Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Bike the Vineyard - Year 5

This weekend is the MS Bike on the Vineyard. . the 5th annual for me, 3rd for Colleen and Jen, 2nd for Lori and 1st for Beth. I'm so glad my friends could join me this weekend - the charity and bike mean a lot to me, and I'm grateful that they want to show their support. UNFORTUNATELY, Heather (and Erik) are unable to attend. Heather initiated the support of the MS society when we learned that one of her friends had MS. Then we found out our aunt has MS. Then it seemed, everytime we brought it up - someone knew someone that had it. This disease affects so many lives.
Together, we rode our first MS bike in Hartford/Granby, CT and then found the Vineyard ride. The first year on the Vineyard was a collection of people - our friend Sarah, our parents and our friend Jess. The next year it grew to include more of Jess's friends, then some of mine. When H moved to CA, I decided to still do the bike, though a lot of our former teammates couldn't do it with me. Last year was so tough - not just because it was 45 degrees, windy and raining, but bc I really missed riding with Heather. I missed singing 'Lonely Goatherd', 'Sixteen going on Seventeen' and any other random showtunes we could come up with. Riding along the Oak Bluff beach road, I was tired, cold and sad, but remembered Heather's motivational tactics - she'd say things like 'People with MS can't even ride a bike, you can make it up this hill.'
This year will be different. I know some people will take off and ride at their own pace, which is fine, I don't want people to be bored. Some of us will stick together, which is what I feel the ride is about. I thought it over, and realized that the experiences I had before cannot be recreated, especially with a different team. All I can do is embrace the fun weekend ahead and know that it will be a good time for a good cause.



3 comments:

Heather M said...

Aw you will just have to find new things to love about it or find a different event to make all your own.

Unknown said...

way to let the riding together thing go hahahahahaha

KMV said...

quiet you. It clearly says I will be embracing a new trip.