2010 MS 100 Bike Ride

Quick note to share the map of the MS 100 Bike Ride I participated in today in Logan (and the surrounding communities.)

The weather could not have been better. I love Cache Valley this time of year. Temperatures in the low 80's, green pastures, beautiful wild flowers, and blue skies! I think some day I would like to live there.

Anyway, Lisa, Kate and I drove up to Logan yesterday, arriving just after noon. We camped at the fairgrounds (this is the first time I've camped there). We set up our trailer beneath a nice shade tree and headed to the Aggie Creamery for lunch.

A few large sandwiches and the best ice cream ever later, we went back to the fairgrounds to lounge for a few hours. We set up the Team UCCU tent in the "village", tried to sell a few MS wristbands and then checked in for the ride at 5 pm.

Our team had its traditional team dinner at Callaway's Bistro in Smithfield. I highly recommend this fine establishment.

A quick stop at Walmart to pick up breakfast cereal, milk, Ibuprofen and earplugs and back to the trailer. Lights out at 10:30.

The alarm went off at 5:45 but I was awake at 5:30 (as was most of the park.) A chilly 48 degrees at 6 am would warm to the mid 80's before the ride was over.

After a team photo we weaseled our way as close to the front of the second wave of riders as we could get and took off in a large pack. I hate riding with a lot of riders around me so I made my way to the outside and sprinted for the front.

Behind me were two other Team UCCU members, Jayson Vincent and his wife, Brooke. The three of us would ride the entire 100 miles together, or at least 95 miles until Brooke left Jayson and I behind. I did catch her at a red light as was able to finish ahead of her, only because she went by the turn into the park at the finish :-)

I finished with a ride time of about 5 hours, 5 minutes (I don't know the exact time because I walked around with my bike at the first rest stop which kept my cyclometer going.)

Of the three times I've ridden the MS 100, this was the fastest but my conditioning was probably the worst. Maybe next year I'll be more serious about training.

Now, I am very tired and I think I will go to bed.

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

I was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" when I realized that I had no idea what "here I raise my Ebenezer" meant. A quick search on lds.org took me to 1 Samuel 7:12 which says, "Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." Ebenezer, being translated from Hebrew, means "stone of help." This commemoration was placed to remind the Israelites of their victory over the Philistines at Mizpeh and the help they received from the Lord.

Perhaps we should raise our own Ebenezer -- something that reminds us of the blessings and help the Lord has given us. It's not enough to just petition God for help in our prayers. We should be mindful of how those prayers are answered and give thanks. President Eyring taught us to "remember". By taking notice of our blessings and the miracles in our life, and recording those blessing and miracles, we remember for ourselves and our posterity and raise an Ebenezer.

Just a lesson learned I thought I would share.