Another Great TRAM - Done!

 “The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.” — Elliott Erwitt

Not exactly, but photos definitely help! So, on this page, I will share photos from last week. 

But first, a word from our sponsors: I need to acknowledge all of the amazing people who donated to the MS Society in support of my fundraising efforts. You all very kindly donated $6,000+ in the months leading up to the ride. But then, just before the ride started, I saw that I dropped down to the 11th-highest fundraiser for the ride this year. Last year, I was #10. 

Sign in Willmar this year, proving that I was #10,
which ended up being the number on my luggage
tags and wrist band this year.  

Very generous and thoughtful people who were killing time on Facebook wanted to help me achieve my goal of staying on the top 10 list for the ride this year. They donated through my fundraising link and I got back to the top 10, have fallen to #11 a few times since, and people keep donating to get me up to #10 (or higher!). I'm at $7,640 and in the top 10 by a margin of about $100. It has been super fun to be on the receiving end of such support and for a great cause. I'm so grateful to all of you, thank you. And for those who could not donate but sent me such nice encouraging messages, those matter, too! They got me out of my tent and back on my bike when I wasn't exactly "feeling it." :)

The white band matches your luggage and your bike.
If you park your bike in the bike "corral," you need
to show this number to get it back out. The VIP
band is due to raising a lot of money this year.
As a result, I got some special snacks each
day of the ride (including a Coke Classic at
Rest Stop #3 on the days I wanted it), and 
priority biffies, although there were never
long enough lines to "pull rank."

Okay, those photos! 

We drove to Marshall, MN on Sunday,
checked in at the Red Baron arena,
and set up our tents.

My friend Steve and I at the brewery in Marshall,
 the night before the ride. We set up our tents and it was going to start raining.
We still had access to my car, so we went and ate dinner at 
the brewery. Two motorcycle guys sat with us and didn't understand
why people would do big bike rides, or live in the Twin Cities.
They told us that we just missed some flash flooding in Marshall.

Monday morning, they held those of us who hadn't left super early,
to wait out a storm and let the worst of it pass.
My rain pants zip off into rain shorts,
so I wore those when it was raining the most.
But as it warmed up and the rain turned into a drizzle
for the rest of the 51+ mile ride, I just wore my regular shorts and shirt.

Typical radar for the week!
The MS Society safety team did a *great* job of
telling us to wait to start, or starting
us early to beat the heat. We got rained
on a few times, but nothing like what
the radar was showing!

We rode from Marshall to Granite Falls on the first day. Steve and I set up camp and had some snacks by the river as we waited for Stacy to drive down and meet us. She rode with us Tues-Thurs.

Lots of pelicans by the dam in Granite Falls!

Across the street and down a small hill from
our campsite in Granite Falls. This all apparently was
under water not that long before we were there.
That's the Minnesota River.

Stacy knows I love these photo opportunities,
and humored me. That's friendship.

On Tuesday, Stacy, Steve, and I rode (with all the other riders, of course) to Willmar. It was a hot and humid day, and the route was about 63 miles. They had us leave early that day to try to beat the heat (also, to save their volunteers, including the beloved motorcycle safety crew decked out in super hot gear). We are looking fresh and perky in these photos that we took at rest stops. Near the end, we were very ready to be done.

Stacy and I don't see each other as much as we used
to, but I adore her.

During the week, you encounter people who ride who have MS, volunteers who have MS, and family members affected by MS. On Tuesday, I saw a man who has MS and was riding all week as he struggled to get into the biffy. Just as I was going to offer to help him get up into the thing, he made it. It is moments like these where you think "I cannot complain about being tired," "These people are amazing," and "We are doing something important here."

Doing the important task of taking a break.

We were hoping for a Lyft or an Uber in Willmar ("It's big enough, right???") to take us to Zorbaz on the lake for some Macho Nachos, as we didn't feel up for a 17-mile round trip bike ride for dinner, but had to settle for taking the shuttle set up by the kind people of Willmar to take us to a park for the "Rocking Robins" music festival. I thought it would be some oldies music with some burgers. It was a HUGE music festival that they do weekly with tons of food trucks, really fun bands, and things like bounce-houses for kids. It was great. We left before the better band was done to get back to where we were camping (Willmar Civic Center) to see our friends Kim and Brad. Kim did two days of riding this year (and stayed at a hotel) while Brad golfed. Win-win.

