Bike MS 2009!!!

Brace yourselves... it's a doozy!

As you're all probably aware, George, myself, Jon, and Maryanne have been anticipating the arrival of the MS Bike Ride. Well, it finally has come and gone, and what a weekend it was!

Friday night was pretty emotional for me. I haven't been away from Madeleine for 2 whole days ever, so it was hard. But, she was in loving hands with Grandma and Grandpa Leppert. She had fallen asleep in the car on the way out to their house around 2100 hrs, so by the time we got there, she was out cold. Or so I thought. I took her in the house and layed her down on her bed, but she immediately woke up and was ready to play! We stayed for about an hour, and then George had to drag me out of there. I was crying a little when we left, but I knew she was in good hands. We then had to go to Wal-Mart in Airway Heights to get a few things for the ride. All in all, we were in bed at 0100 hrs Saturday morning... UGH!

We started out waking up at 0500 on Saturday morning to drive to Mullan, ID for the big ride. George and I were at Jon and Maryanne's around 0600, and we left town around 0700. I had checked out Mullan on Googlemaps a couple days prior to leaving, so I knew we were to just head east on I-90 and we'd be there in about an hour and 45 minutes. Well, here goes the excitement!! Jon was telling me that the fastest way to get there was to just head up to the south hill and head out towards Rockford, WA. We had to make a quick stop at Albertson's because I had forgotten my sunglasses and I was driving straight into sunlight. So, after we finished up at Albertson's, we were well on our way to Mullan.... or so I thought....

Turns out, Maryanne thought we were supposed to start out in Plummer, ID, hence the trip south first. So, once we hit the Cd'A Casino, we had to go into town and then hit the freeway. But, not before getting gas. :) I was in a panic because I knew we would be late for registration, thus getting us off to a late start on the ride. Much to my joy, Maryanne pulled out the registration information and found that I was an hour off, so we had plenty of time to get there! Phew!

Once we arrived in Mullan, we unloaded the car of our bikes and gear, and got all checked in. We felt a little inadequate compared the other nearly 200 riders amongst us because we had homemade t-shirts, whereas everyone else had professional riding shirts. Well, not everyone... I think we saw 2 others with t's on. :) But, wouldn't you know it? We got so many compliments on our shirts! People loved them, and we were comfortably dressed. Can't go wrong there!

After we got all of the logistics taken care of (luggage...check! Bikes and helmets... check! Sunscreen... check! Lip balm... check!) we were off! The first check point was not for 12 miles, which didn't seem like much to me. Well, I'm here to tell you, there's a HUGE difference between car driving and bike riding. :) Duh, Rhiannon. :) So, we took about 45 minutes getting to the first check point, but the ride was so stunningly beautiful! I love being in the mountains and woods, so I was loving it! We were riding next to the creek, through the forest (on a paved trail, I might add), and about 40 feet off of the freeway most of the way. The trail was nice and smooth, and somewhat of a downhill ride, so we were sailing along nicely!



We got to the first check point where there was plenty of healthy snacks and drinks. I opted for some Gatorade and a banana, as I wasn't incredibly hungry. I also had a bite of George's trail mix, which, of course, was tasty! I also emptied out my CamelPak and put fresh water in it along with Gatorade powder. Good to go, back on the trail we went!

The ride on the 2nd leg was a little tougher. We didn't have the mountain trees all around us, and there wasn't much shade to be had. This leg took us along Silverton, right behind the Wal-Mart there. We also went through a mill area, which smelled really good. We were going along the path, but the worst part of that stretch was the stagnant air in Silverton. Oy! No trees nearby to filter out the rest of the smells. But, not to be deterred, we pushed ahead. We finally got more into the wilderness, riding past streams, creeks, and lakes. There were wooded pastures with horses and cows all around. We were riding across bridges and over water and ravines. It was breathtaking! Then the problems began...

Somewhere along the way, I started to cramp in my stomach and had some mild contractions. Now, being that I'm 20 weeks pregnant, I didn't look at that as a great sign, but I knew I could push ahead and keep going. I just kept pedaling and drinking, pedaling and drinking. And also praying that the next rest stop would come soon.... well, as my luck would have it, the rest stop was actually the lunch stop. It was also a whopping 19 miles from the first stop!! I was getting so discouraged along the way, thinking, "We can't be going THIS slow! 12 miles shouldn't feel like this." Well, I was right. We found out at the stop that it was significantly farther than the first. Not to be deterred, though. We were still in good shape. We had a great lunch, and then we were ready to go again. But, Maryanne, being very aware of me and how I react to things (yes, George is aware too, but she was pretty direct), she asked me how I was feeling. I told them that I was having some contractions along the way (Braxton-Hicks, I thought), but that they had stopped since stopping for lunch. George was, of course, alarmed, so he asked me if I wanted to stop. I told him I'd do what I can, and I'd stop if it became an issue. He looked at me with concern, at which point Maryanne said, "Pregnant women know their bodies and what they can handle. You know Rhiannon won't push it too far." I think that eased his mind, because we were then off on our way again. Oh, we had also met a nice lady who had a knee injury and had to stop at the lunch stop. She was done. She was bummed about it, and so were we. But, she's going to keep riding in the future.

