MS 150 ride report - in rhyme (of course)

Because you haven't suffered through enough of my bad poetry over the last month, here is my entire MS 150 ride report in rhyme...


Day 1 - Sept. 10, 2016 - goal: 75 miles

Day 1 is done.
We had some fun.

The headwinds blew.

Alas, tailwinds...few.

Road kill ahead.

Are all possums dead??

Forecast is hot!

Salt stick, Gu shot.

Pbj for lunch.

Ooh! A beer! Thanks a bunch!

25 miles left to go,

Think we'll take this part slow.

This is a ride, not a race.

We set a leisurely pace.

75 miles. Well, a bit more.

Man! my tush sure is sore!

50 more miles to go,

But we'll leave that till tomorrow.

Day 2 - Sept. 11, 2016 - goal: 50 miles

Day 2 is now in the books.

Hot and windy. I am cooked!

Moment of silence to start the day.

National anthem, and bikes away!

Wait a second, let us pause

To remember the MS cause

Your support has helped a ton,

but the drive is not yet done.

Go here, friends, and donate now.

If you've done so, to you I bow.


Lots of sun. Clear blue skies.
The road is straight, not a single rise.

Wildflowers and dragonflies abound.

Butterflies, all around.

50 miles, now we're through.
Pretty sure my butt's black and blue!!

Let's get inside. AC! A fan!

OMG! Now, that's a bike tan!

125 miles we did endure.
To raise awareness for a cure.


Until next year, this job is done.
Thanks to all of you. You're #1!

And for those who prefer a more traditional thank you...

Dear all,

I have just returned from our MS 150 adventure and I want to say thank you to each an every one of you for your support, donations, thoughts, and positive messages. My dad and I had two fantastic rides, covering 125 miles, to raise awareness of MS and the need for research, advocacy and support for people with MS and their families.


Almost 2000 people participated this year and more than $1.3M was raised. With your donations, I was able to personally raise almost $1250, which may be an all-time record for me. ALL of this money will go to improve the lives of those supporting and those living with MS.


As promised in my many poems leading up to the event, you can read my ride report (also in rhyme) here: http://rtsfabblog.blogspot.com/ [don't click. you're already there. ;-)]


Thank you again!
rebecca

Will the rhymes never end???





Donate to my MS 150 ride!

the time has come
for me to go
to ride, and ride, and ride some mo'.

thank you much...
for your support
and in return, a ride report


with all your help
we can secure
the funds we need to find a cure


it's not too late
to donate now
can't think of more, so here's a cow

9/5/2016
Haiku about why I should not rely on my wrenching skills


MS150.
Bottom bracket creeks loudly
Will fix it myself.


Ineptitude proven...
Bike wrenching skills are rusty.
Sudden failure looms.

Please donate to this
worthy philanthropic cause.
Broken bones heal*.




*no bones were actually broken in either the writing of this poem or the riding of the bike I wrenched.

But wait! There's more bad poetry to be had...

Luna: "Do you want to
 share my baby squirrel?"

Generosity is so nice.

Maybe you should donate twice?

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/RebeccasDonationPage

 

More terrible rhymes: Old McDonald had MS

Old McDonald had MS

   EIEIO

But if you donate to my ride

  We can find a cure

With a dollar here

And 2 dollars there

Here a buck, there a buck,

Everybody give some bucks


got chocolate milk? my dad did.





Old McDonald had MS

   EIEIO

Your donation will support

   Research and programs

Money will also go to services

   For those with MS



With a dollar here

And 2 dollars there

Here a buck, there a buck

Everybody give some bucks

You only have 9 more days

   To support my ride.

Please consider giving today

   Thank you in advance

With a dollar here

And 2 dollars there

Here a buck, there a buck

Everybody give some bucks

Old McDonald had MS

   With your help there's a cure

The final stretch - Time for terrible poetry

In an effort to raise the final $400 to make my MS150 fundraising goal, I will be sending out a poem each day until I either reach my goal or get on my bike.


