MS 150: Mission Accomplished

Saturday morning started out ominously. When my alarm woke me at 5:40am I could hear the sound of rain pounding on the roof. I was dreading another MS 150 in the rain, which would have been a carbon copy of 2 years ago in Delaware. Fortunately, it was a passing shower and the skies were only lightly misting by the time I hit the road to head towards the start line in Cherry Hill.

The drive through Center City was rather uneventful except for a car that had spun out on the entrance ramp from 76 to 676. I didn't actually stop since police were already on scene. There were apparently no injuries and just a slight gaper delay. The Ben Franklin Bridge was practically desolate at 7am, and my transit to 295 was easy.

I made it to the corner of Burnt Mill Road and Woodcrest Road at around 7:20. There were plenty of other people in the lot, which was apparently not the EDS lot mentioned in the MS 150 flyer, but worked nonetheless. The rain was light and steady and the temperature was in the high 60's as I got my bike out of the car and loaded up with everything I might need on the ride including an extra pair of dry socks (in a ziplock baggie), lots of tissues (I had been sniffling the entire night before), and some snacks. Satisfied that I had everything I might need, I set off towards the tour course, which was on the far side of the parking lot.

I didn't realize that I was already past the start line and already on the course. After riding about 1.5 miles through residential neighborhoods, I realized that I wouldn't be meeting Paul and Steve at the start line for pictures. Instead, I pulled off the course and called Paul to let him know what was going on.

About 10 minutes later Paul and Steve caught up to me and we continued as a team for the next 77 miles. The weather got nicer as the ride continued. The 19 miles until the first rest stop were misty and dreary. The roads were wet and we saw two riders wipe out due to the conditions.

By the end of the ride the conditions were much more ideal. The temperature had risen to the low 80's and there was more sun than clouds. The sun helped dry the roads, and we didn't see any more wipe outs for the rest of the ride.

The total ride was nearly 80 miles. It took the team and I 6 hours and 15 minutes of riding at an average speed of 12.9 mph. I managed a top speed of 34.5 mph coming down the back side of the second bridge in Ocean City.

By the time we got to the finish line in Ocean City at around 5pm the crowds had thinned out compared to what we experienced last year. But that also meant that most of the food was gone and the shirts smaller than XL were also gone. We left our name and address with the t-shirt table and they should be mailing them to us.

Unlike my first ride in Delaware in 2004, I am having no problems walking after this ride. I felt a little sore on Sunday, but it wasn't anything major. Thankfully my training paid off and my knees cooperated. I am toying with the idea of doing the century ride next year, but I probably won't push my luck. 80 miles in one day is enough.

I'd like to especially thank all of my friends, family, and colleagues who donated more than $1200 towards MS research for this ride.

One Little Question

I like to keep my blog posts in order, but this one is breaking news that I must share.

On Wednesday, September 6, 2006 I proposed to Kate while we were in Clemson. It was a beautiful moonlit night on the boardwalk overlooking Lake Hartwell. I did the traditional "down on one knee" and asked for Kate's hand in marriage. Thankfully, she retained her wits about her long enough to say "yes" and then proceeded to cry.

Riding the Rails in NC

On Tuesday morning our alarm woke us up at 8am so we could get ready for the Great Smoky Mountain Railway. The depot was just 10 miles from the hotel in Bryson City, NC.

We spent about an hour listening to the depot band (I feel bad for these performers who have to do the same shtick day after day, a couple times each day), who had a repertoire that included "Route 66" and "City of New Orleans," both of which we got to hear twice that day.

We boarded the train at about 10:15 and were greeted by Diane, our spunky guide. Our rail car was about half-full, which gave us the opportunity to stretch out a bit and occupy a four seats (2 forward, 2 backward). Kate and I took turns on the window seat, enjoying the beautiful views from the left-hand side of the train. The route took us to past the Nantahala Outdoor Cener (NOC) to Nantahala Gorge before we headed back to the NOC for a lunch layover. Kate and I had pre-purchased box lunches, which we enjoyed while viewing the raging Nantahala River. The vistas on the return ride from the other side of the train were more breathtaking.

