

I drove back to Toledo yesterday for another group ride. I stopped by the bike shop and picked up a new tire, a couple tubes and some Hammer Gel for the next couple weeks. I can't get out of that place for under $100!

There were only five of us there and it was pretty windy. We went south again from Centennial Terrace and went past the Toledo Express Airport and then east on the rail-to-trail for awhile and back north. One of the guys had to drop out after he kept losing the group. He took the direct route back as we went west again through a park. On the final road stretch back, we passed him and cruised into and through the park at full tilt.

It was pretty amazing to be in the lead, going with the wind and just holding 23-25mph with four people riding behind me. Even into the wind we were holding 19-20mph for portions! I was beat.

I was riding side-by-side with my buddy at the front and as we were rolling down a hill, I heard a bang like someone shot a gun. Then I heard the unmistakable thump-thump-thump of his tire flopping around the road. His tube had about a 6-inch split in it. Crazy.

The night ended at City BBQ for a beef brisket sandwich, fresh cut fries w/sea salt and some vinegar slaw. Mmm.

I just rolled in from my last long ride before the Bike to the Bay next weekend. I left my house around 11a and rode 25 miles to my buddy's house two towns to the west. I got there, filled up my water bottles, downed some Hammer Gel and checked out his new Trek "granny bike". The wind on the ride out was 18mph gusting to 26mph. It sucked.

The ride home was awesome. A shower, shave, lunch and a few Ibuprofen later, I'm watching the US Open with plans for grilling some kebabs later.

Good day.

The ride was this past weekend and I did my first century. Pics here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 8a5db7f87c

Thanks to those of you who contributed. A news article said 1050 people signed up which means 1050 x $250 minimum = $262,500 towards MS. However, many folks raised much more, such as my team's captain who wore #1 for raising the most... $5832.

The team... http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/ ... _id=149720

Anyway, thanks again and I'm thinking about a cancer ride in Columbus in late August. Stay tuned.

http://www.pelotonia.org

MOD: Please "unsticky" this.