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July 12, 2016

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Bike MS 2016: Let the training begin!

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time to overload you with photos taken while riding my bike, because I’ve started my annual Bike MS training! This is my 9th year riding in Bike MS and this year I’ve chosen to ride Bike MS: The Road Divided. The ride takes place in Oklahoma on September 24 – 25, 2016 and goes from Norman to Guthrie to Stillwater. In case you don’t get the name, the ride starts at Oklahoma University and ends at Oklahoma State University… and they are Big 12 rivals.

I hope to have a great fundraising year – can you help get me started? I’ve kicked off my training and my fundraising page by making a donation. For training, my husband and I took a trip to his family’s farm in Iowa over the 4th of July and I was able to get in many miles of lovely bike riding! 170 miles over 3 days in fact. The Iowa riding was relatively flat, much cooler than Texas, and quite windy at times. Because all roads in Iowa are basically a giant grid, I was able to plan my routes to take advantage of a tailwind on the second half of each ride. My routes: day 1, day 2, day 3

The first day started off cool enough that I *almost* put on my arm warmers! The sky was a gorgeous blue. The Northwood fire department had a giant flag out for the holiday.

Flat road evidence:

Many windmills are found in this area:

Quite a few cemeteries too:

Mini waterfall:

Quaint little towns:

More cemeteries:

Tractors all lined up in a row:

Another town. St. Ansgar I think:

Best slip’n slide ever!

Little playground in Bolan:

Welcome to Bolan!

Wildflowers and windmills:

Returning back into Northwood:

Government building in Northwood:

Day 2 was cloudier than day 1 so the photos aren’t as pretty. But look at those wildflowers!

I took a swing through Grafton:

Stopped at a park in Plymouth:

Downtown Plymouth:

Can you see the yard art? Hint: a giraffe and a killer whale…

The round building in the middle caught my attention:

A herd of horses hanging out:

Iowa barns often have quilt patterns on them:

Elk Creek Cemetery:

Day 3 was sunny again and the weather a bit warmer.

Elk Creek Churg has a little mini church next to it…

Crossing I-35. Yes, the same I-35 that runs just a few miles from my house in Austin.

Rode through Joice:

Found a Norwegian immigrants memorial (unsurprising really):

A church in Lake Mills:

Pretty golf course:

Rice lake looked more like a marsh than a lake:

And that’s it! I’m very thankful to my in-laws for letting me move an old bike up to the farm so that I can experience this great riding on all of my visits 🙂 Stay tuned for more bike photos throughout this summer!

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September 20, 2015

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Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride 2015 Recap – thank you donors!

One week ago we drove 488 miles up to North Little Rock so I could spend Saturday and Sunday riding the Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride from Little Rock to Hot Springs Village and back. Thanks to all of my friends & family I’ve currently raised $2,791 and am the 4th highest fundraiser for this event! That’s without the $500 match that my employer will make this fall. It means the world to me that so many people chose to donate to the National MS Society in my honor, as I rode in memory of my godmother Barbara Hoffman who passed away last December after a very long battle with progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

Thank you donors! This year’s fundraising brings me up to a lifetime total of $15,460 over the last 8 years!

We arrived in Arkansas on Friday night at Garver LLC, an engineering firm in North Arkansas that graciously hosted the start on Saturday and the finish on Sunday. This ride only had about 200 riders, so the swag bag was pretty stuffed. The best thing was this awesome top fundraising jersey:

Early Saturday morning I put on that same jersey and we headed back to Garver to the start line. It was just under 60 degrees so I broke out my arm warmers for the first time in many months. They didn’t stay on very long after I started riding.

Once we rolled out, the route quickly turned onto miles of nicely paved hike and bike trails along the Arkansas River.

I was very impressed by the large pedestrian bridge spanning the river near the dam.

After crossing the long bridge, we rode along the south side of the river before crossing a shorter pedestrian bridge.

After getting off the trails, the cyclists spread out quite a bit and I rode by myself for long stretches. It was a beautiful day for a ride, cool, with very little wind and shady roads.