08/29/16
Heading out to ride.
MS150 looms large.
Did you donate yet??


08/30/16
$400
My goal seems so elusive
Please donate today.


If you want to make this poetry terrorism stop, please donate today!!


thank you.

Princess Zwilda will send you money in exchange for generosity

shockingly, Princess Zwilda bears striking
resemblance to Brenna

My name is Princess Zweilia and I am sad to informing you that your long-lost Siberian uncle twice removed has departed this earthly sphereacle.

However, he left me his will which ensures that if you are donating now to my MS 150 ride you will received $3,040,710.23 deposited automatically into a bank account which is of ultimate secrecy. 

No. Really. This is truth.

The good news is that this is bank account is so secret that you will never have to be reporting this income.  

Princess Zwilda lives here -
but only in the
Zika off-season

But you must to donate my MS 150 ride immediately as there are only 18 days left before we mount our carbon steeds and ride off into the sunset. Actually, the sunrise, but whose paying attention to that?

Please to go herein to donate: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/RebeccasDonationPage

Also, bad news that I must share. Sadfully, this account is so secretive that the riches of your long-lost Siberian uncle must to remain lost.

So you must console yourself that you did a good deed and donated to a worthy and honorable cause.

Many thank yous for your generosity.

Her royal highness Princess Zwilda

aka rebecca - who is not a princess, does not know your long-lost Siberan uncle twice removed, and has far better grammar than this note

Training for the MS150...the WRONG way

So this past weekend I decided that it would behoove me to do a long ride in preparation for the MS150 - which is LESS THAN 1 MONTH AWAY (did you donate yet??)

 

I opted for a 70-ish mile loop - never mind that the longest ride I've done this year is 45 miles. If I can ride 45 miles, I can certainly ride 70. Because, of course.

 

The temperature was forecast to be in the mid-90s so I got out early to beat the heat, right?

 

Um. No.

 

I planned to get out early. But, as the literati say the best laid plans oft go awry (or something like that).

 

No, first my Garmin refused to recognized that I am a living being - even after I stripped one of the miniature screws on the back of the sensor in the process of changing the battery to remind it that I am actually sentient.

 

A lengthy cursing session followed until we realized that the HR reader was turned off (as was the cadence - which would probably explain why I was pedaling in squares rather than circles...or not.) Everything turned back on and, voila!, ready to go, right?

 

Um. No.

 

Of course I didn't charge my Garmin the night before...because I am blind and thought that the charge was 100% when it actually said 10%. (Why do they make those numbers so frigging small? Do they not understand that people over 40 ride bikes...without their readers??? sheesh!)

 

So I plugged it in, had a 3rd cup of coffee and waited until the charge was up to 25%. (which lasted me exactly 50 min and then my Garmin shut down. sigh)

 

Finally, at the crack of 10:30am I left the house. Ambient temp: a balmy 83 deg. Humidity: 87%

 

The first 1/2 of my ride was awesome. I felt great. I hit my store stop just before noon-30 and noticed that I had barely consumed 1 bottle of liquids. Uh oh.

 

I went in and bought the obligatory Coke, some chocolate covered pretzels and a bottle of water to replace what little I'd consumed. Usually this is also an opportunity for an indoor "natural break" but, go figure, I didn't need to pee.

 

I drank about 1/2 of the 20oz Coke I bought (why does the 8 oz cost more than the 20??? Who needs that much Coke?). Replenished my salt and chocolate with the pretzels, refilled my bottles (20 oz water did the trick) and headed off.

 

Oh, did I mention I pretty much skipped breakfast? Ate a banana on my way out of the house and a gel about an hour into the ride. What's that, maybe 160 calories?

 

Very quickly the calorie and hydration deficit began to set in. Then someone turned the heat on. Suddenly 93 deg feel more like 193 deg and with the heat reflecting off the road I felt distinctly like the Wicked Witch of the West after being doused with a bucket of water...

