Cache Valley, Utah and Idaho - BikeMS 2012

This was my 7th year participating in the Bike MS Utah event to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  This event is always one of the highlights of my summer because of the scenic 175 mile ride through Cache Valley, the amazing volunteers and support, and the opportunity to help a great cause.  The event raised over 1.5 million dollars for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and thanks to my awesome family and friends, I was able to exceed my fundraising goals and reach the $450 mark.

Enjoying the ride through Cache Valley at the MS Bike Ride

This year I was joined by Robert, Ryan, Keith, Melissa, and Shawn and we all had a great weekend riding and relaxing in Logan, Utah.  The hot and windy weather made for a challenging ride, but the volunteers and riders made this event motivating and fun.  Thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped me fund raise to ride this year!

Shawn at the start line, very excited for his first MS Bike ride

Biking up Blacksmith Fork Canyon near Logan, UT

MS is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system. The symptoms of MS are different and devastating for everyone. There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis. With diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Multiple sclerosis has been around for centuries, taking away people's ability to feel, see and even move. In the past fifteen years alone, six new disease-modifying drugs have been made available and dozens more are in the pipeline. Where there was once no hope, there is now huge momentum towards successful treatments and a cure.

The end of a great ride with Keith (Photo by Shawn Holloway)

Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Mountains, Utah - Running

I'm certain there was a point during last year's Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay that I thought "This is fun, but never again!" It was probably around 4am .. about 14 hours into the race .. when I was trying to sleep in a freezing cold van with nothing but a hoodie for a blanket.

It only took a year to forget the pain and begin to long for the insanity and fun of the 188 mile relay race from Logan to Park City. This time I was more prepared - armed with a sleeping bag and a tent - but Robert pretty much summed things up best at that low point in the race when you are exhausted, cold, and over it: "Don't even fucking wake me."


188 mile beer run?

The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay is an overnight adventure race starting in Logan, UT and winding it's way over 5 mountain passes to finish in Park City, UT. Teams of 12 people take turns covering the 188 mountainous miles - day and night - until the last team member crosses the finish line about one day later. Someone from the team is always running while the rest of the team entertains itself in a van, fighting off sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and insanity. It is ridiculously fun.


Our van - all smiles at the start of the race

Morgan runs through the beautiful Wasatch Back

Always fun to harass the person running their leg

Lori is hardcore

Rob and I had to keep the ladies in check

We had a great team that rarely stopped smiling the entire time. Watching the sun rise on a beautiful summer morning over the farmland of Summit County and the peaks of the Wasatch Range ... 24 hours into the race ... is an absolutely surreal experience. Our team finished in about 28 hours .. not half-bad and not even important at all.


Tracey handing off to Morgan

Sweet parking lot camping for a couple of hours

Angie loves the madness

Guardsman Pass - almost to Park City!

Handing off to Robert on the climb to Guardsman Pass

Our team plus our awesome drivers at the finish line

Cache Valley, Utah - MS Bike Ride 2009 - Biking

To all of my sponsors:

I just wanted to thank you all one more time for supporting my MS Bike Ride this year. Even though the economy made it a difficult year for fund raising, I had enough generous people to support my ride and help me reach my goal. I was able to raise just over $1,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Thanks so much to the first time sponsors, people that have donated every year, old friends I haven't seen since high school, and even people that were riding in the event themselves! I really appreciate your willingness to help me support a great cause.

The ride was June 27-28 and I had an awesome time. We've had a lot of rainy weekends lately, but the MS Ride weather was absolutely perfect (aside from some killer headwinds up Blacksmith Fork Canyon!) I completed the full 175 mile course through Cache Valley in Northern Utah. The route took us through northern Utah into southern Idaho through small farming towns on peaceful back country roads, then south of Logan up Blacksmith Fork Canyon and around the south end of the valley. Along the way I had 3,000 other riders and a ton of awesome volunteers to keep me company, along with Rob and Brandon who did the ride with me this year.

3,000 riders participated in the event and we raised over 1.5 million dollars to fight multiple sclerosis. The MS Bike ride is the largest biking event in Utah and is also the state's largest fund raiser. A lot of people volunteer their time and resources to make this event happen and they do an amazing job each year.

Thanks again!