I was impressed by the number of cyclists I saw out riding on Saturday, including this large group. Given the small size of the MS ride, I hadn’t taken Little Rock for much of a cycling city.

In addition to this Ferrari, there were a ton of motorcycles out driving around. We came to find out later that the Hot Springs Motorcycle Rally was taking place.

Arkansas likes fancy bridges on the country roads.

The first rest stop was at mile 36, basically the half way mark for Saturday’s ride. It was the “lunch stop” so it had a lot of food inside this small little school building.

Look at the small class photos lining the auditorium walls!

Pretty roadside yellow flowers:

Graveyard tucked in under the trees:

Arkansas country side church:

Guys, liquor store 6 miles ahead!

As I mentioned, there were tons of motorcycles out on Saturday, including quite a few trikes and even one weird motorcycle that looked like a sports car in front, sat two people, but had only a single back wheel and looked like a motorcycle from behind. No photo of that unfortunately.

I didn’t realize before Saturday morning that most of the hills on this ride were at the end, after you make the turn into Hot Springs Village. I made the turn, and even then the hills were mild until after the next rest stop.

Hot Springs Village is a gated, huge, retirement community with a ton of amenities and outdoorsy activities.

It had nice bike lanes throughout.

The last few miles just seemed to go up and up, but with a few downhill rollers thrown in to keep my spirits up. At the last rest stop, a boy handed me an orange lei as I pedaled by. I managed to get it over my helmet while riding.

I was so excited to see this sign telling me only one more mile on the Hot Springs Village road!

Shortly after I left the gated community, I made a turn down into a parking lot by the Village Inn where the finish line was setup.

I got off my bike and stopped my Garmin bike computer to be greeted with a message that I set a personal record for climbing, 4,587 feet in one ride! It sure felt like it was concentrated in the last 10 miles. My grand total was 69 miles with an average of 17.5 mph. It was such a great ride!

For the rest of Saturday, we explored Hot Springs in the middle of a crazy motorcycle rally. We had lunch at a brewery in the Superior Bathhouse and then took hot baths at the Buckstaff bathhouse. It was definitely an interesting, and hot, experience that left my body feeling relaxed.

On Sunday morning we woke early and headed back to Hot Springs Village to the start line. It was only 48 degrees! I haven’t ridden in those temperatures since April. Luckily I had packed a few layers to wear along with my Bike MS Sam’s Club Round Up Ride 2014 top fundraiser jersey from last year’s ride.

After a quick round of announcements, we were on our way back out of Hot Springs Village. The hills out of Hot Springs Village were more down than up so we were really flying. I exited Hot Springs Village with an average speed of over 19 mph!

I might have to retire to this place. So many outdoorsy things to do!

Someone was out early on the golf course playing in the dewy grass.

After exiting Hot Springs Village we turned north and my average speed slowed. Saw a donkey and his friends:

I pulled into my first rest stop at mile 32, at the same school as Saturday. Carl met me here so I could shed some extra layers.

I saw 3 deer high-tailing it across a field towards the road I was riding on. You can just barely make them out between the two trees behind the little pond. While the GoPro takes nice landscape photos it does not zoom at all.

Saw some old fancy cars on a trailer:

Luckily it turned into a warm and lovely day. I rode through a lot of shaded roads.

Many lovely yellow wildflowers along the road:

I met up with two other riders, one of whom works for Orbea, a Spanish bicycle manufacturer that recently set up US headquarters in Little Rock. After many hours of solitary riding between the two days it was nice to chat with friendly locals. In general the volunteers and cyclists in Arkansas were less friendly / talkative than the ones I’ve met in Texas. Approaching the first, smaller, pedestrian bridge:

Crossing the Little Maumelle River, just as it comes into the Arkansas River:

After crossing the bridge we were riding on a combination of bike / hike paths and closed roads:

Riding up onto the second, longer pedestrian bridge spanning the Arkansas River:

Very impressive architecture – the bridge is quite high over the river:

After the bridge, we were almost to the finish line. The route differed from Saturday at this point, curving around behind the Garver building.

