Brianne and Garett

Well mother nature had other plans for us on Saturday, which was suppose to be the first day of the ride. La Grange, which is the halfway point of the ride, received 11 inches of rain on Friday and blew down lots of the tents that were setup. Saturday wasn’t much better, it rained from about 8 am to 2 pm at our house and our rain gauge filled close to 5 inches. Day 1 of the ride was cancelled but I’ve read there were a few crazy riders that braved the weather from Houston to La Grange, I was not one of them. This is the first time in the 25 year history that part of the ride was cancelled due to weather.

So on Sunday the ride kicked off from downtown La Grange and the routes for day 2 were basically what they would have been had the first day not be cancelled. My original plan was to take the express route which is about 65 miles, but since I was bummed about missing the first day, I decide to push myself and take the challenge route which is close to 80 miles part of which is through the Bastrop State Park and it’s many hills. I also figured the park and its ample trees would give some relief from the 20+ mph head winds that plagued riders all day. I got started around 8:15 am in La Grange and only stopped once for a quick bite and fluid before reaching the lunch stop in Bastrop which I reached at 11 am. From there it was into the wind the rest of the way into Austin. I stopped one more time about 17 miles before Austin and crossed the finish line right at 2 pm where I was met with cheers from Brianne, my parents and my brother.

Training for the ride was difficult and time consuming and until the ride I was thinking this might be my only time, but after participating and not getting the full experience, I think I will do it again next year. Seeing all the people along the route cheering everyone along and seeing the people that benefit from this fundraiser cheering also is just that much more of motivation to participate.

Thank you to everyone who made contributions to my fundraising and I hope you will all support me again next year. Also thank you to Brianne for putting up with me being gone for hours on end on the weekends while I was pedaling around town and for taking care of things around the house and making sure I had something to eat when I was done.

Remember that both Brianne and I are participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin this coming October so we will be fundraising together. Brianne and I are both doing the 5K run on Saturday October 24 and then on Sunday October 25 I will be doing the 65 mile bike ride, where I will probably get dropped by Lance Armstrong himself. Please make a donation to us at our fundraising webpage and we will be sure to send you one of those little nifty yellow bracelets.