Steve drinking some coffee Wednesday morning as we slowly
got ready for the day. We stayed in Willmar for 2 nights in
a row, so we didn't have to pack everything up that morning!

Kim, Stacy, Steve, and I at rest stop #1 on Wednesday.

Steve and I doing the hard work of eating free
donuts and drinking coffee (donations to the MS Society accepted!)
provided by this very dedicated, nice man who
was a caregiver for his wife for 35 years
before she recently passed away. I've talked to
this man a few times over the years and he's a total inspiration.
He is the person who provided the funds for the fundraising match
(which prompted you all to give me $640
in donations this spring, which he matched!).

When I first started doing the 5-day ride in 2013, it wasn't a loop, but since 2015 it has been, to save on costs, I think, and to just make it easier logistically. At some point in there (was it 2015 or later?) they started adding a loop day, where you spend 2 nights at a city midway through and you just do a loop. Or, if you aren't feeling up to riding, you can take a rest day.

Our loop day was in Willmar on Wednesday (37 miles), with the beginning and end portion on a nice trail (Glacial Lakes, I think it is called?). Kim, Stacy, Steve, and I rode to rest stops 1 and 2 together. When we got to rest stop 2, the clouds were ominous and we heard that huge storms dumped tons of rain on people behind us who were still at rest stop 1. Kim and Stacy decided to wait and take the support vehicle back (with a lot of wise people). Other people waited in a church for the storm to pass. Steve and I decided to wing it and rode back to camp a bit ahead of the storm with a gigantically huge tail wind. We didn't get too wet and were glad our gamble paid off.

It is kind of hard to get a full appreciation of the clouds, but you can see things were churning, and the wind totally shifted from the south to the north, which is how Steve and I got an extra boost back to camp.

It was just a little sprinkly when we got back to camp but then was raining on and off. We showered, and Kim went back to the hotel to shower. Later she and Brad picked us up and we went to a brewery with really good food for a late lunch/early supper, and then we went to Zorbaz to have a beer by the lake.

I wasn't even tipsy!
Zorbaz.

Zorbaz, duh.

I tried so hard to get a photo
of me kissing the moose at Zorbaz.
Lots of trial and error, in reverse order.

R to L: Kim, Brad, Steve, Stacy, me.

We got back to camp in time to watch a band that was there. Then, we had the team contest night, which is super dorky, but I *LOVE* it. We had the team t-shirt/jersey contest and the team poem/song contest. It is a great way to connect with all the riders each year.

Team No MS'ing Around won the t-shirt competition (again). Team CycleOps won the best song competition. (They also had the only poem, and it was good, so I think they should have won twice.) You can see an excerpt of their song here (maybe??) - with choreography! This team was multi-generational, and international! 

On Thursday, we rode back to Granite Falls (57+ miles). This is something we have never done before - go to the 2-consecutive day loop city and then go back to the previous city. It ended up being a really good way for Stacy to ride back to her car and join us for 3 days with no extra driver. 

Steve, me, Kim, and endless supplies of corn.
There was also a lot of soybeans, plus sugar beets.

I think this is our Gen X movie pose. I can't remember
which rest stop this was that day. The last one?

I'm leading here, with Kim and Stacy behind me.
We passed this field, which had a pretty farmhouse
in the middle of it, and Kim pointed out that
"It looks like a painting you'd see in a cheap frame
at Goodwill." Yes, but it was prettier!

In Granite Falls, we said goodbye to Kim, her trusty companion Brad, and Stacy. Steve and I then went out to dinner with my friend that I met last year, Harvey, and some of his friends (Ann and Glen). Glen joined Steve, Harvey, and me for a beer afterwards. Harvey has ridden the TRAM forever (since I was starting college) and knows pretty much everyone. I really appreciate how positive Harvey is and the joy he expressed each morning at being privileged to do this ride and to be surrounded with such interesting people. 

Harvey (from the Fargo area), Glen (from Detroit Lakes),
Steve (who grew up near DL), and me (the MN transplant)

Friday was our last day riding, and it was a painful one for me, physically. My hip and back hurt, both from riding and from camping, and my shin was cramping up. My shin! It was an improvement over last year when camping was so painful from the get-go. (I'd say my PT is working - hooray! I should have done my exercises during the week - doh!!) I started off behind Steve in the fog because I have a nice blinky tail light. I only took one turn leading us (and trying to shelter him from the wind) after we got out of the river valley. He pulled me in to Marshall, for which I'm grateful. He kindly said I pulled him a lot earlier in the week, which is only partly true.