And just like that, I was finished!

Day 2 was 67.8 miles, 3,684 ft of elevation gain with a 17.2 mph average. I definitely felt the climbing but was able to finish strong and collect my finisher’s medal to add to my collection.

We celebrated with lunch at a brewery in Little Rock (surprise, I know) and a stop at a state park for a short hike.

Thank you again to all of my donors, I am honored by your generosity and am so happy to help the MS Society on the quest to find a cure for MS!

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September 7, 2015

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Bike MS final training weekend: Century ride attempt

The Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride is next weekend and I’m definitely ready! Not only have I hit my fundraising goal thanks to my friends and family, I also rode 100 miles in one day this past Saturday. It was a very tough ride. The heat index over the last few weeks has been reasonable but that all ended in time for my ride this weekend. Saturday’s overwhelming heat and humidity forced me to break the ride into two parts – I stopped at 86 miles of my 100 mile route out to Ink’s Lake State Park when I realized I was battling heat exhaustion, no longer able to eat or drink. My support team (AKA Carl) picked me up and drove me to our appointed meeting spot for swimming and relaxation with our friends. After we made it back to Austin that evening, I rode another 15 miles so that I could officially ride 100 miles in one day. Maybe later this year after the heat calms down I’ll try another 100 mile ride.

Next weekend’s Rock’n Hot ride will be 70 miles with almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain on each Saturday and Sunday . I’d be honored if you would consider making a donation in support of my ride, and in memory of my godmother Barb who passed away in December from progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

In my failed attempt to beat the heat on Saturday, I left our house at 6:30 am, about 45 minutes before sunrise. The sunrise wasn’t particularly exciting, some dreary clouds muted the colors.

The Hutto Lutheran Church:

I saw two different water towers, far apart from one another, labeled Jonah. Must be a brand of water tower?

Colorful grazing cows:

A lonely longhorn cow:

The Weir Cemetery:

It’s hard to see, but I saw the banana bike again! Look closely behind the street sign, there’s a normal cyclist and then a yellow oblong shape close to the ground, that’s the banana bike. I’ve seen him on a number of different roads and organized rides. This was just after I passed through Weir.

Just north of Weir is Walburg, where the main attraction as far as I can tell is the Walburg Biergarten. They take reservations!

Around mile 40 I turned west and crossed over I35 and rode on the new section of the Ronald Reagan Blvd.

The road has a nice shoulder and many cyclists were out taking advantage of the smooth riding.

Eventually I crossed 2338 which goes to Georgetown, the previous end of this road.

This pasture had a donkey, sheep and goats all in one spot:

Another country side cemetery:

Nice countryside riding:

There were three different family cemeteries along this one section of road:

Crossing a small stream:

Bertram was having some sort of festival and there were a bunch of people waiting for the steam train. You can also see a nice new library building to the right of the train station. I had my final water / rest stop in Bertram where Carl called to tell me that the road I planned to ride was a gated, private road (thanks Google!). Heat exhaustion symptoms had kicked in at mile 68, so I was beginning to doubt my ability to make it to 100 miles.

I went about 10 miles passed Bertram along my route and saw some more churches of course:

I began to not be able to consume food or drink and was just dumping my water bottle over my head to try to stay cool. Next, I was beginning to feel ill so rather than press my luck I called Carl who was not very far away by car and he picked me up at mile 86. From there we drove to Ink’s Lake to meet friends. It turns out the road I planned to ride into the park on had some extremely nasty hills so I was grateful to be in the air conditioned car. We had a nice time floating in the water, swimming with our dog Molly, and then stopping at Save the World Brewing in Marble Falls. After making it back to Austin and letting the sun go down a bit, I rode around our neighborhood for the final 15 miles.

