So, is this a problem?

Get On Your Bike And Ride

It is that time again, time to get on our bikes and ride from Houston to Austin with 14,000 of our closest friends, the largest charity cycling event in the nation, in order to raise $17 million to wipe out multiple sclerosis. The chronic, currently incurable, and potentially crippling disease affects millions of people, but it is important to me because it is in our house. Mrs. Greyhound has it.

We have been very lucky, both because her course of the disease in the past 10 years has been remarkably benign, and because we can afford the treatments that can help stave off disability--treatments that did not exist 15 years ago, and would not exist now but for research that is funded in part by the MS150. But even there, our co-pays for these expensive drugs have risen dramatically. If I were not blessed with a good job, we'd be in a bad situation. And many MS patients lose their jobs due to disability. Part of what the MS150 does is provide services and treatments to people like that.

The other part is funding research. Houston, where we live, has premiere research being conducted to develop new drugs. One of the biotechnology companies in the Woodlands is responsible for a drug that has shown remarkable promise in Stage II clinical trials in halting the progress of the disease and restoring lost function. And the Baylor MS Center in Houston's Medical Center is developing an MS vaccine in which material from a patient's immune system is removed from the body, modified, and then reintroduced in order to alter and shut down the immune response that causes the body's immune system to improperly attack the central nervous system as if it were an invader. If and when that is perfected, a cure will have been achieved.

I have not been as aggressive in fund raising for the ride this year, and I'm working on a vehicle to fund raise directly for the Baylor MS Center through Ironman, but I do hope you'll consider donating by clicking HERE or on the widget in my sidebar. This year is my fifth year to do the ride, and as always, we'll be doing up the ride in style.

I will be joined by three triathlete friends, and we will be doing the ride m-dot style. My posse includes Houston blogger and Ironman veteran Coach Liz, Austin blogger, super fast marathoner and Ironman veteran Carrie from Tri-to-be-Funny, and lastly, the non-blogger doctor/triathlete Carrie is currently shacking up and sleeping with . . . her husband Shawn. Rather than stop at La Grange about 100 miles into the ride, we'll be riding on to the Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, which oughta be about 130 or so miles. We'll probably run off the bike, break our arms patting ourselves on the back, and then top off the day with massages by professional triathlete and massage therapist, Terra Castro.

So, yeah. When you're on Team Greyhound, we take care of you. We do it up right. If you see us on the road, ride with us. And whether or not you're riding this weekend, click on the fund raising link and be generous.

100 Days

OK, we have entered the "100 days" period. No, not HIS 100 days. This blog is all about me.

It is 100 days until the 25th running -- or riding -- of the MS150 from Houston to Austin. I am doing it this year just like I always do. So this means several things for you.

First, it means I'm going to start asking for donations. You'll just have to bear with me, because I ride this every year, and I do it because Mrs. Greyhound has Multiple Sclerosis, so this is kind of a big deal for us.

Donate HERE.

Subtle, non?

Second, the freaking event sold out in 7 hours, so many of the people I was trying to get in the event to ride with me as a team were shut out. If, however, you did get registered, and you would like to ride with the Greyhound group, go HERE and click on the appropriate tab and also leave me a comment. I'll be needing to work out lodging and transport logistics for whomever wants in.

Third, and before you join up, you should be advised, that this team is a little bit different from the average team full of Freds on expensive bikes. We will be riding from Houston, past the overnight in La Grange, and on to Bastrop on the first day, 120-ish or so miles. And if lodging cannot be arranged in Bastrop, we may just have to go all 150+ miles to Austin in one day.

And then run off the bike.

Because that's how we roll.

Because that's the Ironman way.

Dot the M, Baby.

MS150: A Few Thousand Words

Riding buddies




Riding buddies






More than buddies





With a little help from my friends






Traffic jam in Bellville





Texas Wildflowers





The road goes ever on and on






Why we ride






A well-earned meal





A well-earned rest

The Triathlete Spirit--This Kid Rocks

I don't currently have time to do a proper report on the MS150, but I saw this little dude (who has already raised $8400 to fight MS) and wanted to share his story with you rather than maintain radio silence. Even at 10, this guy embodies the triathlete spirit that we see in our blogger friends who use their own health to fight diseases like cancer and MS. Donate if you can.