Leaving the campground in Granite Falls.

A foggy, but pretty start!

We did it! Go Team Stacy's Cyclers!

I spent the weekend unpacking, doing laundry, taking my tent poles in to get fixed, doing yard work, walking the dog, eating a lot, and going to a local massage school for a cheap (but good!) massage.

I wasn't happy with the last day, but am pleased to have done another Ride Across Minnesota, and am proud of what my donors and I have been able to contribute over the years. It is amazing to talk with volunteers and riders about how they're affected by MS and why they ride, and to continue to learn about how important these funds are for research, advocacy, and services. This is more important now than ever, with federal cuts to research and services. I'm glad to be able to play a small role. 

One Week (to go!)

In the olden days, I often would refer to song lyrics in my blog posts. So, when I typed the very creative title, "One Week," I thought, "Isn't there a song by that name?" I went through my 90s memory and dug up  "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. So then I watched the video and read the lyrics and thought there's very little that relates to this blog post (but watching the X-Files sounds really quite enjoyable), so moving on...

Yeah, so, in a week I'll be crawling into my tent, hoping that whatever random city park we're at in Marshall, Minnesota doesn't have floodlights everywhere or teenage boys hot rodding through town at 1 a.m. It also hopefully won't be near a train track. Or the night sand volleyball league. These are all the types of things I've slept near in a tent in municipal parks throughout the state when doing the 5-day MS TRAM bike ride. 

Am I ready? I barely rode my bike in June. I was visiting my sister and her family in California one weekend; my stepmom, brother, and his family were here the next; then we went to visit my mom and stepdad in Wisconsin the next weekend; and then we went to visit Dan's brother and his wife in South Carolina for a long weekend. During the weeks it was raining a lot. I've been riding a lot since June 28, though, including a very nice catch-up ride with my old riding partner BBF Matt who was in town, a ride with a stop at my brother and sister-in-law's house as I explored routes to get to my bestie/neighbor for one more day Jen's new house, and some fun rides with the ladies (I am lucky to be part of a great group of women that ride on Thursdays but also other days, too). I got to introduce many of them to the amazing little path by the creek in Battle Creek Park, and it was fun to hear them behind me saying "ooooh." 

This weekend, Dan, Haley, and I went camping up by Cass Lake, and I rode along the Migizi and Heartland Trails. The Migizi Trail is part of the national forest, but the Heartland Trail is one of the rails-to-trails bike trails we have in Minnesota, which connects to the Paul Bunyan Trail. We are super lucky to have these great trails in Minnesota, due to Minnesota voters approving a small tax on the ballot in 2008 (the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment), which will continue for another nine years. This is in addition to the 1988 ballot measure that passed and dedicates lottery funds to preserve our state's environmental and natural resources.

This map shows the state trails. There are a bunch of very sizeable, paved regional trails not shown here, too, like the amazing Mesabi Bike Trail in the Iron Range. 

I had thought about riding on some county highways yesterday so that I didn't do a straight out-and-back, but decided that the shoulders were pretty narrow, the roads were pretty bumpy, and the trails were pretty empty (other than that young buck that almost collided with me - an actual deer, not some young man), so why not embrace the trail?

Our campsite on Friday night.

Steamboat River, along the trail. There was tons of 
wildfire smoke from Canada, so it is hard to see the actual river.

On the Migizi Trail.

The trail without me blocking the view.

Post-bike ride, post-shower hammock, book, beer and dog event.

It was just under 60 miles
round trip. The two trails
cross each other. You could do
100 one way on the Paul Bunyan Trail
between Bemidji and Brainerd
and another 50 one way between
Cass Lake and Park Rapids.

So, I haven't ridden as much this year as in other years before the TRAM, but I think I will be okay. I'm hoping the camping won't be too uncomfortable. Last year was pretty painful but my PT is going *GREAT* this year, so I'm really optimistic that I can muddle through!