On the ride to the next rest stop, which would be 14 miles ahead, I started to have more contractions and cramping. Ugh! Not what I wanted. I tried to keep going, but it was awful. I had a decision to make: either keep going and hope they stop, or stop the ride and see what to do from there. Well, seeing how we had a miscarriage in December, there was no way I was risking a miscarriage this time around. So, much to my dismay, George and I decided to stop at that point. That was 40 miles into the ride on day one. The sag wagon caught up to us and took us to a stopping point, where we were then picked up by Stacy from the MS Society Spokane branch. She took us out to where we could get cell phone reception and I could call my Dr. to see what to do, what to expect. When we finally got reception I left a msg with the nurse to have my Dr. call me back. As it turns out, my Dr. was unavailable over the weekend, so he had his colleague fill in for him. So, while waiting for the call, we decided last-minute to go to Kootenai Medical Center to get checked out. I must also tell you that from the minute we stopped the ride, George told me he was not leaving me, ride or no ride. He was by my side the entire time.

Also along the trip to Cd'A, I was sobbing in the back of Stacy's truck. I was so disappointed that I had to stop! I am not one to quit anything, so being forced to was hard for me to handle. I had my face buried in my shirt, trying to hide my disappointment. And I was sad that the ride had ended for George, even though he told me he was not going to continue on without me. He said he needed to know that I was okay, and that the baby will be okay. So, on to KMC...

When I got there, I had to do the registration stuff. In the middle of that, Dr. Phillips called, the on-call Dr. for Dr. Maughn. He was, first of all, amazed that I rode 40 miles being 20 weeks pregnant. He said that in 30 years of practice as an obgyn, he's never heard of anyone doing that! It was kind of funny, and he managed to make me laugh with his comments. That was a nice break from what was going on. He told me that if I didn't mind, he would tell Dr. Maughn about me when he called that night for an update. He said he needed to brag. LOL

I was hooked up to a contraction monitor, had to give a pee sample, had to go through some tests, and then wait. As my luck would have it, I was severely dehydrated. Hence the contractions. It was actually my muscles all over my body spasming, creating a contraction-like sensation. But here's the clencher... I was drinking water and Gatorade CONSTANTLY!! I was drinking so much, I felt my stomach sloshing! So, needless to say, I was surprised by that answer. Apparently my pee sample was clue #1, since it was really yellow. FYI: clear pee is a great sign! Yellow is bad!! So, on Dr's orders, I was off the bike for the remainder of the ride. Crap! That was soooo what I did NOT want to hear. I, again, started sobbing. I have been looking forward to this ride for so many months that I wasn't prepared to hear that.

I might also add that when we left the route, I sent Jon and Maryanne a text letting them know we were going to the hospital due to the contractions. I also asked Stacy to get the word to them so they wouldn't worry. Thankfully, they found out at the next rest stop.

So, with the news that I couldn't ride any more, George and I were off to the hotel to get checked in. While we waited for a driver to come pick us up, we decided to get some pics of the hospital.







Once we left the hospital with one of the volunteers, we were on our way to the hotel to get checked in. The guy that drove us is the husband of the Development Director of this branch here, and he was really nice. We talked all the way to the hotel about random subjects, and just had a good conversation.

At the hotel, we got our luggage and took it to our room, which was 2313. The room was nice and comfortable, with two queen beds. We planned from day one to share the room with Jon and Maryanne, so it was a good size for all of us. We dropped off our luggage and then went to the conference room where dinner was being served. There were also speakers to talk about their personal struggles with MS. It was amazing to see and hear! During dinner, Jon and Maryanne showed up. As luck would have it, the sag wagon took another route, thereby passing them up, and leaving them behind. The bus left and they were still in Plummer. :( So, we had Stacey arrange a ride to pick them up. So, when they arrived, George flagged them down so they could sit with us. Maryanne started crying as soon as she saw me, so she says. :) She said she was fine until she saw me. I gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was of her for finishing the day out. Then I reassured her that all was well with the baby. :)