From Chron.com:

Ten year-old cyclist dedicates BP MS 150 to ill mother
Small in stature, big in heart

By DALE ROBERTSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

* * * *

In the truly Texas-sized peloton the BP MS 150 has become, it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Still, one tiny rider wearing an ExxonMobil jersey might be conspicuous. But don't let Cian McConnell's 4-3 3/4 , 60-pound frame fool you. This young fellow has been around the block a few times.

"I'm grown up in age," he said, "just not in size."

Indeed, Cian (pronounced Key-an) recently turned the big one-oh. And, at 10, they let you try the MS 150 as long as a parent rides along.

* * *

Move over, Lance

At 7, when the family was living in Singapore, Cian completed his first triathlon — a half-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 5K run. He also had started religiously watching the Tour de France on TV and decided Lance Armstrong might be a good cyclist to emulate. On a training ride, Cian had gotten way ahead of his parents — Doug was having mechanical problems — only to crash after roaring down a steep ascent.

A park ranger who happened upon Cian noticed his bloodied arm and knee and suggested they go find some medical help. As his dad recounts the story, Cian looked at the man like he was crazy. "He told the ranger," Doug said, " 'I'm not going back to the car. Lance Armstrong wouldn't quit, would he?' "

Good news and then bad

About that time, [his mother] Helen began suffering brutal headaches. At first, the doctors dismissed them as migraines. Then one day, when [his father] Doug was on assignment in Nigeria, he got a call. Helen had become lost and disoriented and couldn't find her way home. The doctors looked deeper and found a tumor. She had brain cancer.

* * *

Chance to help someone

An aggressive, cutting-edge regimen of twice-daily chemotherapy pills plus one arduous visit to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center each week have kept Helen reasonably ambulatory, but when she speaks her words often get jumbled up and, Cian admits, casting his soft blue eyes downward, "Sometimes I can't understand what she's saying. It makes me really sad."

Said Doug: "He's having a tough time with it. But we made the decision to not keep anything from him. His response has been, 'We'll do the best we can to help her out.' Now that he's finally old enough to get on his bike (in the MS 150), he's like, 'Let's get on with it and go help somebody.' "

* * *

"I've wanted to do this ride since I was 7," [Cian] admits. "I'm ready. I'm nervous, but I'm also confident. I just hope my dad will help me and I can at least finish."

Doug laughed.

"I'll be drafting off him," he said. "Cian won't let me get in front."

MS Blows--Really

OK, now a step back from the melodrama. Sorry 'bout that.

We roll out tomorrow for the BP MS150, which is good because if we rolled out today, we'd likely have a 15+ mph headwind in our face. The front that rolled through last night has interrupted the prevailing winds that usually blow us across the Katy Prairie into Belville and beyond.

Rolling out tomorrow, we're likely to have crosswinds of 15+ mph. But weather.com has been known to lie.

Like a rug.

About wind.

Based upon weather.com's past record of performance, I think we can count on being blown off our bikes with a special wind we have down here in Texas. It blows about 15 mph while not gusting to 30 mph. It comes from every direction at once and singles out cyclists. Native Americans named it, "the Wind of Many Names" but after contact with European civilization it very quickly became known by its English iterations, most of which are words of four letters, the best of which rhymes with "Duck."

Of course, I won't be alone. The BP MS 150 is the largest charity bike ride in the country--involving 12,000 cyclists riding from Houston to Austin over 2 days and raising $14 million dollars to fight MS. So, I'll have 12,000 of my closest friends with me, many of them riding for the first year and straggling all over the road in the cross winds.

But truly, I won't be alone. Combining my online total with offline pledges, I have raised ALMOST NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS so far. And of course there's still time to DONATE!! Each of you that have donated are definitely riding along in spirit. I am so touched by the comments and the donations.

But there is a special, celebrity blogger who is here with me in person. The official bestest friend of the Greyhound clan and Superounce's adopted big sister, the International Triathlete of Mystery, Curly Su, is riding with me, and we're doing it the Ironman way. Instead of stopping at La Grange for the traditional overnight, we thought we'd get in a decent training ride. Hardly worth getting on the bike if you're not going at least 120 miles

in the wind.

I wonder if C-Su will let me draft?

