Erin is Riding the Great Divide

The daughter of a good friend of mine is riding the great divide:

On May 7th Erin departed on a 5 month 3100 mile ride on the Continental Divide Trail

.

She's quite a trooper! The ride is self-sponsored so far. If you can sponsor her ride, see the link http://www.ridethegreatdivide.com/index.html

Later,
Dustin

I'm a Mazda Miata!

You like to soak up the sun, but your tastes are down to earth. Everyone thinks you're cute. Life is a winding road, and you like to take the curves in stride. Let other people compete in the rat race - you're just here to enjoy the ride.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

I think I'd rather be a Mustang, BMW, or Saab convertable, but this indicates otherwise.

driven,
Dustin

Bicycle chosen as best invention!

"The humble bicycle has won a UK national survey of people's favourite inventions".

"Listeners to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme were invited to vote in an online poll looking at the most significant innovations since 1800.

It was an easy victory for the bicycle which won more than half of the vote.

The transistor came second with 8% of the vote, and the electro-magnetic induction ring - the means to harness electricity - came third."

Those folks in the UK must ride a lot of bikes!

Cheerio,
Dustin

Nanocars Starting to Roll!

After eight years in the lab, the Tour Group has made rolling nanocars. See this C&EN article:

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i43/8343nanocar.html

See ya,
Dustin

The Book Quiz

You're I, Robot!

by Isaac Asimov

While you have established a code of conduct for many generations to
follow, your demeanor is rather cold and calculating. Brought up to serve humans, you
have promised never to harm them, to follow orders, and to protect yourself. Living up
to this code has proved challenging and sometimes even drives you mad. If you were a
type of paper, you would be pulp.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

The 2005 MS-150: Not Gonna' Do It!

I decided some time ago not to do the MS 150 in 2005. Too many things on my plate, and didn't have the energy to do the training rides and all. Gonna try to do one or two training rides though.

Finally got my "Live Strong" bracelets. I had been looking around at local bike shops for one, and had heard all sorts of stories about orders from the web site being slow, but once I finally placed an order, it only took about two weeks to get them. Seeing Lance and Sheryl on Oprah (my wife taped it for me) finally pushed me over the edge to order.

I am planning to do the MS 150 next year; this year I will try to volunteer at one of the rest stops, or the starting gate.

See ya on the road,
Dustin

Finished the MS 150, Rode 173 Miles, Raised ~$400!!!

In April the big weekend came; I finished the two day MS 150, riding a total of 173 miles, and raised about $400. It's taken so long to post to my blog about it because, well, it seemed anticlimatic, and I've been a little busy. The bloom is off the blog, so to speak.

The photos from the ride are posted here: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~dustin/biking/MS-150/MS-150.html

The first day of the ride was very tiring, and I would have been tempted to go home if I had had the chance. When I got into La Grange about 5:30 p.m. I was beat, tired, sleepy, tired, and a little down. The perks offered by the Continental Airlines Racing team were great, and that helped a lot. My pedal partner Lori was in La Grange at the beer tent, so I went over and gave her a hug. Also, Carlos, a friend from Rice, was volunteering in the Continental Airlines tent, pouring up beer, so I saw some friendly faces.

I piled into my sleeping bag early, put on a sleeping mask I had picked up on one of my Continental Airlines flights, dozed through the fireworks, then, with a little help from two clonazepam, slept right through the night until about 4:30 a.m., when I had to get up and get ready. By 6:00 a.m. or so I was waiting with 12,000 other bikers for the start.

I was ready to ride to Austin, come hell or high water. I felt good Sunday morning, and I did well on the Bastrop hills. I kept my pedaling pace, even if I was only moving a few inches at a time. I never had to stop and walk up the hill, and I didn't have to SAG at all. I made it into Austin around 3:45 p.m.

I have not decided if I will do the MS 150 again. I've been on my bike a few times, and enjoyed some short rides. One thing I have figured out is that blogs are not a good way to raise money unless you have some way to "drive" people to your page, and I did not have that angle. So, thanks for reading, and happy biking! Go Lance!

Later,
Dustin