Cap City Cyclists

Our brand spankin' new cycling team is off and running, err, spinning. I don't quite remember how or why we thought we should form a team to bike the Valero MS 150 but we did and there's no stopping us now!

Team rides have already started, individual training is going strong and the "please, please, please sponsor us" letters are starting to show up in the mailbox of every business associate any of us have had the pleasure of working with/drinking with/running with and/or biking with...hell, we can add sleeping with/eating with/taking incriminating photos with to the list as well. Pretty much anyone we can claim even a remote relationship or alliance to can and will be hit up to fund the budget. And then we'll ask companies we don't know for money, too. There's got to be someone out there that wants to see a start up team of misfit riders do something big like this, right? And it is for a good cause, with the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society reaping the rewards.

I'm worried, as usual. I want our riders to have a terrific experience and have as many creature comforts as possible. I'll rest easier knowing we have money in the bank account to pay for our team tent, cots, tables, chairs, food, beverages, jerseys & tee shirts, etc etc etc.

I don't own a road bike, so I'm in charge of the details. I'm recruiting SAG Hags and planning, planning, planning. The overnight camp is Beeville, which does not appear to have an abundance of restaurants that cater. I'm hoping to get the go ahead from the Valero folks to bring a grill. I can grill beef, turkey and veggie burgers or possibly fajitas for the riders as they arrive, hungry, hot and tired. In the morning I can use it to make breakfast tacos. I don't want our team to wait until the food provided by the event is served. I'm hoping for the best with our budget, which seems impossibly large. And we simply have to order jerseys by August or run a risk of not being ready in time. I found one online source, Jeksports, that offers lower cost semi-custom jerseys for teams of 4 or more entered into any MS 150.

Meanwhile, the team is becoming a cohesive unit, despite having beginner riders alongside experienced ones. We're forging ahead, believing we can do this and do it well. We're just not going to believe we can't, and that means we'll make it on sheer stubborness and will power alone, if nothing else.

"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

~Dale Carnegie~