Neither of either of those are going to be good!

Good to get back in the saddle for FT3 last night. I had the easy ride last week and then it was game on last night as my return to the bike. It had been awhile since I rode hard and it felt great. Well let me augment that, it felt good until Ghostrider, fresh off his podium in the Tahoe 100, went flying off the front! Man alive that guy is fit!

NoCar (bringing B's Voodoo out of retirement), Ghostrider, VD, Rock God, NoHandle, and I all gathered at the designated meeting place. Cap'n and B were there to see us off. Got up to the lake and met Xteric. We did a great loop almost all single track with some dirt roads connecting some of the best offerings of the lake loop and Fleming. Once again I flatted on the back side of the lake. "Got to get a carbon frame".

Taco Report:
B joined us late (I can't add the image to the blog, B can you send it as a jpeg?) for tacos and placed a taco order via text message. VD complained of stomach issues. Rock God did some groceries looking for the right beverage choice. NoCar pulled out the seldom used 6 pack order. The evening was capped off with a sheriff sitting in our parking lot, I think they might be on to us.

Guest Author:
Here is the MS 150 write up from Cap'n:
MS 150 RIDE REPORT
This was easily the most meaningful and inspiring ride I have done. Thanks much to those of you who donated, especially the last minute push. At first I was thinking of this as 'just a fundraiser ride.' Indeed it was much more.

DAY 1
I originally intended to leave for the ride on Friday night, but with an offer to go out to sushi with the fam (Pville's own all you can eat, no doubt) I decided to pack on the sushi calories, stay the night at home and leave early on Sat. I set the alarm for 4:15 but woke on my own at 3:30 and decided to get up and hit the road. By the time I got past Auburn up I-80, with no coffee on board, I was very tired. I pulled off at the rest stop at Gold Run around 5:00am for a 'cat nap' and - whoops, slept until 6:20. The ride was scheduled to start at 7:30 and I was more than an hour away. So I flew past Truckee and as I got close to the ride start I saw everyone heading out. OK, I got some catching to do. Pulled the bike out and had a flat rear tire. A little flustered I left the start house at 8:22am. The ride began with a huge, long and very legit climb. I started picking off riders and am noticing this is not your typical ride. There are people out there just struggling to get this thing done, clearly not the same crowds we are used to riding and racing with. As I approach the first false summit, I come upon my uncle and he looks to be struggling. He recently purchased a motobecane road bike and he has a double chainring. He also has MS. Talk about HTFU! We chatted a bit and he told me his right leg was giving in to the disease, basically his leg is an 'anchor weight'. He could not stand on the bike, and had a hard time clipping that right foot in. He was very motivated to get the ride done, so what else would a good FT3 rider do? I helped him. We got the first summit bagged, stopped at the first rest stop and then started up the second summit. In spite of all the suffering and struggles, he was in good sprits the whole time, which is inspiring in and of itself. We bagged the second pass. At the bottom of that one, there was a long route/short route split. He took the short I took the long. He finished his 48 miles before I finished the 68 miles on the day. My last several miles were flat and windy, he had to bag another small pass. He rocked it. They had free Coors Light available after the ride, not PBR, but... bonus! That night there was more Coors Light and a delicious dinner, some awards, best legs, best kit, etc and a heart-wrenching speech by a 17 year old who was recently diagnosed with MS. Then there was more free Coors Light.

DAY 2
Day two was very different. Had I arrived on time on day 1 both days would have probably been like day 2 but in the end I wouldn't have it any other way. I met up with Craig (from a consulting firm I am working with) and his teammates from the Lenovo team. Unbelievable, these guys were wearing full WHITE kits. White arm warmers, white leg warmers, shorts, jerseys - classic. They had sparce red lettering on them. Craig dubbed them whitie-tighties, thankfully before I did. I guess they get pretty damn good deals on Ridley bikes, otherwise, why bother??!!! Hmmm, white FT3 jerseys, uh... NO! I sat on the back of their train for a short while and when the road turned up, I went to the front to say hi to Craig. I think they were all wondering who the heck I was, so I kindly pulled them into the first rest stop. The day was mostly flat, so there was a lot of paceline riding, All of the riders, four males, and one female were very strong. That said, in keeping it "FT3 real", I was issued a few warnings to slow up off the front to keep from blowing the pack apart. By the last few miles of the ride the pack was blown apart and there were three of us remaining. I looked at Craig and said, "I guess we'll see the rest of them at the end?" he said yes, and I figured a finish line is a finish line, right? My attempts at a solo breakaway finish were thwarted by this big man and his friend, not to mention a poorly timed run in. A quick peel off and wheel suck allowed me to pull ahead in the final 100 yards or so, but, alas, we all rolled in together. According to the speed control sign we flew by on the last stretch into town, we were doing 33 on a slight incline. It was a legit offering for a day 2 push.

WRAP UP
This area north of Truckee is very beautiful, excellent road riding country. I appreciate all your support. I signed myself and Kelly up already for next year, hopefully some of you FT3ers will sign up too. The white kit crew will be back next year as well, so there is more fun to be had.

Thanks for reading.
-Cap

Keep watching for plans for Sunday's first cross adventure.

Until we ride,
LOtB