Steve Tilford

Okay, I’m posting this on my iPhone because all my bags left me at the crack of dawn for the real start of the Houston MS150.

We, my TradeWind Energy guys, had an “official team meeting” and it was decided that since I slept so little on Thursday night, 4 hours, that it was nearly impossible for me to make it to the packet pick-up at 5:30 am this morning, so we might as well start at a reasonable hour. We’re meeting for breakfast at 8, all ready to ride, and then just riding from the hotel. It’s an extra 20 miles, but that’s better.

So, I don’t have any numbers or MS packet stuff. I hope that isn’t a big issue. I was my surprised to hear, at the end of the meeting of course, that there are 13,000 people riding this. That is a lot. It might be sort of slow going initially.

I rode over to a meal with my Clean Line Energy Team last night. We’re staying with them tonight on a ranch somewhere between Houston and Austin. All the guys are somehow affiliated with wind energy somehow. Clean Line lays the transmission lines for wind farms I think. All nice people.

Okay, it we’ll be fun riding with Bill, Brian and Nick for two days. Low key I hope. I’m a little tattered.

Okay, I hate eating in a cycling kit, but I hate not sleeping enough more. I’d better suit up and get down there. I bet Bromont missed me last night.

brian not be elevator last night taking his bag to the car. All we have is what we’re riding in.

my buddy from the dinner last night. He doesn’t get to do the ride.

Houston has some crazy interchanges.

And really bad traffic on Friday afternoons.

Luxury last night. Just me, a king size bed and my bike.

Day one down, day two started of the TradWind Energy Team’s Houston MS 150 adventure.

I don’t have an Internet connection, so am going to try to post this from the ride from my phone. Early rise today. Started riding before 6:30 am.

I ended up with 130 miles yesterday. 105 riding from the hotel to the ranch we stayed at and then Brian and I ride an extra 25 ish after. Brian is training for the Dirty Kanza. Maybe I am too now.

The thing that was the most amazing was the masses. We left at 10 am and had to ride 25 miles to the start and then “chase”. We caught the first guy at maybe 15 miles in. We nursed him along for a few miles and then he just was gone.

We kept going along at a pretty good clip. The wind was from the south, with a twinge of east. Pretty sure we were in the masses. Eventually we pretty much couldn’t stay on the right side of the road.

Then we got stopped by the police. Someone had crashed and they were flying in a life flight helicopter to take him out. It wasn’t a long wait.

It got pretty warm, upper 80’s. Bill, Brian and Nick are pretty sunburnt, even though Nick stopped and bought some sunscreen.

We had an awesome dinner at a ranch of a friend of Clean Line last night. We slept on a open porch, which was nice.

Today we have to ride an extra 10-15 miles to the start, then the ride which is over 80 miles, maybe 90. I’m just gonna ride back to Ann’s house, say hi to Bromont, then get my van to get my sleeping stuff etc.

Heading back to Kansas to pick up Trudi tomorrow. She is doing Paris-Roubaix today.

Gonna be a short turn around.

Road was pretty empty early on.