Some pretty views along the park road:

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August 23, 2015

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Bike MS Training August 22 & 23: Ride those hills

My Bike MS event is drawing closer, only two more training weekends left! The Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride goes from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs and back over two days, 140 miles, and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. I’ve been getting serious about riding the hills around Austin so I can be prepared for all of that climbing. This weekend I rode 112 miles with 6,900 ft of elevation gain to get ready. I ride in memory of my godmother Barbara Hoffman who died of the progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis in December 2014. Please consider supporting my 8th annual Bike MS ride and helping me meet my fundraising goal by donating to the National MS Society.

Saturday’s ride was a new route to me, heading due south from home into a decent headwind. The winds have been light these last few weekends so I was definitely spoiled and sad to deal with stronger winds again. I rode two extremely steep climbs, one to get off of loop 360 at its southern end and the other was coming up Barton Creek Blvd to get on 2244. I think I would have fallen off my bike if I tried to dismount and walk up either hill.

I started off just after 7 am with the sun just beginning to show itself.

Sunrise over Mopac

Sunrise on Loop 360

The morning sun illuminated the enormous houses on the hills along 360.

The view to the west while crossing the 360 bridge:

I triggered the speed sign! I wasn’t speeding though…

Nice south Austin neighborhood:

Part of my ride went along the very southern end of Mopac to where it ends, passing the Slaughter Lane Alamo and this awesome artwork on the side of the building:

Part of the southern end of Mopac is fittingly sponsored by the Salt Lick:

I rode on (bike) Route 66!

I took a meandering route through some neighborhoods off of Southwest Parkway. Through these stone gates are where the really really big houses live:

What you can’t see about this enormous house is that to the left is a covered walkway connecting to a whole other building, about as big as my house. Huge!

Pretty view along Southwest Parkway:

I turned on to Barton Creek Blvd and enjoyed some really nice rolling hill riding with beautiful scenery:

And then came the climb. So steep I wasn’t sure if I would stay on my bike. Luckily I did and I made it to the top to 2244. This picture of the top of the hill does not do it justice.

From there I headed over to loop 360 and back north to home for a 72 mile ride.

On Sunday I wanted to ride hills again, so I rode out and back on 360 for 40 miles.

Bull creek from one of the bridges:

Midway Food Park, towards the southern end of 360:

Big house up on a ridge:

360 bridge and Lake Austin:

My legs were definitely worn out after Saturday’s hills, but I’m glad I got in good hills on Sunday as well. After warming up for a bit on a few hills they stopped complaining.

Bike training August 15 & 16: Riding surprises

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August 16, 2015

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Bike training August 15 & 16: Riding surprises

Only three more training weekends left until the Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride which goes from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs and back over two days, 140 miles, and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. I ride in memory of my godmother Barbara Hoffman who died of Multiple Sclerosis in December 2014. Please consider supporting my 8th annual Bike MS ride and helping me meet my fundraising goal by donating to the National MS Society.

This Saturday I followed a similar route as last Saturday, doing a version of the Dam(n) Loop so that I could ride hills. Luckily, this weekend it was about 5 degrees cooler than last weekend when I complained about the heat in my post. That cooler (but still hot) weather was accompanied by some great clouds.

I started my ride at 7 am with the sunrise.

There were lots of clouds around creating a picturesque sky hard to capture with my GoPro.

The green landscape, blue sky, and clouds made the ride down loop 360 very pretty:

Once on Bee Caves I realized I saw some spots of rain in the distance. First I thought “yay, rain!” Then I thought “Wait, I might have to ride through that…”

And not too long after making the turn onto 620, it happened. I got rained on. But the sky wasn’t completely covered in clouds so I knew it wouldn’t last that long, and it didn’t.

I even got to see a rainbow behind me!

Which was nice because not very long after that the annoying happened. Rear flat!

After getting to the north end of 620, I snaked through some neighborhoods in Cedar Park to hit Lakeline Blvd and ended up in Leander.

I hit a different section of the new paved trail along the 183 toll road. It is wide and pretty smooth except for when you hit some wood bridges!

The trail goes by Cedar Park Center, home of the Texas Stars.

I exited the trail at the same point as I did last week, but coming from the north this time.