Been meaning to donate? Here's the link! https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo

Weekend Warrioring

Well, I haven't ridden a ton since the last post, but I decided this weekend that it didn't really matter and I have enough of a base level of fitness, muscle memory, and stubbornness to do a 75-mile ride to Hastings and back. So, that's what I did. (I also felt like I had implicit permission due to some article I read on the Internet written by who-knows-who that it is okay to be a weekend warrior.)

It was a lovely ride with Carolyn and Laura, through town until we got SE enough to connect with the new trail that fully connects through, now, to Spring Lake Park and on to Hastings. And then we took the trail along the Mississippi River all the way back through St. Paul until we got close to home and took a road, rather than the trail.

Leaving my house at 8:30.

One of our breaks, in Spring Lake Park.

My goofy pose in Hastings.

Both of them remarked that they didn't think I was acting or looking tired at the end of the ride, but I was, and I definitely needed to do some stretching and my PT exercises for pain relief later that night. Dan made me a good dinner and bought my favorite snacks. After eating and having a beer, I laid down on the couch with my mystery novel and promptly fell asleep. 

I rallied though and went to bed at a normal time and felt fine the next day. I'm hoping that when I do the week-long Bike MS Ride Across Minnesota in July that my hip feels better sleeping on the ground than it did last year, even if it won't feel as good as it does after sleeping in my bed. (Thanks for all the support so far with respect to the July ride! https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo)

Carolyn went back to the trail today and took this video from Spring Lake Park, just north of Hastings. It is such a pretty place. It was fun to see so many people biking on the new trail to Hastings. When you had to ride on a crappy street, cross some horrible tracks, and take a gravel road, there weren't that many riders. If you build it, they will come! 

I've been enjoying riding with the assorted Thursday night crew - we go 20-25 miles and then end at the brewery. I led this past Thursday night's ride and I think doing some hills was a good reminder on Saturday that you just can just switch your gears and do what needs to be done.

Last Thurs' riders, minus Laura the photographer.

I have a lot of booked weekends coming up, so I'm not sure exactly when I'm going to get in some good consistent riding before the July ride, but I'm sure I'll figure it out, or just get 'er done. I wanted this year to be a year of lots of riding, so I should actually figure out how to do that.

Yesterday, we went to a memorial service, which really, truly was a celebration of life - in honor of my sister-in-law's dad/my brother's father-in-law, Michael Brodie. Michael and his wife, Jane, have been big supporters of my bike rides/fundraising, and he used to always ask how my training was going. He loved the outdoors, athletic activities, and people. He was a remarkably kind and warm man who shared some common traits with my own dad. When my brother and sister-in-law were dating, he was the first family member of hers that I met - as we both helped the two of them move. I thought he was world-class then, and after knowing him for over 20 years, my appreciation for him only grew. It was so special to be able to hear about how he touched the lives of so many people over his life. His was a life well-lived, and if the world were a place full of people like Michael Brodie, we'd be in a pretty great spot. I often bike near the Dodge Nature Center, which is close to where he lived for 38 years, where the celebration yesterday was held, and where they have a memorial bench in his honor. I look forward to visiting his bench in the future and taking time to think of him, my appreciation of his kindness, and my gratitude for the role he has played in the life of my sister-in-law, my brother, and my nephews. Seems like a great destination for some bike rides...

Some good ridin'

This was a good week of bike riding - consisting of riding to/from a pilates class Monday night, the Thurs night women's ride with some rolling hills, skipping out of work with my friend Molly on Friday (need to catch up on work for those people who kindly have given me contracts, though, whoops!) to ride from her house on the LRT trail to Victoria, and doing 55 miles on Saturday.

Saturday was the BikeMS Twin Cities Ride. I rode from my house to the ride, paid the minimum fundraising fee for that ride, and pieced together two route options that were the longer legs. A woman volunteering at the snack table told me that she has MS and her treatment options have really improved in recent years due to the funds raised during these rides.  (Please tell your elected officials how important government funding is, too.)

It was a great way to start getting ready for the summer. I did a lot of yard work, too. I am so lucky to be able to move so freely, even if I had to do more PT exercises to alleviate some aches! I had hoped to do even more biking but the dog needed some good long walks, too, and household obligations were calling. Regardless of those stymied plans, this would be a good week by any measure. 

Molly and me.  I didn't get permission to use her photo, so I altered it. Ha ha.

My loopy 55-mile ride. 

My crabapple tree in full bloom, with weird formatting. 

