Happy Halloween!
Tour de Gruene
On November 3rd, the annual Tour de Gruene will be held in Gruene, TX. This short ride (32 or 36 miles) goes along scenic River Road, and is always a lot of fun. I'll be doing the ride, then enjoying the Antique Bike Show and the band and beer at the historic dance hall, then heading to Wurstfest to meet the family for a little gemutlichkeit. The weather Saturday is supposed to be fabulous - low 80s with plenty of sun. Let's wear our jerseys and ride as a team again! NOTE: No fundraising is required for this ride, but there is a registration fee - $30 ahead of time, and $40 the day of the event. All riders get a commemorative t-shirt, and the first 500 riders that register get a free ticket to Wurstfest.
Fallen Rider
Sue crossing the Day 2 finish line
There are so many incredible stories in an event as large as the MS 150 Bike to the Beach that some of them unfortunately fall through the cracks. Thanks to team members Bob Serna and Tim Ellis for remindering about one of them. Long time team member Sue Erhardt took a nasty spill on Day 1 - she didn't break any bones, but got skinned up pretty bad (and is still pretty sore, according to Tim). But, she got back on her bike and finished the ride. Here's a photo from BrightRoom of her crossing the Finish Line on Day 2 covered in bandages - way to go Sue!
Status of MS 150 Fundraising
Our fundraising dollars continue to creep up. As of this morning, we are at approximately $182,000, which is 73% of our target of $250,000 - to see our latest totals, click here. I'm confident that we'll continue to make progress, because some of the money has not been accounted for yet, and we still have some fundraisers up our sleeves for November. If you haven't raised the minimum yet, what are you waiting for? We don't ask for much from team members, but we do ask this.
All of you who rode the MS 150 should have received a letter from the MS Society listing your fundraising totals as of October 23rd, and indicating that you have until November 20th to submit any funds you have received in order to qualify for any of the fundraising prizes. If you are close to one of the qualifying pledge levels and you are interested in winning one of the prizes, make a little push to raise the money needed to get there! For fundraising tips and tricks, click here. Also - if you haven't sent a "Thank You" note to your donors, now's a good time to do so.
NOTE: Between now November 20th, Fundraising Board Member David Sloan or I will be making a weekly trip to the MS Offices on Fridays, so if you have any checks or cash you need to submit, contact us and we'll take it over for you.
Valero View Article on MS 150
Diane and Peter at the finish line of the 2006 Texas Tour de Cure
Long time Velo Valero team member (and good friend of mine) Diane Mitchell wrote a wonderful article in the Valero View on the MS 150 Bike to the Beach. Only someone who experienced the ride from the seat of a bike could have written a piece like this. To read the article, click here.
See ya' on the road!
- Peter