The 2012 Colorado MS 150 (Big Thanks to Mountain Khakis)

Last Friday, I sent my family off without me. As they left, I charged them with three tasks.

Number One: Enjoy the Ride

Since they were on their way to this year’s Colorado MS 150 (a two-day fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society), I instructed them to have fun and enjoy the ride. This instruction, I know, was superfluous. Of course they would have fun. They were leaving me at home. And let me tell you, there is nothing these three guys look forward to more than a weekend of male-bonding with my brother, who was riding with them.

The irony of this situation, is that I am the family’s original cyclist. I got serious about road biking as a young teenager and although some years have seen more cycling than others, I’ve logged more miles over more years than the rest of them combined.

Still, they leave me home.

Number Two: Be Safe

A perennial favorite of moms everywhere is the admonition to “BE SAFE.” It drives my husband crazy. Whereas I think that I’m invoking the protection of God, the universe and all things powerful, when I say “BE SAFE,” he thinks I’m doubtful of his ability to protect our children and himself. In his defense, he’s partly right (gotcha!). But he’s also a professional risk manager. Who am I kidding? The kids are probably safer with him, than with me.

Of course, this year, there were some concerns about safety. The route for the MS 150 goes from Thornton, Colorado (north of Denver) to Fort Collins, Colorado, home of the first, and longest-burning, forest fire of this dry, drought-stricken summer. I’ve been told that high winds have made the air nearly unbreathable some days, with swirling smoke and ash. The MS 150 actually had to be rerouted to avoid the devastation.

I just wanted to remind my guys to a) not to bike in the flames and b) not to breathe any air that’s not clean. The first is doable. The second? Well, they were lucky and the wind blew the smoke away from their route.

Number Three: Present the Mountain Khakis Gift Card

This was actually the only charge that they really needed. I’m an Ambassador for Mountain Khakis and Mountain Khakis donated a $100 gift card to our MS 150 team, Team Mortenson. The card was awarded to the first-time rider who raised the most cash for the fight against MS. Since I was staying home, my husband filled in as “cub reporter,” got the story and presented the award.

Jim Hale: Rookie of the Year

The Team Mortenson “Rookie of the Year” is Jim Hale of Morrison, Colorado. Jim rode the MS 150 this year in honor of his daughter-in-law, who has MS.

As Jim put it, “A member of the family has MS, and I’ve gotten more educated about it and I learned what was going on and some of the things you can do to help out.  So this is one of the things we’re doing to help out.” One of Jim’s sons works for Mortenson Construction and has ridden in the past. This year, he brought along his dad and brothers to make it all about family.

Jim raised $3000 of the $30,450 raised by the 31 members of Team Mortenson. When asked what was next for him, Jim mentioned signing up for a massage and looking forward to spending his Mountain Khakis cash!

Thank you Mountain Khakis for your support. And thank you, Journalist James, for the story.

Cheers!

For more on the Colorado/Wyoming MS Society MS 150 rides, please see my post from last year, Bicycling For a Cause: The 2011 MS 150.

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