My bike ride is in July. Time to get cracking on riding and fundraising!

https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo

This crazy life

We are listening to a special preview of an album that comes out tomorrow and the song right now keeps on talking about "this crazy life."

It seems appropriate for 2025. 

It is MS Awareness Week and, in honor of the week, I thought people should know that federal cuts to funding to NIH and universities for research (including indirect expenses, which I'm happy to discuss with anyone who has questions about those) will have serious impact on important MS research. You're welcome to let your Congressional reps know how problematic that is. 

My CDC job was eliminated with many others on 2/14. (That's some love.) I have been on my bike on the nice warm days we've had between snow storms and chilly gross days. But mostly I've been working full days to find work (I'm doing consulting under my new LLC - need a tobacco policy thing done??), doing chores, and being diligent with my PT exercises. I have a great network and am optimistic. It was a very shocking event, though, even though I suspected it was coming eventually. 

I have a new PT person who is great, and *that* is great because the steroid pain shot I got in my hip in Feb lasted just a couple of weeks and things do not feel good, even when I ride my bike, which is a newerish development I'm addressing. This is supposed to be a year of big biking! I am optimistic about this, too.

My fundraising is off to a good start, and I'm so grateful for support there, too, and am optimistic about meeting my goal! (https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo)

To be honest, though, there is so much that I'm not optimistic about, concerning current events. I worry. About people I love and people I don't know. And I am very sad. And I am mad. So sad and mad.  Biking will help manage those feelings to some extent, and walking the dog helps too. I hope all my friends are taking time to care for themselves. 💜

Here is Haley, mad as SHE gets, about the fact that she couldn't swim. It was 50 degrees and there was still ice on other parts of the creek and our lakes still have ice on them. So, be patient, doggy! I'm not sure why this is showing up sideways on my screen all of a sudden. 

Here's a cute little kid that Haley and I saw on a walk. He shouted out "on your left" as he was passing, in his little kid voice. I heard his dad say that he just took the training wheels off. 

And this is from my first ride of the season. I haven't been riding far or fast, but I've been relishing each moment. Even today, being able to ride to get groceries. 

💜

Well...

The year is off to an interesting start, as they say here in the Midwest.

First things first and long story short, my hip is still bothering me. I haven't talked to the doctor after last week's MRI, but *my* read of the report online in conjunction with previous discussions is that nothing is newly wrong (so who knows exactly why I had such a painful flare up for weeks at the end of 2024), there are some structural things that won't resolve themselves, and PT and exercise will help until I'm older and need a hip replacement. Instead of riding all moronically on my basement bike, I've been doing some very careful (but still challenging) riding to get used to having better form and build up the weak spots. (That idiotic bike PT guy be damned! (I think I talked about him in my last post.))

While biking this week, I watched scenic videos of rides in Stinson Beach, CA, and the French Riviera. These are good at distracting me from thinking about being in my small and cobwebby 1926 basement.

These aren't screenshots from the actual videos, but they have similar scenery to where I was riding. Nice, huh? Sure beats MN in February, even this year.

So, I'm still planning on the weeklong BikeMS ride in July. I'll need to think through a more comfortable solution for sleeping in my tent in July; last year was not pleasant. 

Related to that, I am still planning on working hard to make this a good bike year. 

There's a good chance I'll lose my job - possibly soon - based on the Executive Order tea leaves. Many of the typical places I'd work instead won't be hiring, as the effects radiate out. So, I may have more time to spend on my bike when I'm not trying to figure out how to apply my skills and get paid. I think if even a fraction of the current proposals are executed, we'll have some pretty major economic challenges as a country, and we'll all need nature and exercise to help us relieve the stress.

So, I have three requests:

1. Let me know if you want to go for a bike ride with me. ;)

2. Send cute videos of animals, preferably pandas, red pandas, otters, beavers, or Rico the porcupine from the Cincinnati Zoo who is super adorable to watch eat any food - - but popcorn and peanut butter in particular. I've restricted my own access to FB and IG - I don't need Zuck to profit off me. But I do miss the animal videos and the pretty photos of national parks.

3. Don't feel bad if you can't contribute your normal amount to my fundraising efforts this year (https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo). Your economic situation may be changing, and goodness knows there will be many, many worthwhile causes to direct your charitable donations. 

Actually, I have a fourth request. Take care of yourself. Life is a marathon, not a sprint (hopefully!)

