1991

Bike Tour

My 1991 MS Bike Tour T-shirt in 2024

In late February I heard about a Multiple Sclerosis bike tour that was to take place in mid-May, I had been doing considerable biking, often doing 20-30 mile rides and several times going out to the end of the W&OD trail in Purcellville and back to Reston, a 40 mile round trip.  In May of ’91 I did a three day, 150 kilometer, fund raising bike tour for Multiple Sclerosis.  To enter the ride, you had to raise $150 dollars which I didn’t care much for doing. I did get sixty dollars or so from people at work but paid the remainder myself.   

At first, I thought 150 kilometers was more than I could do but after realizing that it was kilometers, which is shorter than miles, I got out my calculator, and figured out it was only a bit over 93 miles. Ok, I thought, that is only 30 miles a day, I could do that.  The tour was three days of riding, 30 miles each day with the two nights spent camping.  It was well organized with over a hundred riders.  It started on Friday morning when you checked in, picked up your map packet, and dropped off your camping gear. We were allowed two duffle bags, which they then transported to the camping site each night.  The route was well marked both on the map booklet, and at each turn.  Every ten miles or so on the route they had rest stops with water and snacks and a stop for lunch.   Upon arriving at the end of the day at the campsite, you picked up your camping gear, which wasn’t aways easy to find amongst 200+ bags of all the riders, and then found a place to set up your tent.  It was always good to be done with the ride early because at times the lines for the showers were quite long.   They had a nice dinner for the riders and then breakfast the following morning then repeating it all for a second day.  The third day had breakfast, lunch and the ride ended at a pickup point which my wife Julie came and picked me up.  It was a beautiful ride through the Virginia country, country roads, small towns, all quite scenic.  I had done quite a few 40-mile rides before the tour, but I found three days of 30 miles was harder than I expected. The first day, with all the excitement, I rode a bit too fast, which was good for I finished up in the early afternoon allowing me to get a good spot for my tent, and not have any lines for the showers, but I was pretty tired that night.  The second day I paced myself better but by the end of the day was even more tired. And my butt hurt.  I took the third day I recovered somewhat and finished the ride.  I had a lot of fun.

 

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