First, a word about the successful fund raising for 1999. The nine riders brought in slightly over $5000, giving us eight members at the $500 level and one able to join the coveted Thousand Dollar Member level. Hats off to Warren for this accomplishment! And hats off to the two corporate contributors: Cotelligent and Aid Association for Lutherans. Nancy Carpenter of Cotelligent graciously matched (that's called doubling) all contributors, and AAL Branch 9205 matched everything raised at our MS150 fund raising picnic on a chilly day in May. We also had at least four contributors sponsoring us at a dollar a mile. It's nice to have great support!

We had a good ride this year! We weren't sure what to expect weather-wise riding the bus to Duluth through fog, mist, drizzle, and rain, but by the time we arrived at Spirit Mountain, the precip had ended for the weekend. We fared about as well as possible under the conditions for getting camp set up in the muddy conditions. "Carbo loading" for the big event consisted of splitting up and hitting either Mac'n'Don's Supper Club (aka The Golden Arches) or catching a ride to a Chinese restaurant in downtown Duluth. After the beefy McDonalds venture, a few of us watched the truck carrying our bikes get stuck in the mud shortly before unloading. Fortunately the bikes suffered no harm from the experience.

Everyone in camp seemed to want to get going early Saturday morning. I gave up at 5 and joined the rest of the gang. John needed to get to Hinckley about 11, so he was gone. The rest of us left starting about 6:30. The sun rose (better yet, we saw it), the wind behaved, and the ride went well. John was gone by the time I got to Hinckley around 11:30. I got some help from some very willing young hockey players to find the bags for almost the entire group. (I was able to remember 7 numbers, but 9 was apparently out of reach.) I got our camping area staked out by laying the various tents out to dry. After setting up my tent, it was time for a shower and then kick around camp until the others came.

Wendy and Kristi were the next to arrive, with the rest rolling in around 3. Rachel, the youngest in the group at 8, had made it without sagging. Warren kept pace with her on a new Rans V-rex recumbent, which he reported was much kinder to his behind than his diamond frame on the last ride!

The remainder of the day was spent visiting, picking up our ride tshirts, having supper, getting the group picture taken, walking around town, walking around looking at the various bikes, etc. Camp settled down shortly after sunset.

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday, with many eager riders getting up before dawn cracked. We had our fill of pancakes before tearing down camp, getting on the road by 6 for the 84 miles to the Anoka County fairgrounds. The wind was out of the northwest at a brisk 15-20mph, quite beneficial for most of the ride. I made it to Cambridge--the halfway point and lunch stop--by 9, a little late because someone had removed a sign pointing out a turn. I ended up going 1.5 miles down the wrong road before getting turned around. Some front runners..er..riders were 7.5 miles out.

I started running out of steam about mile 60, so took a little extra time (more than the usual five minutes :-) at the last two rest stops and recovered enough to get into the fairgrounds shortly after 12. More bag hauling and a final meal and reading followed until the others got in, again everyone without sagging. Overall, it was a good ride for everyone and more importantly, we were able to provide the MS Society with over $5000 by doing it!