A schtick-free recap

Back when I was a child... wait, what? Back when I started this blog, I updated it rather regularly. It looks like my last post was nearly 3 months ago. I don't think I've lost all creativity, just some of my schtick, maybe. And, quite honestly, I've been doing more nature walks than bike rides due to the change of seasons, change in daylight, and having a rather busy fall. 

After our cut-short vacation (and, likely thanks to my August vaccination, my corresponding cut-short bout of COVID), my September was wrapped up with a week of work travel to Atlanta, a really disappointing bike PT appointment ("You've been cycling a long time; you've probably got it all figured out by now." SERIOUSLY!), some Oktoberfest fun, another week of work travel to DC (with some good walks), a trip to the orchard, and a few good bike rides.

This wasn't really an Oktoberfest thing,
but the Irish bar allowed you to get an image
put in your Guinness foam. This would
be a better picture if I hadn't had a sip first. 

I was actually sober, just having fun.

We ate so many helpings of apple crisp!

A ride with Laura,
who kindly gets me out on my bike. She
leads the Thursday night rides I do all summer.

In October, I went to a class with my friend Marcy to learn about wines of Armenia (I really liked a couple of them), a work trip to Denver (with a fair amount of walking and a nice side trip to see the sunrise at Red Rocks), a good Holmes/Poirot play with Marcy, a visit from my great cousin Sarah, and a few more good bike rides with the ladies and, separately, my long-time BBF Matt.

This late season ride with the ladies oddly kicked my butt.
The leaves were so pretty that day (unrelatedly).

It isn't a great picture of me, and Marcy might not like me
sharing this, but I think she looks so cute here. She's
been my solid friend since I moved here in 1992 and 
we remarkably had nearly every class together at the 
University of Minnesota, which you couldn't plan if you tried - - fate! 

Sunrise at Red Rocks in Colorado.
Oddly, this was my first trip to Colorado. 

In November, I went to visit my Mom and Terry (great walks in the woods with the dog(s)), had some interesting all-day work meetings here in Minnesota, went to a matinee movie about bands that played at the 7th Street Entry one week in 1981 (yes, really), went to DC for the release of the Surgeon General's Report on the topic of eliminating tobacco-related health disparities (with a couple of brisk walks thrown in), had a radon mitigation system installed in our house, and ate a bunch of pie, kale salad, and green bean casserole, a decent amount of gravy, stuffing and turkey, a token serving of mashed potatoes, and whatever cranberries I could get. 

It was raining, but White Deer Lake
is one of my favorites to visit, regardless
of the weather.

I took my parents' dog, Alvin, and my dog, Haley,
for a walk down the old logging road which goes to
my favorite spot in the world. Alas, there had been
a forest fire. Kudos to the firefighters for getting it out
relatively quickly, but the landscape is totally
different and jarring. 

Yep, that's me with the SG! He's so smart and nice.
I appreciate having the opportunity to have been
an editor and writer of this report.

Yes, the election season was stressful, and I am worried
about the future. In the meantime, the Washington
Monument is still really pretty at sunset.

"Peace and justice work
continues uninterrupted."

This past week - Thanksgiving week - I was in a decent amount of discomfort due to tweaking my bum hip that wrenched things out of place in my back. I'm feeling better now, after lots of Aleve, heat, Icy Hot, CBD salve, pungent Chinese pain relief patches, stretching, PT, etc., and am looking forward to getting back on my bike in my now radon-free basement! I'm kind of out of shape; long walks with the dog aren't cutting it, although they are enjoyable. Especially the walks that we've done with my parents' dog, my friend Stacy and her dog, and my friend Andrew and his dog. The more interactions we have, the better my dog Haley gets at, well, not being a dick.

Stacy and Xinn on a walk with Haley and me.
The dogs did so well with each other!

oxoxo

And then tonight, I signed up for the weeklong BikeMS Ride here in Minnesota in July: https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/GoMaggieGo

I got free registration due to raising close to $6,500 last year (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU), and they also will let me do a BikeMS Ride anywhere in the country for free without having to do any fundraising. I'm trying to decide where I want to go (if my work vacation schedule matches up okay) - Do that hilly San Fran ride again? Go east? I need to think about what will really motivate me to get out on my bike a lot in 2025. I'm ready for a lot of time in the saddle.