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Enron Mail |
Dear Friends and Family: =20 It was Saturday morning at 5:30AM when I arrived at Tully Stadium, the sta= rt for the MS 150. The weather was the warmest of any of the 3 previous = MS 150's I road. By 6:30AM, 9,000+ riders were lined up looking forward t= o our 100-mile journey for the day. This year there was a lot of press co= verage as the ride was dedicated to Maxine Mesinger. Maxine, a long time s= ufferer of MS, and society columnist for the Houston Chronicle, died this = past year of complications from MS. British Petroleum had 580 riders edg= ing out Enron as the first corporate team to go out. Enron had the second= start with 450 riders and I was among one of the first people out along w= ith the other Enron top fundraisers including Jeff Skilling, CEO of Enron = and two riders with MS. Enron was the top fundraising team from the 2000= MS 150. =20 =20 The cannon went off and I kicked into high gear. I flew with the fastest = riders and after about ? a mile I could not keep up with them. I was able= to maintain a speed of 22 miles an hour, crossing the Katy prairie while = the race teams that started behind us were passing me. My first stop was= break point three, 39 miles into the ride, and 1 hour and 45 minutes late= r. The weather was already feeling hot and humid. I replenished my wate= r supply and continued the next 15 miles to lunch. It was hilly but we sti= ll had a tail wind. I arrived at lunch at 10AM in Bellville, TX, 55 mile= s from the start. I found the Enron lunch spot with our catered lunch. = =20 =20 After a quick lunch I headed up to Industry, TX, population 475, which doe= s not appreciate 9,000+ riders going though their small town. You need to= make sure you stop at the one stop sign in town or you will get a ticket.= Luckily there was a police officer directing traffic, as there was at al= most all intersections along the route of country roads. I made my third = stop of the day in Industry at breakpoint five, where I had to stretch. = The hills were getting harder and the tail wind was now a crosswind. Com= ing up on breakpoint seven 90 miles on route, a truck and crosswind almost= blew the bikes off the road. The sign said it was now 7.6 miles to the f= inish of the day. The next 7.6 miles were fine, but it was an additional = 3 miles to the finish with hills and a strong head wind =20 Last year I upgraded to a new bike with a triple. I was able to keep a sl= ow but steady pace up the hills by getting into the granny gear. I arrive= d in La Grange, TX at 2:20PM, 7 hours and 20 minutes later to many cheerin= g supporters. I was done for Day 1! =20 I headed over to the Enron tent, the largest tent in La Grange. After che= cking in, I gulped two large bottles of ice water, and signed-in for a mas= sage. Enron had 30 massage therapists working to sooth the tired and wear= y riders. After my massage I felt totally relaxed. Ilene found me in the= Enron tent having a beer. It took Ilene about an hour to find me since = our cell phones did not work well in La Grange due to limited cell capacit= y. Every year Enron has a large barbeque in the Enron tent and this year = the food was even better. While in the tent I was talking to some other E= nron riders and I learned that some came in as early as 10:45AM! =20 The next morning at 4:45AM, it was time to get up. Ilene and I arrived at= the fairgrounds at 5:30AM. I headed over to hydration station to refill= my water bottles and stretched before the 7:00AM start. I was one of the= first 50 people in line. At exactly 7AM, we were let out; normally we a= re delayed for fog. It was warmer than the day before and we had more hil= ls ahead of us. =20 The first 20 miles were relatively uneventful except I was able to carry o= n 20-minute conversation with Jeff Skilling, CEO of Enron. Then came the= downhill where you can reach speeds over 40 mph without trying, the park = is now only 3 miles away. The park has a very hilly, curvy, and dangerous= route lasting 10 miles. I stopped right inside the park to refill water= and get some snacks. I was really glad that I had the new bike with the = triple, as I was able to get up hills with little effort while others were= struggling or walking their bikes. That was until killer hill, which I = did not remember being too difficult. After the downhill there was the up= hill. I tried to shift into that wonderful granny gear but it was too lat= e. I noticed the pedaling was extremely easy and I was slowing almost to = a stop. I looked down at my chain and it jumped off the gear. I yelled = "oh no!" I was able to get my foot out and prevent myself from falling. = The hill I fell on years past was easy. I headed out of the park to lunc= h at the 50-mile point, it was 10AM. When I pulled into lunch I saw Ilen= e who was working the lunch, she was very happy to see me and I was happy = to see her. I took a short break and headed out to Austin. =20 After lunch, the cloud cover was gone and it was hot. I stopped twice in= the remaining 35 miles for water. The last 15 miles were into the wind o= r with a very strong cross wind. At approximately 12:30PM, five hours an= d thirty minutes later, I pulled into the finish line with many supporters= cheering the riders on. I saw Ilene several minutes after I arrived. I = was elated that I completed the 175-mile ride from Houston to Austin for t= he 4th time and now I was ready for a beer or two and some lunch. =20 This year's ride was magnificent! It was a real pleasure to see several= people with MS ride the bike tour. The law enforcement personnel directin= g traffic was helpful as they kept safe and us moving. The support staff = and volunteers that provided water and food at breakpoints and lunch were = awesome. Not to mention Ilene supporting me all the way to Austin! I wou= ld also like to thank my donors that have helped me raise over $21,000 for= MS and I am still counting. I would like to see this number reach $30,0= 00 towards a cure for MS.=20 =20 If you still would like your contribution to help send a check by May 11 i= t should be made out to the National MS Society and sent to the address be= low or drop it by 2604A in the Enron building. =20 John Norden 4459 Castle Ct Pl Houston, TX 77006 (713) 853-3240 Thanks again for your support! John Norden
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