So we're riding to Bastrop on the first day and meeting the Greyhound clan at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, 'cause that's how I roll. You get at least four stars if you ride with me. There will be much Lazy River-ing by the Superpounce, and probably some spa treatments for the ladies. On Sunday, we jump on the bikes for a couple hours, ride on to Town Lake in Austin where we will run off the bike with a certain Little Miss who has Runner Pants.

It's going to be a fantastic weekend!!!

No Words From Me

Just watch this. If any words are necessary, read those of this patient's 12 year old son, Jake:

"I'd walk forever for you mom! I love you. Jake."



MS Sucks. Click here.

Pride and Fear: A Personal Note

This is another MS150 post, and of course I urge you to hit the fund raising
link. But this one is a little different. Usually, I keep a pretty firm barrier between my blogger self and the interior life of my true self. Here, the barrier is pulled aside a tad, so feel free to move on if that's not your thing.

I mentioned in passing that Mrs. Greyhound has been having some difficulties with her Multiple Sclerosis that she has not had in years. She has been experiencing hot and prickly sensations on one side of her body and in her feet that she describes as "ant bites." It has been uncomfortable to be touched by the cat, the dogs, clothing--

and by me.

But something is different this time. These past several months, she has been engaged on a program of physical exercise, guided by Maria Gratia. She is now up to five hours of aerobic exercise (vigorous walking) per week, plus a program of strength training. In times past, she might have shut it down upon experiencing these symptoms. Not now.

She is militant. She will not be deterred from getting her walk in. She is even talking about maybe doing a 5k road race this fall, and I have promised to be by her side every step, no matter what pace she runs. I am so proud.

Frankly and honestly? I'm also scared sometimes. This is what Multiple Sclerosis can do to mobility, and note, the woman in this video has improved her mobility due to treatments that are now available:



It isn't even my body that is diseased, and I should have more courage. But, the prospect of this happening to my partner scares me. On the selfish side, that's not what any of us, including me, wants for our lives. When we get married, all young and fresh and healthy, we want to travel and run spontaneously in the surf, and make love and stay out wrapped in beach towels drinking cheap wine until the sun comes up. No one dreams of hauling walkers in a minivan and dealing with debilitating fatigue. No one should have to.

On a nobler note, one hopes not to come up wanting in a test like that; but, many good people do. I don't take for granted that I have the fiber not to fall short.

Anyway. That may be more than you want to think about right now. But it occupies my mind sometimes when I fail to distract it.

THREE MORE DAYS. MS SUCKS. Donate if you can.

Living with MS

The MS150 is upon us. We roll on Saturday. In the run up to the ride I wanted to post some things for you to think about, especially if you are considering whether to support the effort.

I found this video on YouTube. It's not long, but the interesting thing to me is the discussion of this couple about how MS changes an entirely family--your plans, your dreams, your expectations of life and the future. The patient is not the only one "living with MS."




That is what is so frustrating about MS. A chronic and incurable disease, it is like a thief that never really goes away. It takes your future if you let it, and just about the time you think you have adjusted, new symptoms arise and your expectations are frustrated again.

But it doesn't have to be that way. I am half way to my fund raising goal, and the medical researchers are much further than that. The breakthroughs in research and treatment are tantalizingly close. There is even a custom vaccine, engineered from one's own genes and immune system, that is in the works at Baylor Medical Center here where we are "living with MS."

This is important to me--made all the more so because Mrs. Greyhound is having difficulties this very week that she has not had in several years. No fancy words. No artful persuasion by a professional writer. MS Sucks. With all that is in me I urge and encourage you to hit the fund raising link, and link arms with us as we show our defiance to this condition.

Non-Fiction

It started feeling like an electric shock. Every time she lowered her chin she’d fell the *bang* and tingle in her feet and hands like she had been shocked. “Odd,” she thought. “Maybe I strained something in my neck or back having the baby.”

But it got worse.

Soon her feet and hands were tingling with regularity. And the doctors were no help. Her first primary care physician did not want to give her a referral to a specialist, and then when he did, he did not even pick the right specialty. No useful diagnosis was received and the tingling was getting worse. Sometimes her leg dragged when she tried to walk, and often she was so tired she did not want to get out of bed.

