Team Enbridge tackles year's big pedal push from Houston to Austin
By Curtis Day, Team Enbridge Co-Captain, 2015 BP MS 150
The scene hits me every year. The finish line of the BP MS 150 in front of the Texas state capitol in Austin, with masses of people – many of them afflicted with multiple sclerosis – cheering on the riders.
It’s a fitting reminder. Those are the people for whom we ride.
Curtis Day, Team Enbridge Co-Captain for the 2015 BP MS 150.
The annual BP MS 150, just staged again this past weekend, is the largest event of its kind across the United States – a two-day cycling fundraiser from Houston to Austin that draws 13,000 cyclists, 3,500 volunteers, and countless spectators. Last year’s event raised $20 million to fund research and treatment of this terrible disease, which attacks the central nervous system and affects more than 2.3 million people around the world.
Team Enbridge’s preparations for the 2015 BP MS 150 began last October, when registration opened; our co-captains Yvonne Tanner and Amber Olah were instrumental in planning and co-ordinating all the necessary resources for our team. I thought: Six months to train. I’ll be fine. Well, fall became winter, winter became spring, and spring was rainy. Very rainy. Still, I got some riding in and declared myself ready to roll.
Preparation is also key in other areas. Team Enbridge’s logistics co-ordinators, John Potter and Greg Hamann, are critical to our success – renting the van; purchasing food, drinks, ice, and sunscreen; hauling our cots, sleeping bags and clothes to the overnight venue at La Grange; and having everything miraculously waiting for us when we roll in. Without them, none of this works.
There’s also KP duty to consider. Kerry Puckett and Tammi Meyer graciously agree to cook dinner on Saturday night and breakfast on Sunday morning. Another team of amazing volunteers, led by Cynthia Roney and Cheree Garza, takes care of our lunch stop and Austin finish-line tent.
This year, unfortunately, Day 1 of the BP MS 150 is washed out by heavy rainfall in the La Grange area, making overnight accommodations unusable. The 27-rider-strong team Enbridge departs La Grange on Sunday, and I settle into a steady pace – with about 12,000 other riders spread out for several miles like a giant millipede. All I hear, all day, is “on your left,” as rider after rider passes me. Yet I pedal on.
After lunch, it starts to get a tad hilly. The long, gradual hills start about 10 miles from the finish line, and I try to remind myself that there’s a top to every hill.
Eventually, I can see the Texas state capitol, and I know I’m getting close. When I get to the University of Texas stadium, the other riders around me also sense the big finish, and we all suddenly aren’t tired anymore.
I cross the finish line, and it’s over. I hang out at the Enbridge tent for a while, visit the shower truck, retrieve my bike, and head back to Houston. The drive back allows me to reflect on the wonderful experience. Even more gratifying was seeing those who have MS – not only cheering at the finish line, but volunteering to give out rider packets at the pickup table, and attending the numerous events leading up to the ride.
Yes, my legs are a little sore, and yes, there was a little pain. But I also know that the worst day riding a bike is better than the best day of those who suffer from MS. And over the past five years that I’ve been involved with this event, I have NEVER heard one complaint from them.
And that’s why I ride. I hope to see some of you out on the road from Houston to Austin next year. You won’t regret it.
