Why am I doing this?

I have been a runner for some time now but never ventured towards bicycling even though working in Houston and that too for BP; for the last 9 years, I have witnessed the annual pedaling frenzy that surrounds the BPMS 150 event. Two things happened in 2012.Firstly, after long deliberation we finally decided to move to Houston and bid goodbye to Marriott rewards and free air miles which in the new equation now looks like a pittance and I really want to kick myself for not taking this decision earlier. Secondly, on a whim I made a New Year resolution to teach my son how to ride without training wheels. By April of that year, the kid already had his first Triathlon under his belt. And slowly we started to venture into riding longer, riding trails and it started to be fun.

I was still not ready to commit riding the BP MS 150. After all, it sounded insane to ride 150 miles over two days. And if someone tells you that you actually ride from Houston to Austin, it sounds even more ridiculous. We usually drive to another city, not ride a bicycle. Then I started to read about the ride, the cause it supports and the Bike MS movement. I have always believed that sports should contribute to the greater good of society. And every little bit we can do in our capability, we should. I have always admired the work being done by the likes of Susan G. Komen, JDRF and Livestrong. They have crowd sourced charity from passions people follow and channeled them into causes that make this world a better place to live.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord). It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder. MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more. MS is not considered a fatal disease as the vast majority of people with it live a normal life-span. But they may struggle to live as productively as they desire, often facing increasing limitations. Approximately 400,000 Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. World-wide, MS affects about 2.5 million people. And there is no cure yet.

And that is what finally helped me commit. It would be challenging, I had never been on my bicycle for more than 5 miles. I actually never owned a road bike. I could run a Half Marathon in around 2 hours. But BP MS 150 is two days of being on the saddle for at least 6 hours every day – well, at my speed it is definitely 6 hours. I will have to learn the sport from scratch. But then people who live with MS are facing challenges much larger than this. So I took the plunge. I registered for the race and will be riding with the Direct Energy Team. I am fundraising for the National MS Society and I would request you to kindly donate to this great cause at my Fundraising Page. Every small donation counts and I thank you for helping me with this great cause.

I have decided to tell the story of my journey through this blog, things that I will learn which might help others wanting to take on the challenge. Keep visiting this blog for updates, pictures of my training and stories and memories, as I collect them.