September 9, 2008
Dear Sponsor,
I wanted to take the time and sincerely thank you for the financial support you gave me towards the MS 150 dad and I rode in. It was a very challenging two days, maybe more challenging than we had remembered from years past. But on the other had it was SOOO much better organized and was an outstanding event that I am pleased to announce that we will be doing again next year.
On Friday Sept. 5th we drove to Lewisburg, WV. We went ahead and registered so we could sleep in a few extra minutes Sat. After registering we went to Wal-Mart to stock up on some fruit for our ride. Then we went to Bob Evans for what Dad called a “high carb” dinner of pastas, to help prepare our bodies.
On Saturday we were up at 6:00am and finished all last minute preparations and went over to the starting line. We were doing the “road” version. There was also a trail version but we assumed it was for the serious mountain bikers. Oh man were we ever WRONG! So at mile 15, our first rest stop… where else but in ANTHONY we switched to the trail. The previous MS150 we did had people of ALL skill levels, where as this one was geared MUCH more towards serious bikers, something we are NOT! The trail is a mix of rocks and gravel and sand. It is called the Greenbrier River Trail. So at this point we’ve been riding for about 90 minutes and it is POORING rain! We are drenched and I am freezing but two very sweet elderly ladies served us homemade goodies, zucchini bread and cookies, amongst other options provided by the MS Society. 10 miles later, mile 25 we reached rest stop #2 at Renick and we’re welcomed in by a “fiesta”. The ladies hosting that stop had noise makers and big sombreros. It was quite cute. Every stop had plenty of snacks and beverages and was a great help to the cyclists! Around mile 28, we found a fine non-biking task that needed dealt with: a swinging rope into the lake!
Not long after that dad made a new friend named Hound!
He talked to us so we figured he was picture worthy visitor for day one! About mile marker 31 we got to experience Droop Tunnel. It’s PITCH BLACK. They have reflectors on the walls but that barely helps. He’ll know to bring a flash light next year! Here I am at the end! And dad isn’t normal enough for a regular finishing picture so here he is at the end!! And here is dad. We ride and we ride and we ride until we reach mile marker 38 for lunch. For a picky eater like me, you’d be surprised how DELICIOUS a ham and cheese sandwich can taste after 38 miles of biking! They also served us Heavenly Ham cookies… mmmmmmmm!!! At 1:01pm we started mile 39 where we also visited Den Mar Medium Security Prison! Notice dad “Hand cuffed” and me “all locked up” Right above us is the barbed wire fences where you could see the heads of inmates and hear them playing horse shoes. We had another quick rest stop about mile marker 45. Then somewhere between 45 and 50 we found some friends of ours: Mr. Black snack and The Deer Family.
At the left hand corner is a close up of our big ole snake! Unfortunately he wasn’t in a very playful mood like we were!
Then we rode to about mile 56 until we turned into town to find the Marlinton Fire Station where our bikes would be stored! We road a bus to our hotel, Inn at Snowshoe, at the bottom of snow shoe mountain. We grabbed a quick 10 minute spa time before supper at 6:00pm. Again the food was great. Our speaker was outstanding too. His name was Michael and he is from NJ. He has a wife and a 4&6 year old and was diagnosed with MS weeks after the youngest was born. He said to let our sponsors know that the money we raise REALLY goes to the people with MS to learn about the disease, the treatments, even family counseling, group therapies, and ever programs geared towards his family who is obviously affected by him having MS. I have to mention the “King of the Hill” award for those few cyclists who braved Snowshoe Mountain riding the 7 miles to the very top! Check out their crowns! (For anyone unaware those at Burger King crowns, and of course that is my second home!!) After supper we caught another 30 or more minutes in the pool and spa.
Day two started even earlier, at 5:31am when the alarm went off. We quickly gathered our stuff and got to breakfast a few minutes after 6am. It was a nice hearty meal to start our energy off high!
Day two started out pretty cold in the low to mid 50s! We got on our way about 8:05am. We had more time to take scenic pictures for your casual enjoyment! As you can see we were up and ready for the sunrise, you can see we were pretty much on top of the world. The first pic, 2nd row is the picture from inside the bus as we drove down Snowshoe Mountain. Here was part of the Greenbrier River. We couldn’t attend church this Sunday so we took a pic of a lil country church waaaay in the distance…. I had to teach dad how to ZOOM the digital camera for this one. This was us coming out of Droop Tunnel. Dad enjoyed “racing” any biker who passed us so he would go a ways a head trying to keep up and he caught this shot of me as he waited for me to catch up. I was not so interested in chasing anyone. But those of you who know dad know he has a never ending energy level. He would also go back a bit to catch pictures he decided we wanted. The only pics we missed were him beside mile marker 52- his age and a sign of us at Anthony. But fear not, there is still next year! Along our way every so many miles there were these big cement “W” markers. I still don’t know there significance but Mr. W had to have a pic with one! We saw this “private property” swinging bridge. We wanted to go on it but obeyed our better judgment! Here I am with the 23 mile marker since I am 23! There were many houses on “stilts” (not sure if that is the proper term) but we got a great kick out of this old double wide trailer way up on stilts!
Then of course dad and I had to take a dip in the river! By half way through the day we were both feeling the muscle over use in our legs- OUCH! So by the last 10 miles on the trail I decided the best solution was simply to PICK UP THE PACE and be done! We then started keeping track of our time per mile… we had a 5:20 with a break to tie my shoe and a 5:08 mile! It REALLY helped it getting done with the trail. Although the trail was mostly flat it also meant your legs never got the break of a down hill like road biking. Plus it was a very bumpy ride with the rocks, twigs, gravel and squishy ride with the sand and mud. So it was just as a good at tiring you out! Here is “proof” we rode the Greenbrier River Trail. As well here is the MONSTEROUS mountain dad rode up… I attempted but failed miserably- so bad that dad would ride to the top of the 1st mtn and come push me the rest of the way… it worked, he did it twice! But all in all, including all our rest stops, photo breaks, lunch and swims we did 150 miles in right about 15 hours! Yes I know that’s a rather poor miles per hour gig but the last 4 were ALL that uphill mountain and then the first 15 we did on the road.
Finally, I just wanted to thank you for your support both financially and emotionally thought your encouraging words and prayers. We did make our $800 goal Thursday Sept 4th and ended up with $819!!! Then after riding we were given $25 more for a grand total of $844! Dad and I went ahead and registered for next year on Sunday at the end of our biking day as they gave us a greatly discounted registration price, so hopefully you will be able to support us again next year as we begin this mission again to find a world free of MS, to find a cure one mile at a time!
Love,
Beth and Dad
Bethany Sykes and Dave Wriston
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