Joseph Flinishes 2010 Colorado MS150

By: Joseph Flanigan

Wednesday morning I finished the Colorado MS 150 course. Last Saturday was a great day finishing the first day’s ride of 71 miles in less than 7 hours. On Sunday, I was disappointed when I had to stop the day’s  ride at 27 miles after the hardest climbs of the course because of MS fatigue.  I was completely surprised by the failure of not finishing the ride. While I was waiting for Debra to come and pick me up, I kept looking down the road, watching hundreds of riders pass me, I make a promise to myself that I would finish. That promise was kept.

Sunday’s stop point is 10 miles from our house. Rather than starting from the stop point, I began from the house.  Since there were no supported break points on my ride roday I deviated slightly from the official course so as to have access to water and rest rooms along the way. After stopping for a break in South Longmont, I picked up the official route over the Broomfield hills and finished at Front Range Community College. I cheered for myself, found a student who could use my camera and take a few pictures. He was a very nice guy and a motorcyclist. When he lived in Chicago, he used to participate in motorcycle runs to raise money for MS.

After taking the photos, I headed back north to Loveland following the same route we did on Saturday. Debra and Joanna picked me up south of Longmont. As they pulled up along side of me, I could hear Joanna screaming, "Mama, there's Daddy!!!" The temperature was starting to climb over 90. From last year’s experience, I know that when the temperature gets above 85, MS fatigue starts to creep in. My cadence drops involuntarily. Today’s ride was 73 miles.

While I did not finish the actual MS150, I did finish the course. In the car home Debra asked me how I felt. I said finishing the ride was not the same as finishing the actual event. Debra said, “Joseph don’t you get it? Just because you failed, you didn’t quit. I am more proud of you today than if you had finished on Sunday.”  I love my wife.

The MS Society is accepting donations for the ride. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Joseph.Flanigan.CO

From my heart,
Joseph