MS 150 Cactus and Crude

San Angelo Team Ride
Midland to Post, Texas
July 18-19, 2009

It all started around the first of this year when Kyle Olson mused on the forum that he was thinking about doing the MS 150 Cactus n’ Crude this summer and was anyone else interested. By February 15, Kyle posted this on the forum: “Here’s the team so far:

Me--Kyle Olson
Randy Rangel
Dominic Santos
Scott and Anke White
David Durbin
Kathy Walker

Later the crew was joined by Marlon Miller, Dale Creecy, and then Rita Grafton.

Front L-R; Scott, Dominic, Rita, Marlon, Dale, Randy
Back L-R; Anke, Kathy, David, Kyle

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s fund raising campaigns include MS Walk, MS Bike, and other community events. The San Angelo group participated in the MS Bike ride. Each participant pledges or donates a specific amount of money enabling the MS Society to further assist individuals with MS. The ten riders from San Angelo rose over $6,600 for the benefit of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Although most of the San Angelo bikers rode for altruistic reasons, several rode for very personal reasons. Kyle summed up the reasons in a special way:

“I'm riding for my wife, Nancy Olson, who struggles with this disease everyday, and for everyone who is affected by the disease.”

“Having multiple sclerosis means that you may suddenly have blurry vision or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason or that you may not always be able to walk let alone ride a bike. The symptoms of MS are different and devastating for everyone: the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day.”

“I ride because my wife suffers from this disease.”

“I've registered for the MS Bike Tour because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed and because I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.”

Dale Creecy also rode for a very special reason.


With the team compiled and rarin' to go, they headed out to Midland on Friday, July 17. David stated that most of the team stayed in the Holiday Inn Express located just 5 miles from the start of the ride. He said it was also very close to many restaurants. With a good night’s rest, they were prepared for the next two day’s adventures.

The Cactus n' Crude is a two day, 150 mile ride that begins in Midland, overnights in Big Spring, and ends in Post. Saturday, July 18, about 163 riders met at the Halliburton Offices in Midland.

At 7 A.M. started the day’s 75 (76) mile ride ending in Big Spring.








The riders had to arrive much earlier as luggage, bedding (sheets, blanket, pillow, etc.), towel, and any other necessities (limit of two pieces of luggage) had to be tagged and loaded in a rental truck at the starting line for transporting to their first day’s destination.

First Day's Ride Pictures




Upon arrival at Big Spring, a lunch of Fajitas was served at the finish line on the SWCID campus. For those who could not wait, rest stop 5 served PB&J sandwiches. Not to be laughed at, during a ride PB&J sandwiches really hit the spot.

The organizers swept the road at 3 PM to pick up stragglers. None of the San Angelo team fits that category as the average speed was 17mph. And, they rode as a team for the day’s ride.

Later the riders were assigned quarters at the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (SWCID)
unless other arraignments had been made. David gave some insight as to the team’s stay at Big Spring. “Saturday, the majority of us stayed in the SWCID dorm located on what was once Webb AFB. The dorm rooms were clean, comfortable, and the air conditioners worked great (you could have made ice cubes in Kyle and Scott’s room)."


"Two of our team members had a hotel in Big Spring, so after riding 76 miles, they remounted their bikes and rode there. For some reason they added an additional 20 miles of riding that day in search of their hotel (you will have to ask them)".

That evening, an Awards Dinner of spaghetti, salad, and bread was heald at the SWCID campus at 5:30 P.M.


There were three speakers who talked about MS.

With some time on their hands Saturday evening, some toured Webb AFB and some of the local attractions. Webb AFB was used to train bombardiers during WW II and closed after the war. Korea caused Webb to be reactivated and it stayed open until the end of Vietnam. Now it is an industrial park but has the Veterans Memorial park and Hanger 25 Air Museum. The memorial has three aircraft and one tank on static display.





Breakfast was served at 5:30 A.M.(!) in the SWCID cafeteria.
Eventually, they lined up at 7 A.M. and headed north out of Big Spring to begin the second day’s 75 miles (75.78) to Post.

Second Day Ride Pictures




David
Dominic
Kyle
Marlon and Kathy



On Sunday, July 19, the San Angelo team arrived at the Post City Park. This time the bikes were loaded in a truck, and the riders boarded a bus for transportation back to Midland. Lunch at the finish line was in Post from 11:00 A.M. until the last biker had returned. The lunch was outstanding according to David. Passed up the RB&J sandwiches?

The two day weekend ride was fully supported with SAG vehicles, route mechanics, festive rest areas, plenty of food, and lots of wonderful volunteers. Massage therapists were available at the end of each day’s ride for those lucky enough to get on the schedule.

David Durbin best summed up the ride, “We had ten riders on our team and were able to raise $6,600. The event had 205 people register with 163 of those doing the ride. When all funds are accounted for, the ride will have raised over $150,000. The funds raised are used for cure research, drug development, advocacy, education, programs, and services to help people with MS and their families.

The MS 150 Cactus & Crude Ride is a two day event. We rode from Midland to Big Spring (76 miles) on day one and Big Spring to Post (75.78 miles) on day two. For the majority of the ride our team rode together making this ride even more enjoyable. We averaged 17 mph and our actual ride time was four and a half hours each day. More amazingly, our team did not have any flats or mechanical issues throughout the ride.

Support for the ride was great, from packet pick up to receiving your finisher medal. There were more volunteers than riders providing excellent rest stops, mechanics, sag wagons, medical support, traffic control, cooks, etc.

All being said, a great ride for a worthy cause.”


A Fun Time Was Had By All