Bike MS is officially virtual
I’m rather bummed to say I got the call today with the news that Bike MS is a virtual event this year.
It’s going to be really hard to do a virtual ride. I’m going to have to figure something out.
I’m not going to be able to do a special trip because it’s so close to other things. Fundraising is going to be even tougher than it already is. I am sad I won’t have support and aid stations if I do end up doing a long ride.
Maybe this will be the year I do the century on Zwift (ugh, that sounds miserable, too)!
Honestly, I just don’t know what I’m going to do now. I’m not so bummed that the event is canceled. I’m more bummed I couldn’t make the impact and do the things that I wanted to do around this event.
I know I’m not the only one affected by the current way of things. Pretty much all of us are feeling the effects of this in one way or another. I think in a lot of ways we are all dealing with it differently, too. For me, that meant putting a lot of stock into the things I was still planning on participating in. That number is now down to two!
I’m still trying to make something happen. We organized a little grassroots Tour de Prairie for this Saturday. A few of us are going to attempt the century route on our own, and I am excited because I didn’t get to do the whole thing last year. It was freezing cold, snowing/raining at the summit, and I was shivering enough that I just didn’t have the desire to continue. We stopped at mile 32 and turned around for the Gran Fondo.
This year, I was supposed to be participating in the Super Day celebration, so I wasn’t going to be able to do the Tour de Prairie anyway. I guess it worked out in a weird way now, so I will do the route as a training ride instead.
I wasn’t planning on doing the full Ride for Sight century, but I may now. It was back-to-back weekends with Bike MS and the Ride for Sight. If the Ride for Sight still happens, maybe I’ll use that for my Bike MS virtual ride. I guess I have a little bit longer to see how everything plans out.
One thing I know I’m doing is the 719 Ride. It’s in Colorado Springs on July 19. 71.9 miles of riding with 9,000 feet of climbing. Oof.
It’s definitely going to be a good training ride for another adventure, but it’s going to be tough! I’m looking forward to it though because it’s one of the few things I have to look forward to. But I’m still so grateful to be able to participate in it. It’s going to be a blast!
Life has its fair share of disappointments. We all experience it.
For now, I’m just trying to stay focused on the good things: the long, fun rides full of gorgeous views and laughs and new experiences, the friends I’ve had the honor of seeing from time to time even during this extended period of social distancing, the people I’ve crossed paths with that have been so inspiring to me and my journey, the incredible amount of compassion and understanding I’ve been welcomed with lately, and for all those of you out there following along who have offered so many kind words and encouraging thoughts to keep me focused on the bigger goal when the little things start to weigh me down.
So, team, let’s take some time to be bummed about Bike MS, but then let’s start getting it together again for the next big thing. It’s gonna happen eventually, and I can’t wait. I’m still so happy that I am able to help support those who are living with MS and those who may struggle with MS in the future. We are still making a difference, even if it wasn’t as big as we had hoped it would be. It’ll just give us more momentum for next time.
We can, and we will, ride on.