Riding in Cache Valley

Riding in Cache Valley

The start line at Logan fairgrounds

Lunch break

Rob, me, Brandon - the finish line

Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Mountains, Utah - Running

This past weekend I had the opportunity to run the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay - a 188 mile relay race from Logan, Utah to Park City, Utah. I've wanted to do this for years, but even more daunting than the race itself is the challenge of finding 11 other people willing to be stuck in a van for over 24 hours and run at all hours of the day and night. Some of Rob's coworkers at Primary Children's Hospital formed a team and asked me to be an alternate runner in case someone dropped out before the race. Fortunately for me, someone did, and I became an official member of the PICU De-stressors.

Each runner on the 12 person team runs three legs of the 188 mile course. After a runner is done with their first leg, the other 11 runners complete their legs and then the process starts all over again. After the first runner starts in Logan, someone from the team is always running (day and night) until the last runner reaches the finish line in Park City about one day later.

The legs vary in distance from 3 miles to 9 miles. Some legs are flat, some are downhill, and some are brutal ascents. The scenery is spectacular. People decorate their vans, wear crazy costumes, and cheer on other runners and their own teammates along the way. It's really a 188 mile party through some of the most spectacular landscapes in the Wasatch Range.

The start line in Logan, UT

The 12.30pm group (us) starts

Kaitlyn and Karla decorate the van

Kaitlyn starts us off in Logan, UT

Laurie finishing her first leg

Robert supporting Karla

Robert needs some water!

Tara running up Avon Pass

Waiting for Tara at the Avon Pass exchange

Finishing up my first leg

Tara, Laurie, and Karla at Avon Pass

nice run Tara *squirt*

Kaitlyn demonstrates the safety devices required for night runs

Kim finishes her leg at Snowbasin

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night

Brian and Tara

Van One: Me, Tara, Rob, Karla, Kaitlyn, Laurie

Finishing up my last leg in Heber

Cheering Robert and Karla

I thought the Wasatch Back would be an easy event compared to a marathon, but I was wrong. The steep hills made the legs challenging, and it's difficult to run again after sitting around for several hours getting stiff and sore. My 8 mile run up East Canyon at 2am was my favorite part - cool temperatures and the unique feeling of being alone, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to see except the spot of light on the ground ahead of me from my headlamp. It was the run I had been dreading the most, but it ended up being the most memorable. It was great to share this experience with such a fun group of people - despite physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation, no one ever stopped smiling.

Our team at the finish line

Cache Valley, Utah - MS Bike Ride 2008 - Biking

This past weekend was the MS Bike Ride in Cache Valley. Thanks to my family and friends I exceeded my fund raising goal and raised a total of $1,170! I'm lucky to know such awesome people!

The weather was perfect and by starting at 7.00am we were able to complete a lot of miles before it got too hot. Rob and I both completed the full 175 mile course through Cache Valley in Northern Utah. The ride took us along back country roads through small farming communities north into Idaho and then south of Logan up Blacksmith Fork Canyon and around the southern portion of Cache Valley. The scenery was amazing and the miles flew by .. except at the end .. those seemed like some long miles!

3,000 riders participated in the event and we raised over 1.7 million dollars to fight multiple sclerosis. The MS Bike ride is the largest biking event in Utah and is also the state's largest fund raiser. The volunteers and support are absolutely incredible!! They make sure all riders are well fed and watered all weekend. You couldn't find a nicer and more supportive group of people anywhere.


the starting line

me at Logan Fairgrounds with my new toy :)

rest stop with a sea of bikes

so far so good

Rob in Blacksmith Fork Canyon

end of the ride

MS Bike Ride 2005 - Cache Valley, Utah - Biking

This weekend was the MS150 bike tour up in Logan, UT. It's a big bike ride/fundraising event for the Utah chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. This year there were over 2300 bikers and they raised 1 million dollars - definitely a great event to be a part of. I rode with Team Albertsons again this year because I have a few friends that ride with them.

Saturday was my second official 100-mile century ride. I finished in 6 hours which was pretty good considering whoever made the course saved all the hills for the end .. and decided to make it about 106 miles. The wind was pretty strong all day and that slowed me up, but the last 5 miles I had to bike in a thunderstorm microburst that was knocking riders off their bikes and blowing tree branches into the road. It was wild. Those last 5 miles took forever! I rode the remaining 45 miles today with much nicer weather.

Special thanks to my dearest friend Felipe for transporting me and my bike to Logan ... and for making Logan as fabulous as possible while I wasn't biking.