Dear  Friends and Family:
 
It  was Saturday morning at 5:30AM when I arrived at Tully Stadium, the start for  the MS 150.  The weather was the  warmest of any of the 3 previous MS 150's I road.  By 6:30AM, 9,000+ riders were lined up  looking forward to our 100-mile journey for the day.  This year there was a lot of press  coverage as the ride was dedicated to Maxine Mesinger.  Maxine, a long time sufferer of MS, and  society columnist for the Houston Chronicle, died this past year of  complications from MS.  British  Petroleum had 580 riders edging out Enron as the first corporate team to go  out.  Enron had the second start  with 450 riders and I was among one of the first people out along with the other  Enron top fundraisers including Jeff Skilling, CEO of Enron and two riders with  MS.  Enron was the top fundraising  team from the 2000 MS 150.   
 
The  cannon went off and I kicked into high gear.  I flew with the fastest riders and after  about ? a mile I could not keep up with them.  I was able to maintain a speed of 22  miles an hour, crossing the Katy prairie while the race teams that started  behind us were passing me.  My first  stop was break point three, 39 miles into the ride, and 1 hour and 45 minutes  later.  The weather was already  feeling hot and humid.  I  replenished my water supply and continued the next 15 miles to lunch.  It was hilly but we still had a tail  wind.  I arrived at lunch at 10AM in  Bellville, TX, 55 miles from the start.   I found the Enron lunch spot with our catered lunch.  
 
After  a quick lunch I headed up to Industry, TX, population 475, which does not  appreciate 9,000+ riders going though their small town.  You need to make sure you stop at the  one stop sign in town or you will get a ticket.  Luckily there was a police officer  directing traffic, as there was at almost all intersections along the route of  country roads.  I made my third stop  of the day in Industry at breakpoint five, where I had to stretch.   The hills were getting harder and  the tail wind was now a crosswind.   Coming up on breakpoint seven 90 miles on route, a truck and crosswind  almost blew the bikes off the road.   The sign said it was now 7.6 miles to the finish of the day.  The next 7.6 miles were fine, but it was  an additional 3 miles to the finish with hills and a strong head  wind
 
Last  year I upgraded to a new bike with a triple.  I was able to keep a slow but steady  pace up the hills by getting into the granny gear.  I arrived in La Grange, TX at 2:20PM, 7  hours and 20 minutes later to many cheering supporters.   I was done for Day 1!
 
I  headed over to the Enron tent, the largest tent in La Grange.  After checking in, I gulped two large  bottles of ice water, and signed-in for a massage.  Enron had 30 massage therapists working  to sooth the tired and weary riders.   After my massage I felt totally relaxed.  Ilene found me in the Enron tent having  a beer.  It took Ilene about an hour  to find me since our cell phones did not work well in La Grange due to limited  cell capacity.  Every year Enron has  a large barbeque in the Enron tent and this year the food was even better.  While in the tent I was talking to some  other Enron riders and I learned that some came in as early as  10:45AM!
 
The  next morning at 4:45AM, it was time to get up.  Ilene and I arrived at the fairgrounds  at 5:30AM.  I headed over to  hydration station to refill my water bottles and stretched before the 7:00AM  start.  I was one of the first 50  people in line.  At exactly 7AM, we  were let out; normally we are delayed for fog.  It was warmer than the day before and we  had more hills ahead of us.
 
The first 20 miles  were relatively uneventful except I was able to carry on 20-minute conversation  with Jeff Skilling, CEO of Enron.   Then came the downhill where you can reach speeds over 40 mph without  trying, the park is now only 3 miles away.   The park has a very hilly, curvy, and dangerous route lasting 10  miles.  I stopped right inside the  park to refill water and get some snacks.   I was really glad that I had the new bike with the triple, as I was able  to get up hills with little effort while others were struggling or walking their  bikes.  That was until killer hill,  which I did not remember being too difficult.  After the downhill there was the  uphill.  I tried to shift into that  wonderful granny gear but it was too late.   I noticed the pedaling was extremely easy and I was slowing almost to a  stop.  I looked down at my chain and  it jumped off the gear.  I yelled  "oh no!"  I was able to get my foot  out and prevent myself from falling.   The hill I fell on years past was easy.  I headed out of the park to lunch at the  50-mile point, it was 10AM.  When I  pulled into lunch I saw Ilene who was working the lunch, she was very happy to  see me and I was happy to see her.   I took a short break and headed out to Austin.
 
After lunch, the cloud cover  was gone and it was hot.  I stopped  twice in the remaining 35 miles for water.   The last 15 miles were into the wind or with a very strong cross  wind.  At approximately 12:30PM,  five hours and thirty minutes later, I pulled into the finish line with many  supporters cheering the riders on.   I saw Ilene several minutes after I arrived.  I was elated that I completed the  175-mile ride from Houston to Austin for the 4th time and now I was ready for a  beer or two and some lunch.
 
This year's ride was  magnificent!   It was a real  pleasure to see several people with MS ride the bike tour.  The law enforcement personnel directing  traffic was helpful as they kept safe and us moving.  The support staff and volunteers that  provided water and food at breakpoints and lunch were awesome.  Not to mention Ilene supporting me all  the way to Austin!  I would also  like to thank my donors that have helped me raise over $21,000 for MS and I am  still counting.  I would like to see  this number reach $30,000 towards a cure for MS. 
 
If you still would like your  contribution to help send a check by May 11 it should be made out to the  National MS Society and sent to the address below or drop it by 2604A in  the Enron building.
 
John  Norden
4459  Castle Ct Pl
Houston,  TX  77006
(713)  853-3240
Thanks  again for your support!
John  Norden