After dinner, we all decided to go to the pool and partake of the hot tub. Yeah, I'm pregnant, and no, I didn't get in. Well, not all the way. I just had my toes on a jet, and let me tell you, that felt sooo good! We then got in the pool for a bit, then got out, showered, and had ice cream at the deli. That was the end of one great day... or so I thought. Due to the dehydration, I awoke at 1250 hrs feeling sick to my stomach and wanting to puke. Thankfully, nothing came of it. I did, however, have severe shakiness while laying in bed. Fortunately, I was able to sleep it off. I couldn't go to breakfast with everyone, though, so they just let me sleep a bit more while they ate. I really appreciated that because by the time they got back, I was feeling much better!

George and Jon had to be outside at 0745 to get George's bike and get on the bus to Plummer for the next leg of the ride. We were all downstairs waiting for the bus, which was behind schedule. While we were waiting, and after they got on the bus, we got some more pics.









As they were leaving, I started to cry. George told me, "I'm going to finish today for you." He is such a sweet husband! He knew how important it was for me to finish, and how incredibly hard it was for me to stop. I always wonder how I have been so blessed in my life! I love him so much!

Maryanne and I had to wait to get a ride to Mullan so I could get my car and we could travel to the lunch stop to await the arrival of our darling husbands. We did just that. Got the car and then drove about 20 miles back towards Plummer. We waited at the lunch stop for about 2 hours before they got there. We asked the guys if they were wanting to continue or pack it up for the day. They were both adamant about finishing. So, with that, and some lunch in their bellies, they were off again.

At that point, Maryanne and I decided we'd go into Wallace to poke around there for a bit to kill some time. You'd think I would have learned the first time around that Maryanne is directionally challenged, but noooo... I listened to her. We headed west from there to Wallace. I kept telling Maryanne there was no sign of Wallace on the mileage signs, but she thought we were headed in the right direction. Finally at the Sherman exit in Cd'A, I turned around and headed back east. :) We had quite the laugh about that one!! Here are a couple pics from the drive.

Apparently, I forgot to save the one of my cameo head shot while traveling in the right direction. :) Oops!

Moving on...

We finally made it to Wallace with about 30 minutes to spare before the guys were there on the trail. While in Wallace, I got Madeleine a bag of polished rocks for being a good girl for grandma and grandpa, and I got the guys each a chocolate huckleberry treat (which was later obliterated in the car by George's wayward elbow!). When they came through Wallace under the overpass, Maryanne and I were standing across the creek yelling and cheering for them. They were doing such a great job and we were so proud of them!! Here they are...







It was just beyond the point of these pics that we noticed they had stopped. Suddenly, Jon yelled to us that George was ready to be picked up. But they only had six miles to go... I told them we'd head over with the car and see what he wanted to do. Thankfully, on the way to the car, Maryanne suggested I call George and talk to him, which is precisely what I wanted to do. I called him and he said he was done. I then told him how strong he is, and how he does not ever quit. I told him how much I love him, and that I'd be proud of him regardless of what he decided to do. He then said he'd stick it out and finish it. Of course, at that time I was crying, Maryanne was crying.... and who knows.... maybe George was crying. :) But I knew that if he had quit six miles before the end, he'd never be able to figure it out in his head on why he was so close and he gave up. So, he chose to keep going.

On the way to the car, Maryanne and I took advantage of some photo opps. :)











We headed back to Mullan where we could greet the guys when they arrived, which was about an hour later. The poor things were pooped, but energized, if that makes sense. :) George and Jon gave each other a big hug, even before Maryanne and I could give our own husbands hugs. LOL They're such good friends, and they both said they wouldn't have rather been with anyone else than each other (well, and their wives, of course!) at the finish. Such sweet guys! Here they are!!











And some more of all of us!















All in all, it was a great weekend! We're planning already to do next year's ride, so stay tuned for that!! And yes, we'll be training that much harder so we can all finish together. :)

Last but not least, here's one of my favorite pics of Maryanne and I. I'm not a huge fan of the camera because I'm self-conscious about my chubbiness, but this is a cute picture.



And I love how close Jon, Maryanne, George, and I have gotten over the last couple of years. It's not often you find friends, especially as adults, that are so important to you that you do almost everything together. But we love Jon and Maryanne for their strong spirits and their gospel-centered lifestyle. I'm so appreciative that George has Jon who honors his priesthood as much as George, and that they are willing to do anything for anyone. I can't think of anyone I'd rather do the ride with again next year, though we're always willing to invite others to join us! Together we make a strong team, and next year we'll be that much stronger!