 

 

 or Dali's melting clocks...

 

 

or this giraffe...

 

Around mile 45 I shifted from melting and began to feel like I was cooking.

 

This is me...on my bike...dehydrated...in the million degree heat

By mile 55 I was no longer sweating, my head hurt and I was nauseous.

I began thinking that death would be merciful.

 

I stopped around mile 57 (Stone Mtn Village) and stood in the shade for 10 min.

 

It didn't help.

 

I poured some of my water over my head.

It was hot.

 

I was hot.

 

But, I reminded myself, it's only another 13 miles home. Only. 13. Miles.

 

3 miles from home I was done. I sat on the sidewalk and contemplated my options.

1. I could sit where I was until the mosquitos sucked me dry (which they probably couldn't do because my blood had the consistency of dirty motor oil)
2. I could sit until I felt better (not likely).
3. I could walk home (good times in Sidis)
4. I could make an SOS call home for a ride.

While option 1 was appealing, I decided that option 4 was probably less painful.

 

I dialed. It rang once. And.....my phone died.

oh.

 

Just as I resigned myself to option 5: the longest 3 mile ride home....ever....A truck rolled past, stopped, down went the passenger window and a voice said "Rebecca! Do you want a ride?"

 

Seriously?!

 

Am I hallucinating?

 

No. It was my friends Kerry & Brint, on their way home from a mtb ride and there save my sorry overheated, under-hydrated a$$.

 

So now I am definitely trained and ready to do the MS 150. 

Once I drink about 400 gallons of water and eat an entire salt lick.

mmmm....salty!

 

 

 

 



Hey buddy, can you spare a dime? It's time to pay it forward.

Got spare change in hand? Skip my plea and donate now: click here: National MS Society 

Search by my name: Rebecca Leeb and help support my ride.

Ok, for those of you who are still with me: Get your wallet out! It's time for all of us to pay it forward!!

It feels like everyday we are inundated with the bad: Mass shootings. Politics. The Donald's hair. International espionage. Hillary's latest shapeless suit. More politics.

This is your chance to focus on the good. The good you can do and the positive impact you will have on people with Multiple Sclerosis and their families. be a mensch!

After an 18 month hiatus, my father and I are once again registered to ride the MS150, a two-day fundraising event held on the coast of North Carolina for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Each fall, more than 2000 cyclists of all levels and backgrounds come together with the shared goal of raising awareness and funds to help people with MS and their families live longer, healthier lives.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system. The disease is progressive and increasingly debilitating. In the U.S. there are about 400,000 people living with MS and 2.1 million worldwide. So, it is likely that you have a friend or relative who is living with MS. The MS Society supports research, education and provides support for individuals and families.

This will be the 4th time in the past 5 years that my dad and I have undertaken this mitzvah together, but I can't do it without your help. donate here! Two years ago I raised over $1000 for this amazing cause, and I hope to match, or better yet, exceed this amount this year. help please!

You want reassurance that you that you are donating to a worthy cause? How's this:

• 60% of your donation will be used for programs, services and advocacy related to MS in the southeastern US.
• The remaining 40% of your donation will be used at the national level to support research efforts to stop disease progression, restore function, and end MS forever.

donate now!

But time is short! We roll out from the start line in Historic New Bern, NC the weekend of Sept. 10-11, 2016. That's just 7 short weeks from now. 

To donate go to: 

National MS Society

Search by my name: Rebecca Leeb

and help support my ride.

Please donate now and help me reach my $1000+ goal. Together we can make a difference in the lives of people living with MS!

Thank you.

Switched during the night

Apparently during the night last night some evil force came an took Brenna and in her place left a creature that I will call Princess Whinermax.


Princess Whinermax looks like Brenna, and could easily pass for being Brenna...so long as she doesn't open her mouth.


However, the minute she opens her mouth - watch out!!The evil emerges.