It was Friday night April 15, 2011 and I couldn’t sleep.  My veins were pumped with adrenaline, anxiousness, and excitement.  I was up making last minute adjustments to my road bike, double and triple checking my gear to make sure I had everything I needed for the trip.

It was just a trip right? Or journey? It was both, a trip to Austin on a bike and a journey of self-discovery.  Self-discovery into what is possible mentally and physically.  It would be a test of the will, body, and mind during a potentially exhausting situation.

I lay down in my bed wanting and waiting for rest.  But no, my evening would be filled with tossing and turning and contemplating the ride.  I could visualize myself pushing forward up hills, getting into the most aerial dynamic position during downhill coasting to maximize my forward momentum.

As the night wore on it became clear that this weekend would have little rest.

The phone rang, my ride was here, it was 4am.

We drove to the starting point at Rhodes Stadium, used the restrooms, got into the starting line, and waited.

It was an extremely cold April morning and the discomfort would begin before the ride started.  Surrounded by thousands of cyclist everyone hustled about, hoping that nature’s stinging chill would dissipate and our bodies would heat up quickly and shake off the coat of coldness.

The starting gun sounded and we rode.

The volunteers guided us through traffic stops and around corners.  Slowly and then quickly the sun rose at our backs and seemed to be racing us to set its self in the west.  Mile after mile the sun smiled down on us as it made its way west.  My legs would heat up and burn as we rode inclines.  My lungs would start to gasp for more and more air as head winds pushed us what seemed backwards.  Like barricades the head winds tried to hold us back, push us back, but pedal after pedal I pushed forward.  Until eventually the headwinds let up and vanished to the droves of riders and the will to continue forward.

During the mid-day we stopped for lunch and got back on the road to our mid-point.  LaGrange.

Again, the lungs would ask for breaks, the legs would light up like a heated wires buring from electricity flowing in them. After 5 hours and 84 miles we were in LaGrange and people stood by the sides of the roads to cheer us on as we entered. At last, we made the mid-point of the journey.

Stay tuned for MS 150 Ride from Houston to Austin Day 2