But she had to get out of bed. The new baby had to be fed.

Two PCPs later, she found someone who did a proper neurological exam, recognized that she needed to see a neurologist, and was willing to make the referral. The neurologist pretty much knew what he was dealing with, but the testing was inconclusive, so he did not want to say. The diagnosis can be too alarming. Sometimes, things like this go away and never come back. He prescribed IV steroids followed by an oral steroid taper.

So, she took her infusions, tolerating incompetence from the home infusion company that had to be told every time that she had a latex allergy, that never seemed to send anyone who could find her tiny veins, and never seemed to have the premie infant needles that alone seemed to fit her. Then she took the oral steroids and dealt with the mood and personality changes, and the burning of her stomach.

And she took care of the baby.

The symptoms went away. Maybe they would never return.

But they did. One year later. And this time they were worse. Numbness progressed from her feet, up her legs and to her midriff. Her left leg became week and even her arms became numb and unpredictable. One day the bank called because one of her attempts to sign her name was no longer recognizable as her signature. And don’t even think about playing the flute anymore. The fingers will not obey her commands.

And then there is the baby--now a toddler. Her husband left for work every day at 6:15 to make his long commute. She asked to be awakened every day to test her limbs. She was afraid of waking up paralyzed and unable to lift the baby from her crib.

This time the testing left nothing to the imagination. This girl who hated needles gave blood, had a spinal tap, and had an MRI. They confirmed what the neurologist had not wanted to say before.

Multiple Sclerosis--a potentially crippling disease with no cure.

She thought first of the baby. Will she have it too? No. Probably not. Will mom be able to be a mom for as long as she needs? Probably, but the disease is very unpredictable. Is there anything to be done? Only somewhat. There are some drugs that appear to statistically slow the disease that did not exist 10 years ago, but they don’t always work and they can lose their effectiveness.

There are three main drugs--pick one.

So, she did. And the girl who hated needles learned to inject herself every night, and has done so for nearly 10 years now.

And she can still walk.

And although she hasn’t had a full blown exacerbation in a long time, she mostly manages day to day with only fatigue and transient tingling or weakness when the weather gets hot.

And her neurologist just gave her a disability rating of “0”

And she is my wife.

We are the lucky ones. We live in a time where there are some effective treatments available to slow the progression of disability and we can afford them. Even better, there are more effective drugs in development because of money raised for research and patient services.

I tell you this true story because this week is National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, and I am going to raise some of that money.

My only athletic fundraiser is to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research, which is making huge strides against the disease. This year I am riding the MS150 from Houston to Austin for the fourth time. But along with blowing past the overnight stop like I did last year, we're taking the fundraising up a level. I am raising my funds through the Janus Charity Challenge and all the way through Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June.

There are a number of ways that you can join the ride--by literally riding with me, by donating to the cause, and other ways as well. The most obvious way is to hit my fundraising link here or at the top of my sidebar. I want to raise $10,000 this year. If I do this, I will have raised $28,500 for Texans with Multiple Sclerosis, and while I have put in the initial seed money myself, I need the help of the bloggy peeps. However big or small your seed might be, plant it here and help me reach my goal.

Read about Multiple Sclerosis and all the progress being made, and help if you can. I’ll be continuing to share information about this disease and the MS150 through the event, and again through Ironman. Come along for the ride.

Totally Cool

The miracle of the couch cushions. I pestered you yesterday for $42.94 to make my fundraising goal, and the bogosphere came through. The way it came through is totally cool.

Nine people made donations yesterday. Some were from friends who have contacted me or commented before, but some of the friendly lurkers came out of the shadows and made themselves known. In fact, within 3 minutes of posting yesterday, someone I did not recognize made a donation that put us over the top. Two people made donations of $42.94. Another triathlete who drops by the blog made a donation and sent me a personal e-mail telling me about the MS story in her family and how much she enjoys the blog.

The final total this year:






















Wait for it----------























NINE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FORTY TWO DOLLARS AND NINETY FOUR CENTS!!

**Insert wild applause here***


I am very very grateful for the donations, and even more grateful when people reach out and react to whatever I'm doing here. THIS is the highest and best use of technology--using ones and zeros and electrons to form connections between people. Thanks for reading, and most importantly, thanks for connecting.