Saturday’s ride was not nearly as hot as last week’s ride because of the cloud cover and rain. I averaged 16 mph over the 72 mile, 3,500 fit elevation gain route.

On Sunday, I had a volunteer orientation at the Austin Animal Center so I used that as my bike ride. I rode there and back for a total of 37 miles round trip.

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August 10, 2015

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Bike training August 8 & 9: Is summer over yet?

It’s my 8th year training for, and riding in, a Bike MS event. This year, I’m riding the Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride which goes from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs and back over two days, 140 miles, and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. I ride in memory of my godmother Barbara Hoffman who died of Multiple Sclerosis in December 2014. Please consider supporting my 8th annual Bike MS ride and helping me meet my fundraising goal by donating to the National MS Society.

This weekend I realized that this heat is here to stay. We had such a nice, long, mild spring with lots of rain and now we’re paying the price with 100+ degree days and brutal sun. I try to get my long rides done by noon (and even then it’s hot hot hot) so I have to start early, just as the sun is coming up around 7 am. Maybe next weekend I’ll slap on the bike lights and start earlier. Saturday’s ride was 70 hot, hilly miles to help me prep for lots of climbing in Arkansas.

Good morning, sun:

Starting south on loop 360:The clouds were a welcome sight in the morning, keeping the sun off of me for a while:

Riding along a ridge with good views:

Picked up my late grandfather’s favorite snack at the gas station since I didn’t have enough bike jersey pocket foods at home. Brought back some memories.

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but the lake was beautifully sparkly as I approached the bridge in front of Mansfield Dam:

After making it all the way north on 620, I took a turn to the north on Anderson Mill. Eventually I made my way over to the 183 toll road and took a brief turn onto the new pedestrian and bike trail. Pretty nice! Could use some more shade though.Next I rode on a road I haven’t tried before, up in Cedar Park. It seems new with small trees and a very wide sidewalk:Then I entered the land of the enormous suburban high school sports stadiums:

I made it home right around noon, at which point it was definitely too hot.

On Sunday I rode 30 miles around town. I went over on Jollyville Rd and then through the Arboretum and used the bike path the connects from Barnes & Noble over across loop 360:

Mesa Drive has relatively fresh bike lines, including a dotted line wherever there is a driveway indicating it’s ok to turn through the bike lane. Seemed a bit overkill.

Shoal Creek Blvd is having massive utilities work done and has a bunch of detours leading me down a road I’ve not been on before. Love the Purple Martin Houses and the pretty red standing cypress flowers at this house:

I will focus on ride more hills on my next few Sunday rides to make sure I can handle two days of decent climbing in a row!

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August 7, 2015

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Bike Training August 1 & 2: El Diablo Ride and a Birthday run

Only 5 more training weekends until the Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride. The ride goes from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs and back over two days. This year, I’m riding in memory of my godmother Barbara Hoffman who died of MS in December 2014. Please consider supporting my participation in the ride by donating to the National MS Society.

On August 1st, Bicycle Sport Shop hosted the El Diablo poker ride, which visited all 3 of their shops. At each shop and the finish we collected a card. Later that evening at the benefit party for the Texas High School Mountain Bike League we got the final card. My hand was definitely not a winner, but at least I got a pair of 8s. I rode 12 miles down to Bicycle Sport Shop before the ride started and then rode 58 miles on the El Diablo ride for a total of 70 for the day.

I started out from home as the sun was coming up. Good morning, moon!

I checked in with the small crowd at BSS Lamar.

The route took me on a number of roads I haven’t been on before and had a good amount of climbing. Spicewood Springs road west of 360 has nice shady curves, but a decent amount of traffic and no shoulder. Also, a cemetery.

Cool cliffs sometime before making it to the Parmer store.

After the Parmer store, we rode some big hills in the Spicewood / Balcones neighborhoods and went by the golf course:

Riding along a ridge:

Pretty neighborhood:

You can’t really tell, but this was after making it up a giant hill on Rain Creek Parkway:

Stopping at the Research Store:

Going back downtown we crossed the pedestrian bridge:

At the end of that ride Carl met me downtown and we had lunch before he drove me and my bike back home.