After the train returned us to Bryson City (a total of 4 1/2 hours), we dropped into the train store next to the depot. Kate will tell you that I was drooling most of the time we were in the store. I couldn't believe the quality and diversity of HO-scale products that have come out since I stopped modeling about 15 years ago. While there were lots of attractive buildings, rolling stock, and locomotives, I behaved myself. Kate and I bought each other small gifts in the store to commemorate the rail journey; she earned herself a pink striped engineer's cap, while I am now the owner of a cute set of miniature people. After 30 minutes in the store, we decided that we should leave before I bought something that wouldn't fit on the plane for our return flight. We hit the road headed towards Clemson.

The trip from Bryson City to Clemson, SC was like reliving the trip from Knoxville to Cherokee the previous day. Steep and curvy mountain roads, this time lit by daylight and not covered by much rain, made it a very slow go. I remarked a few times that the GPS seemed to indicate that we weren't making any forward progress. At 25 mph it certainly seemed that way. We finally crossed the state line into Oconee County and I was happy to point out all of the famiilar sights to Kate as we travelled down US Route 123. The one that excited Kate the most (or should I say I have taken the most ribbing about) was the Square-D factory in Seneca.

We rolled into Clemson at around 7pm and went directly to the restaurant suggested by Matt Gevaert. In the space that was formerly Parcheesi's is now a wonderful new tapas restaurant named Sole. We're still not sure how to pronounce the name (sole as in the bottom of a shoe -- or so-lay as the French might say it).

Livin' Large South of the Mason-Dixon Line

Our trip started (too) early Monday morning at the Philadelphia airport. Leaving on a holiday is THE way to travel. There was no traffic to speak of on the Schuylkill Expressway, which meant we made it to the airport in record time. There were no security lines (unlike my last trip to Boise), and our flights actually took off and landed on time.

The Atlanta airport was much more hospitable this time compared to when Kate and I flew to Craig and Heidi's wedding in April. Being on the right airline (Delta) at the right terminal (A) made all the difference.

Our final destination on Monday was Knoxville, TN. For some reason they have assigned the code of TYS to the Knoxville airport. We're still trying to figure that one out, but have some insight that it's named after some (dead?) dude named Tyson McGee. The airport itself was lovely (Kate's word choice, not mine) for such a small facility. We had our choice of rocking chairs overlooking the tarmac or leather couches and a giant TV. There was a full-size Ruby Tuesdays in the airport, but we decided to fend for ourselves outside the airport compound.

Our first stop after baggage claim (yeah, liquids and toothpaste) was Subway. We then hit the road to the Knoxville visitor's center downtown. Getting there was a battle with the GPS system since they have apparently moved roads and not bothered to tell anybody. Once there, we picked up some brochures. I also highly recommend the bathrooms. Realizing there was nothing to do in downtown Knoxville, we did some shopping on the north end of town and did our part to contribute to the 9.25% sales tax in this state. Apparently TN is a state with no individual income tax, so instead they tax the heck out of everything else. I picked up a gift to Katie's new office -- a mini photo frame. We then headed a bit further out to do some more shopping at the Tanger Outlet at Sevierville, TN. Katie acquired another pair of cute Nike sneakers.

We then had a very nice dinner at Calhoun's in Pigeon Forge, TN. We contemplated mini-golf after dinner, but were foiled by a light rain. So, instead we hit the road and drove down the "strip" in Pigeon Forge, which Kate has affectionately termed "Hillbilly Las Vegas." After some back-of-the-envelope calculations, we have determined Pigeon Forge to have the highest per-capita of Shoney's, Taco Bells, mini-golf, and neon bulbs on this side of the Mississippi.

The drive from Pigeon Forge to Cherokee, NC was fraught with danger as we drove through the "Petrified Forest," as Katie referred to it. It was dark, raining, and not well marked as we proceeded through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on route 441. We finally made it to the Hampton Inn on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina and settled in for the evening.