Help A Brother Out . . .

OK, I promise. This is the last time I'll bring this up . . . until next year when I'm raising money for the MS Society through the Janus Charity Challenge. I am $42.94 short and this is the LAST DAY!!

I set a goal of raising $9000 in this year's MS 150. Including my own biggish donation (just so you know I'm not totally mooching off you) I have raised $8957.06. Sure, I could pony up another $42.94, but where's the fun in that??

No I'm like the paper boy in "Better off Dead." "I WANT MY 2 DOLLARS!!"" Search the couch cushions, folks. It's $42.94 or bust. Hit the MS150 fundraising link in the sidebar and I'll leave you alone until next year.

(Except when you're raising money, and then you know that I'm a giver.)

On The Road

Some pictures and observations for you from the MS150--single day iron-style version. If you're riding iron-style, you need an ironman to go with you. I had one. Triboomer ran the Boston Marathon on no marathon training the Monday before, but nothing would keep him from our appointed ride. That.Is.Iron.





Because we were going to be at it all day long, Mrs. Greyhound took us out to a spot on the course so we could avoid the mass chaos and delay of 12,000 cyclists taking to the road at once. This cut about 15 miles off my customary starting point, but we were still well east of the start in Katy, Texas. So, I don't feel like we cheated. She snapped this "shake and bake" picture before Triboomer and I saddled up and hit the road.




We started in a dense fog, but after the "lunch" stop in Bellville, the sun came out. Here are some riders strung out on the road west of Industry, Texas. Industry is an odd name for the area, because the rolling hills are BEEEE-YOOOOOUUU-TEEEE-FULLL.




The wildflowers were so dense you could smell them while riding on the road. Just check out that carpet of bluebonnets.



And this is beautiful, Texas countryside. God's country.





Yes, you are in Texas now.




If I tried to explain how big this ride was, you wouldn't believe me. So, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a mere fraction of the 12,000 riders at the rest stop west of Fayetteville, Texas.




We met Mrs. Greyhound and our girls north of La Grange where the course turns back west toward Austin. Here's the Boomer with Kat Gurl, a triathlete in her own right.



The girls did girly things. Here is superpounce caught in the act of breaking state law--gathering wildflowers from the right of way. But she wasn't alone.



Here is the contraband--FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS.

We were very ready for a break when we met up with the girls. We thought it would freshen us up to get off the bikes and eat solid food.

WRONG.

When we got going again, we were dead. Dead legs. Dead asses. Dead lungs. Dead brains. Dead spirits. There was little or no talking for the next 20 miles or so to the top of the Smithville Hill. Each of us was just trying to find a rhythm that we could maintain, fixating on the little white line, and trying to put miles beneath the tires.

Just keep spinning. Just keep spinning.

Fortunately, we got a second wind about the time we hit Bastrop and made great time along FM969 into Austin. Boomer, however, saw his life pass before his eyes on FM969.

The road has no shoulder and limited visibility. Boomer was riding behind me. Without a lot of riders on the road, we were kind of sitting ducks. A pickup overloaded with firewood was traveling at a high rate of speed overtook us, went to pass on the left but had to hit the brakes because of an oncoming car. It fishtailed and had to bail off the road into the ditch to avoid taking Triboomer out. Thence, it screamed along in the ditch for several yards before passing me on the right and coming back onto the road.

As we got closer and closer to Austin, with no coned off lanes like one would have on Sunday, safety became more of an issue, if that is possible. Mrs. Greyhound took up driving behind us with her hazard lights on, but eventually that was not working either. So, right when our computers turned over at 150 miles, we were just reaching Austin. We called the ride in the interest of continuing to live.




We rode in the car the remaining 15 miles or so to the capital and staged this finishing shake and bake. Again, given the miles we had ridden and the safety concerns, it did not feel like cheating.


We were a "happy few" who we saw doing the ride in one day, and who gathered at the capital that evening. And gentlemen in La Grange then abed all thought themselves accursed they were not there, and held their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks of the one day, iron-style MS150.




But we were two of many who rode the ride, the whole route, for people who can't. Two of many who will have raised $11 million to fight multiple sclerosis, a disease that is on the run. Be some of the $11 million by hitting the donation link in the sidebar.

