Just crossed the finish line in Austin

Sorry for the late post but WE DID IT! The entire Oxy cycling team successfully completed the 182+ miles of the BPMS150 from Houston to Austin. The ride was great.

We started at Rhodes stadium in Katy, Tx at about 7:15 am on Saturday the 22nd. It was a cool morning with a light breeze behind us so we cruised into Bellville for lunch just before 9:30am. We spent about a half hour in Bellville and set out for La Grange. The afternoon got very hot, 90+ and the last couple hours were a challenge just from the heat. I arrived in La Grange at 1:30pm where we had a relatively short line for the showers and almost no line for dinner.

The La Grange fairgrounds were like an oil industry convention with teams and tents from all of the major companies, contractors and suppliers, as well as other large corporate teams. BP, of course, has the largest team with over 700 riders however I don't think there was any more spirit or commitment than the folks I rode with from TeamOxy.

We left La Grange about 7:45am on Sunday with about 1/4th of the team choosing to go through Bastrop State Park and 3/4 going around on the bypass. I chose the bypass because of the stories of major congestion in the park and difficulties on the hills because of people that were really slow or stopped. The bypass was great, rolling hills with some good climbs. It turned out that the park wasn't as congested this year as folks expected so next year I'll definitely take that route. We had a terrific ride Sunday, finishing in Austin at about 1:30pm.

After showering my pedal partner, Russell Scott, and his kids arrived. We visited for quite a while and he told several of us about his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. It's incredible how someone who was a promising cyclist (member of the US National Cycling Team and the 7Eleven Professional Cycling Team) who had it all taken away by MS could have such a great attitude about life. He was a real inspiration. You'll notice in the picture below, Russell is wearing his original Team 7Eleven shirt.

Russell Scott and his kids with me at the finish of the BPMS150

Being part of TeamOxy this year was a great experience, the team members were the best, the volunteers gave their all for the team and the cause was really brought home by the pedal partners. I look forward to next year and hopefully we will have Russell ride with us. Keep him and all those with Multiple Sclerosis, and those caring for them, in your prayers.

We'll move on to preparation for the next big rides. Upcoming for me are the Heartbreak 100 in Lebec, California on May 27th followed a week later by America's Most Beautiful Ride, around Lake Tahoe. The next big TeamOxy rides are the Tour de Pink for breast cancer research near Houston in June and the EOG Resources MS150 in Midland, Texas in mid July.