Sunday, August 2nd was our friend Jordan’s birthday. He runs his age in miles each year for his birthday. Since he’s approximately my age you can assume that this is quite an impressive feat. I decided to ride part of his route with him so I set out from our house early.

I met him on the Southern Walnut Creek Trail. Carl met up with us on his bike shortly thereafter and we rode together and chatted with Jordan while he ran.

We rode down to the end of the trail with him where Hannah was waiting to run the rest of the way with him (about 8 miles).

From there Carl and I rode back to his car and joined the runners at Barton Springs Pool for a quick swim before lunch. I rode 30 miles for the day.

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April 28, 2014

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Last Bike MS training update, April 26: Red Poppy Ride

This past weekend was my last training weekend before the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas next weekend! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 105 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

I just finished tallying up my training mileage for this Bike MS. I started training at the beginning of February and so far I’ve ridden 1,183 miles. I think I’m ready for next weekend 🙂 Last Saturday, I rode the 10th annual Red Poppy Ride up in Georgetown. This year I actually saw red poppies! It was a nice but windy ride with a bit of mist almost all day. I rode the longest route, 102 miles. Despite the wind I was able to average 16.6 miles per hour so I was very happy but exhausted. While I was out riding, my husband did the sweetest thing anyone could do for me after a long ride – he went all the way down to south Austin to pick me up my favorite treat – a hand-dipped chocolate covered banana from Bananarchy! It was the most amazing food I’ve ever eaten, covered with graham crackers and toffee…. yum!

And now for my ride recap.

I saw the guy with the yellow recumbent bike again.

I saw my first red poppies early in the ride.

Walburg, Texas. An old biergarten.

A couple of red poppies and cyclists.

I think these are poppies too, but they were more of a purple color.

This ride has quite a large contingent of motorcycle escorts. They were very helpful, keeping an eye on things and helping us cross some of the busier intersections. This guy was like my own personal escort for much of the ride checking in on me a number of times.

Wildflowers and I-35.

A llama and his pal the donkey were just hanging out watching us go by. Isn’t he the cutest?

This ride had the bumpiest roads I’ve ridden this year. It was like riding on gravel in some cases.

Red poppies at the rest stop!

The rest stop was in Schwertner, Texas – a little town with a big heart apparently.

It has a big church, of course.

The little towns we rode through mostly felt like old ghost towns.

In Granger, I saw an old city hall with a lion statue in front of it.

Across the street, a matching lion guarded the park.

It had an old hardware store.

And of course Granger has a big church!

Randomly, I saw a large metal rooster in a field. And I mean really large, this photo doesn’t do him justice.

So many bluebonnets!!

Bluebonnets and yellow flowers.

A country cemetery.

Luckily, the ride went in a loop so I was only in the wind for sections. A few times I found some groups to draft off of and it was wonderful. I thought you might enjoy seeing what I looked like after riding 103 miles – check out that hair! I was sporting my new Ireland bike jersey, a birthday gift from Dad and Ellen.

On Sunday my husband and I rode our bikes to check out the Mueller Farmer’s market for the first time. It was quite nice and we bought lots of great food. It was an 18 mile round trip and I used my commuter bike and panniers to bring home our goodies. I think we’ll do that again.

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April 22, 2014

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Bike MS training update, April 19 – 20: A lovely ride to Elgin and back

Only one more training weekend before Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 102 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

This past Saturday was forecast to be not windy early in the morning, progressing to a south / east wind. Sure enough, that’s what happened. I planned an 83 mile route that headed east from home and then south pretty quickly, eventually hitting Elgin, Texas and then heading home. It was a good route, with the exception of a few roads with higher traffic than I expected. I ended up averaging 16.5 mph for the ride and enjoyed wildflowers the whole time.

I started early and saw the sun soon after sunrise.

Bluebonnets under the early sun:

Around mile 20 I went through Manor:

Pink winecups and two cyclists on Old Route 290:

Industry in the middle of nowhere:

There is a fake ghost town near Manor. One of the signs was about an Easter egg hunt.

