Richardson Resident, Rodney Brown successfully completes the MS 150 from Frisco to Ft. Worth.

Springtime in Texas can be very unpredictable when it comes to predicting the weather forecast, but on the cool mornings of May 3-4, sunglasses and suncreen were forecasted for the riders of the SAM’S CLUB MS 150 ride from Frisco to Ft.Worth. The energy and excitement level was obvious, even though the riders were required to be "ready to roll" at 7:00am. Due to the large number of riders, the groups were "staged" to help facilitate the start.

It seemed hard to believe that I was about to start my FIRST 150 mile adventure, but my heart and head were focused on the men and women who are plagued with the physically disabling conditions that MS can bring. My prayers are for them. I too have MS but am blessed with physical strength and therefore wanted to participate in this fund raiser for those who are not as fortunate as me. Each rider had the chance to get a orange "Champions" bandana when they signed up for the event, and these were to be signed by friends, family and co-workers who suffer from MS. This was our way of remembering those who we were riding for! 

I arrived in Frisco at 6:00am full of anxiety, and the overall site was a bustle with activity, but was happy when I was able to locate and drop off my luggage inside the transport truck, where I would hopefully collect it again somewhere at the Texas Motor Speedway. Immediately afterward, I had to struggle through the crowds, other bikers and obstacles until I found my Chain Gang group already lining up to start the ride. The 46 degree cool of morning air was soon compounded with strong winds that seemed to last throughout the entire day. Now that I was finally awake, I was feeling strong, and I pressed on from rest stop to rest stop, placed approximately every 10-15 miles, where we were replenished with fresh fruits and fluids. I was very thankful for all the volunteers that were at every rest stop!

Along our route it was amazing to see the amount of supporters and families showing their support to all the riders when they were shouting encouragements, waving flags and displaying posters. Before I knew it hours had passed as we soon passing across Lake Ray Roberts, before stopping for a quick lunch in Sanger. After the short break, I was still feeling strong, and the 3,500 riders continued to the completion of the first day where stopped at the Texas Motor Speedway. I was completely overjoyed when I saw my family holding posters and shouting praises as I crossed the finish line. I had completed more than 87 miles, which was the furthest I had ever traveled on my bike on one stretch!

The music, the tents, activities and refreshments at the TMS were amazing and very refreshing. However, the afternoon and evening seemed short, because breakfast was to be served at 5:00am on Sunday. After a short shulttle ride from my hotel leaving around 3:45am, I arrived back at the track before sunrise. The temperature was in again in the 40s and even though it was still dark I was very thankful for the rest. I soon felt the strain from the previous day after finishing breakfast, when I mounted my cycle, but I saw that a small number of riders that were actually going toward the entrance gate of the TMS to actually ride around the track, and I did not want to miss this opportunity and was very excited to be one of a few riders that were going to be allowed to ride on the actual racetrack where the Professional race cars race! I lined up and soon found myself riding on the race track track of the Texas Motor Speedway! We were actually able to circle the track, and I was surprised to see how steep the actual racing surface was for the cars. Obviously this is necessary when you are racing at speeds approaching 250 MPH! This was quite an experience for me to actually have an opportunity to ride at this place!

This band or riders left the race track and immediately located the bike path and continued riding northward, struggeling onward for another few hours, we were approaching Decatur, where we stopped for our lunch inside Decatur High School. After lunch we were off again, this time we turned toward Ft.Worth and we were traveling south. We rode beside Eagle Mountain Lake and we seemed to now have a nice tail wind that was vice. However, I soon discovered that this "leg" of the race had far more hills to climb than on day one! 

During my ride, I noticed that my left calf muscle had started to cramp, but thanks to the rest stop medical staff, I was able to get a leg message that helped me get by! On this day, thankfully there were mileage markers posted, which helped us press on, but soon enough we were starting our approach to Sundance Square in downtown Ft. Worth, which was nice, but this final part of the race was uphill. Before long, I started hearing the music, etc. from Sundance Square, and I continued on I realizing that I was on the final "landing pad" of the race! By this point, I was exchausted, but knowing that I was near the end, I found myself riding down this finishing area, where I could hear a loud voice of an announcer over a PA system who was announcing the riders as they crossed the finish line! NOt long after, I too was crossing the 150 mile mark as I too crossed the line, where I could see the smiling faces of my family on the side shouting cheers! I was completely overjoyed and very grateful!

Following the race, the area was very festive and there was food, drinks, bands, tents and excitemement everywhere! I could not believe that I finally completed my journey to attempt riding 150 miles, but I knew that this weekend was not all about me... but for all those less fortunate people who remained on my mind throughout the weekend.