MS 150 Awwwwwww

I promise to post my own account of the MS150 as soon as I have time and can download the pictures, but I saw this story on the front page of my paper this morning, and just had to share it. Donations are still being taken so warm that heart and give if you can.

Cyclist pops question after finishing 180-mile rideHe proposes to his girlfriend, who has MS, after cycling from Houston to Austin for BP MS 150

By LOUIS B. PARKSCopyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS

AUSTIN — One minute Kristi Mays of Spring was standing with thousands of others at the BP MS 150 finish line, waiting for her sweetheart to arrive. The next, she was surrounded by cameras, and her sweetheart, Alex Peña, was there, on bended knee.
"Will you marry me?" asked the sign someone held up behind Peña. Having a sign was a good idea. The noise from the crowd and public address system announcing arrivals just about drowned out anything short of screaming.
Whatever, Mays got the idea. There were tears and then a firm "yes."
Affectionate reunions were common at Sunday's conclusion of the 2007 BP MS 150, as waiting family and friends congratulated about 12,000 riders on making the 180-mile ride from Houston to Austin.
But for Mays, who waited with her 16-year-old daughter, Shelby Lamberson, the moment was poignant even beyond the surprise proposal.
"Last July 11th, I found out I have MS," Mays said.
The event raises money to fight multiple sclerosis, a devastating nervous system disorder. Peña, 47, rode this year in Mays' honor.
"I have ridden this ride about eight times — but about 20 years ago," Peña said. "Never for a cause except to raise a little money. I knew a little bit about MS. I never knew anybody with it.
"When I found out she had it, I thought this would be a good way to show her I support her."
The proposal was more confirmation of that support.
"It floored me that he did something like this," she said. "This was way, way not to be expected."
Peña was able to propose marriage sooner than he expected with help from the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society and Robbins Bros. Jewelry.
They tipped off reporters and photographers, who stood close to Mays at the finish line without revealing themselves, and provided the Marquis-cut engagement ring.
Mays and Peña have dated for five years.
She said the diagnosis last July was devastating.
"I thought this is the end of my world," said Mays, a native Houstonian who works for a mirror and marble manufacturing company in Houston. "What am I going to do about my daughter? I raised my daughter by myself. What does that mean for her, and what does that mean for Alex? I didn't want to be a burden to either one of them."
Peña, who works in the tumor registry at St. Joseph Medical Center, wants to make sure she never has to worry about that, and riding to support MS research was meant to represent that.
"It was pretty emotional," he said of the two-day ride, during which participants were frequently reminded why they were riding. "I teared up a few times."
Almost all 12,000 riders who started the MS 150 finished it, in what ride director Doug Suggitt said was the safest ride ever, with no major injuries in an estimated 2 million road miles.
"We attribute a lot of that to the Safety Task Force and education we've done," he said. "We're seeing it pay off now."
The riders started the second day of the ride in La Grange and made the final 80-plus miles to Austin.
The final rider arrived shortly before 5 p.m. at the finish line in front of the Bob Bullock Museum on Congress Avenue.
The oldest rider, 93-year-old Bud Schiffman, came in to loud cheers from the thinning crowd at 4:50. Like the early riders, he was smiling and waving as he passed the finish line.
As for the newly engaged couple, they were off to eat sushi before beginning the long drive back to Spring.

Finished

Ok, this is Greyhound. I'm taking my blog back. A few tidbits for you.


Hail the conquering heroes.

More to follow, hopefully tomorrow.

Stick A Fork In Them (And Me)... They're Done

They're done.

I don't know what time they finished. But, they finished.

Supposedly.

They could be lying for all I know.

Anyhoo, when Greyhound and I last spoke with each other, they had been at the 112-mile mark and were doing just fine. And, I was directed to make sure that the blog-world knew that TriBoomer was inspecting every HoneyBucket from Houston to Austin.

I know... weird. Common sense says that it would be the canine in the group hitting every fire hydrant.

Sorry, Greyhound. That's the best I could do after my run. You're lucky that I was actually able to string some nouns, verbs and punctuation together in a somewhat coherant style. I'll admit it, your blog is getting more from me than Benny is.

Congrats again. You. Rock.