Straight open road and blue sky:

New road, old road:

Bright red barn:

My shadow, cows, and some calves:

White prickly wildflowers:

Bluebonnets hiding between the trees:

Indian paintbrushes and a tree stump:

The scenery was just so green:

An old bridge:

A lonely looking house:

An old farmhouse, no longer in use except for the barn:

So many wildflowers!

A pack of cyclists coming at me:

Longhorns looking at me:

Lovely house and wildflowers:

Elgin town square:

Train station in the middle of the Elgin square:

There was a farmer’s market:

A church in the middle of nowhere, called Lund, Texas

Riding, riding, riding…

Bluebonnets and a bike lane on Howard Lane:

Near Dessau Rd, I went through a neighborhood that had the exact same style houses as our neighborhood. And I saw these bright houses:

And then I was home. On Sunday, it was windier but not ridiculously so as it was the last few weekends. I rode 35 miles around town.

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Laura

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April 16, 2014

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Bike MS Training, April 12 – 13: A windy weekend

And the countdown continues, only 2 more training weekends before Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 86 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

This weekend the wind was strong both days, blowing out of the south. For my long ride on Saturday, I planned a route that headed east from my house and then south pretty quickly, meandering through the outskirts of Austin down to Buda and then heading straight north. It was a ride full of surprises. Take a look at my photos while I remember the surprises.

The wildflowers were everywhere. Bluebonnets behind the fence, yellow flowers near the road:

At some point at the beginning of my ride, a large truck drove by with a Rottweiler hanging out the passenger window. Just as it passed me, the dog barked at me. I’m lucky I stayed on my bike. The BP MS 150 from Houston to Austin was this weekend, and I saw this sign in preparation for the riders rolling into Austin on Sunday.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paint brushes at MLK and 183:

I passed the Yellow Bike Project headquarters on Webberville:

A fancy ice cream food truck passed me:

A guy and his dog skateboarding along 5th street:

Crossing town lake:

More wildflowers:

Pink winecups:

Farm land:

The yellow flowers are Engelmann’s Daisies.

Blue sky, green trees:

The wind on this stretch of road was coming at my side and I had multiple moments of wondering what would happen when it blew my bike out from under me. The trees provided a bit of a wind break from time to time.

I crossed I-35 in Buda:

A place call Cleveland’s! No idea what it is, but it’s on the main drag in Buda.

My route called for me to ride up South First Street. I thought it had bike lanes, but it didn’t. I made the decision to cut over to South Congress instead. About the time I hit South Congress, I realized my bike wasn’t shifting the front derailler. It took me a bit, but I finally figured out the battery in my electronic shifting system (Shimano Ultegra di2) was dying. Apparently I hadn’t checked it in about two weeks. The good news is that the rear derailler continued to shift for the rest of my ride, which is more important then the front derailler anyhow. I’ve only charged the system twice in the year I owned it, so it’s hard to remember to check it.

I crossed Lady Bird Lake on the pedestrian bridge only to find a surprise on the other side – a festival had closed down my route so it took me a bit of time to figure out the best way to get around it.

A new painting on the railroad bridge:

I finally made it home after 73 miles of adventure and headwind.

On Sunday, it was also windy so I headed out for a 30 mile ride around town. I didn’t take any photos because you’ve basically seen the route plenty of times before 🙂

Laura Makes

Laura enjoys making many things

Tag Archives: multiple sclerosis

Bike MS 2016: Let the training begin!

Bike MS Rock’n Hot Ride 2015 Recap – thank you donors!

Bike MS final training weekend: Century ride attempt

Bike MS Training August 22 & 23: Ride those hills

Bike training August 15 & 16: Riding surprises

Bike training August 8 & 9: Is summer over yet?

Bike Training August 1 & 2: El Diablo Ride and a Birthday run

Last Bike MS training update, April 26: Red Poppy Ride

Bike MS training update, April 19 – 20: A lovely ride to Elgin and back

Bike MS Training, April 12 – 13: A windy weekend

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