This recap is from Board Member Megan "Movie Star" Lehnhoff -
I arrived at the Alamo Dome around 6:30 am on Saturday morning, said goodbye to my husband and headed to the front of the starting line with my Valero teammates. Of course, just about the time I got there at about 7 am, the rain began. It was a strong, steady drizzle, and before I knew it, I was covered in goose bumps, teeth chattering, and actually quite cold. I had on my Valero jersey and a shirt underneath for warmth which ended up being a bad idea because it was just an extra layer to soak up the rainwater. Within a few minutes, I was wet to the bone, standing around waiting for the 8 am start. Spirits were high though, and even the Spurs Coyote came out to support us, dancing around and posing for pictures. We rolled out right on time, and it rained for about the first hour and a half. Then, when the rain stopped, the wind picked up and was fairly strong throughout the rest of the ride, most of the time in our faces or as a crosswind. A few times we had it in our favor, but not for long. My clothes were so wet, I am sure that they were an extra 10 pounds or so. My shoes and socks were also full of water. Whenever I would stand up and sit back down in my seat, I could feel water squishing out of the shammy in my shorts. It was like sitting in a wet swim diaper. Lovely, I know. I was pretty miserable riding along and wanted to finish as quickly as possible. I figured out where the last stop before lunch was at about mile 40, and I stopped to fill my water bottles and had a giant protein bar, almonds, and a banana. I figured that I could save a lot of time if I skipped the lunch stop. Walking around the rest stop, my shoes became caked with mud, making it extremely difficult to clip in and out of my pedals once back on the road.
Soon I got a text message from the MS Society that the 100 mile route had been closed due to flooding. I can't say that I was too disappointed; I had pretty much decided that only a hot shower was in my future, not an extra 25 miles of mud splatter, wind, and rain. At about the last ten miles, I ran into a few teammates and fellow Top 100 Fundraisers - Captain Andrea Shull, Carl Crawford, and Pat O'Brien. We finished the ride together, making our way through New Braunfels and finishing at Schlitterbahn around 1pm. Overall, it was a very tough ride, but despite the cold, the wind, the wet, heavy clothes, and even the cup of mud that I ingested as it sprayed off the wheels of the people in front of me onto my face, I just kept thinking how all of these things were nothing compared to what MS survivors deal with every day.
Once at Schlitterbahn, I was greeted by the amazing and wonderful Valero volunteers as they brought me my luggage and got me checked into my room in a matter of minutes. I was soon on my way to that hot shower to clean off. I looked down at my legs and they were literally almost black and just caked with mud spray from the last 70+ miles. However, in the shower, it wouldn't even wash off! I think it was actually a motor oil sludge mixed with mud that had built up on my skin over the last five hours. I had to scrub and scrub to get it off - gross!!!
At this point, the rain really started coming down. It was POURING. I felt really bad for those still out on the route. I heard that a lot of people ended up getting rides in as visibility was really poor. My husband Scott met up with me and we got something to eat from the Valero and the MS tents. About this time, I had a special visitor, Darline Moos, an MS survivor who ventured out in the rain to find me to give me a special thank you gift for riding. It meant so much to me to have her out there, especially despite the terrible weather! Even with all of the chaos due to the storms, seeing and talking to Darline just reminded me of why we were all out there and what the day really meant.
We went to bed early, exhausted, but still with the hopes of riding in the morning. However, loud and vicious thunder and bright flashes of lightning along with torrential rains woke us up early in the morning. By 6:14am, the MS Society officially canceled Sunday's ride back to the Alamodome. I was sad not to be able to ride, but given the conditions, it was the safest decision that could be made. I ended up sleeping 11 hours (which was amazing!) and when I woke up, the Comal River had completed flooded. Picnic tables had floated away, the river overflowed into the pool, and debris roared by. The river was rising so fast that you could actually SEE it rising. It was absolutely incredible. Almost indescribable.
So, the weekend didn't go quite as planned, but I believe the mission was still accomplished - to raise crucial funds to support MS research and services for 20,000 men, women and children affected by multiple sclerosis within 174 Texas counties. The people who work at the MS Society – Tony, Lisa, Cindy, and countless others are amazing. Their tireless efforts to make this an amazing event shone through the rain and clouds. Also, all of the volunteers were enthusiastic, energetic and helpful despite the conditions. An event of this magnitude would NOT BE POSSIBLE without these amazing people and we are truly blessed to have so many willing people to pitch in a hand. Overall, I had a blast, and learned something new about myself - I CAN ride in the rain (it was my first time). The new route was really fun and I'm already looking forward to next year's ride. Thank you to all of you for your support, good wishes and prayers to finish the ride safe and healthy. I could not have done this without you all. And most importantly, I would like to thank you all for your donations. I started off hoping to raise $4000. And then I hoped to raise $5000. Right now I have about $5,950 raised and will be over $6000 by the time I am finished. It really makes me realize all of kind and generous people in my lives, so willing to give to help others. I never would have thought that my best fundraising year would have been 2009 - the year the economy completely tanked. It just shows what big hearts you all have. I appreciate you so much, as do all of the people with and affected by MS. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am still fundraising until Nov 4th, so if you haven't donated yet, you still have one month to do so if you would like.
Until next year, thank you again. You are all amazing! Remember, to the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.
Sincerely,
Megan Lehnhoff