Remind Me To Tell You About The Waif Comment... After My Run

Well, the G-Man called a little while ago and was about 20 miles outside Lagrange... or Grange... LaGrande? I have no idea. What's more? Don't care. As far as I know, there are only three cities in Texas: Houston, Dallas and Austin.

He and TriBoomer continue to tear up the course with the wind at their backs. Unfortunately for them, they have no love handles so they're losing out on a little extra help from the wind. Sometimes 91% fat free has it's drawbacks. That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, they're still feeling good. They're going to meet up with Pauline and grab some lunch and chill for a little while before they continue on. The flowers are in bloom and apparently, the fragrance is unbelievable. I'm trying to imagine it while I pet Bailey. Who currently smells like poop, vinegar and oil. It's possible that the vinegar might be coming from my feet... but, you get the gist.

I'm heading out for a 20-mile run, so I won't be able to update for a few hours. If I had my way, I'd just sit here all day and defile Greyhound's blog (for the children)... but I'm the genius that decided to sign up for the marathon. I have no one to blame but myself.

Go Greyhound and Boomer!!

Update - Mile 53

Greyhound and TriBoomer just left a message... which sounded like this:

"I reckon we're about a third of the way finished. We just passed through Industry and are in the nice hilly country in Texas. The sun has come out and it's a beautiful day. The wind is at our back... as it should be."

Which I will now translate to Nytrospeak:

"We've gone 53 miles and are only a THIRD of the way finished. HOLY SH*T. I can only thank God that hilly country in Texas is different than hilly country in Utah. Cuz, real hills would be the end of me. THE END OF ME. The sun has come out and it's a beautiful day. The wind... well, I'm not allowed to say "like buttah" anymore... seeing as I'm not a gangsta. And "bling, cheese and ice" won't do, either. So, I'll just say that it's as it should be. I'm currently looking for the closest strip club... but in the 'hilly' country in Texas, there's not just as many as you would think there would be. Best Little Whore House In Texas? A myth."

Told you he'd regret this error in judgement.

I'm supposed to run 20 miles today, so I don't know how many more updates I'll be able to get in. I'll do what I can, though.

Go Greyhound and Boomer!

Hijacked! Part I

Hey everyone... It's Nytro. It's Nytro on Greyhound's blog. It's the end of the world. Drink the punch!

This morning Benny woke me up to tell me that I've been asked - nay, DEMANDED - to hijack a certain canine's blog and "give the peeps a progress report".

Since I'm not smart enough to figure out how to track him, I'm going to be making it up. Well, most of it. When he called this morning - the ONE MORNING I didn't have to wake up at 5:15, thanks a lot Greyhound - he was at mile 35 with TriBoomer. They have "successfully relieved themselves. It is cloudy, cool, foggy... and the tailwinds are like buttah."

Someone needs to tell this man he's NOT in his 20's anymore. And when he WAS in his 20's... describing something as "like buttah" probably would have gotten him shot.

Anyhoo.... those of you who have not donated yet (like, um... moi) can still do so. I think. Gee, Nytro... it's only been six months since the bet and you still haven't contributed. Niiiicceeee. Better get on that.

You know what I find interesting? Within three hours of actually meeting Greyhound, we ask him to hold our wedding bands. It takes him six months, but he reciprocates that favor... by giving me his login and password to his blog. I predict that he will come to rue the day he made that particular error in judgement.

And, can I just say that his password? Benny and I had a serious "awwwweeee" moment. So. Cute.

That's all I've got for now. I'm hoping Greyhound will call me throughout the day with various updates. And I'm praying that at least one of those updates comes from a strip club.

Meanwhile, in the house that IronBenny and Nytro built, Benny just showed me some serious sexiness. He's bought himself a biking bib. And I must say, I may never see again. That image has burnt my cornea. Apparently, it doesn't matter how fit and sexy you are in real life... the bib? It's the great equalizer.

Go Greyhound and TriBoomer!

All Systems Go

Triboomer and Cat Girl have landed in Houston and have been whisked away to the Greyhound Dog Pound. Bikes are assembled, cleaned and lubed. Cycling kit has been laid out.

Team Greyhound is in a state of readiness for our one day assault on the Texas capital.

We strike . . . BMNT (before morning nautical twilight)

Rangers lead the way.