27 Days and Counting -- 1500 Miles for Multiple Sclerosis

Hi Y'all!

Today I tried the "Harry Wiggins Trolley Trail" for the first time. It is a bike/pedestrian trail running through Kansas City, covering just a bit over six miles. In total, including getting to the trail and back, I rode about 14 miles this morning. Hopefully I'll have time to do it again tonight, to round out a typical training day of 25-30 miles.

The Trolley Trail is built on the old city trolley tracks and is named for Missouri State Senator Harry Wiggins, who passed away a few years ago. I worked with Harry in the senate many years ago; in fact, he was my first friend there. He was a character with deep flaws, but a much deeper heart. He was extremely proud of the fact that he had received his first political appointment from Bobby Kennedy. He also liked to take credit for helping me get my first job with the senate, which may or may not have been true. But who cares? Harry was an awfully good man who served the state to the best of his ability (including the fact that he never missed a vote) for decades. As a friend, former employee and former constituent, I miss him and was proud to ride on his trail this morning.

I will say, though, that I was not so proud to take two spills this morning. The first was just as I was getting used to the new bike. The second was when I hit a rut on the trail (one of the few I saw -- it is very well maintained). No, there are no significant injuries. There is no way to look cool as you are falling from a bike, though.

Have a great day!

- sean

Sean Spence
MS Advocate
www.MissouriToManhattan.com
www.SharingOurDays.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

28 Days and Counting -- 1500 Miles for Multiple Sclerosis

Hi Y'all!

Today was a big step toward actually making my trip in a few weeks. I bought a new bike. Yes, a real bike that I'm counting on to carry me from here to New York City. Yes, I fully realize that everything may go haywire somewhere between here and there and I may have to buy a new bike or something, but I dropped a thousand bucks on a bike and a little equipment today and that's as much as is going to happen any time soon (yes, I realize I could have easily spent three times this amount -- but let's get real, people!).

Training is kicking my backside right now and I fully expect to die somewhere along the route. That should be the reason, if you haven't found another, to watch my trip very closely. Kind of like the reason watch car races. "Maybe someone will die.." Yes. That should be reason enough to pay attention to my ride in April.

My team has completely come together, by the way, so I'm being as smart about this as I can be. Andrew and Marita will be accompanying me -- perhaps in my Saturn SUV; perhaps in something else. They both rock and will make the trip much more fun. And Marita, like, knows how to perform CPR and stuff; I'm thinking we'll need her for that at least three or four times before the end of the trip.

Okay, no more "Sean will die on this trip" jokes for right now. I want you to know, though, that I'm working very, very hard to make this trip work. It is difficult on my body, but I can feel the improvement from months ago, when I first started getting ready. I'm assuming that this trip will be pure hell, but I'm excited, and I'll do my best to not let my fans (all six of you) down.

Maybe I'll write more about the bike later, or maybe not (Lord knows we don't want things to degenerate into an arguement over my choice of bikes).

Take care.

- sean

Sean Spence
MS Advocate
www.MissouriToManhattan.com
www.SharingOurDays.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

29 days and counting -- 1500 miles for Multiple Sclerosis

Hi Y'all!

Yes, I'm sure everyone who has followed this blog now believes I have crapped out on the ride. "Loser!" you've all silently screamed into your monitors. "I knew you couldn't do it!" came the silent refrain.

Well, the fact is that I'm still in this thing. I've even kept up my weekly training schedule. Yes, it has been a little lighter, but not much. With a final boost here at the end, I'm going to be ready for my trip.

Why the break from writing? Well, as I've mentioned, I work on political campaigns for a living. This past Tuesday was Election Day for my latest candidate, and the last several weeks have let pretty much everything in my life slide, except for the campaign. We still lost, but I'm so proud that I did it. My candidate was one of those great guys with very little chance of winning from the start -- but he was the right guy for the job, ya know? I truly believed in him. As a professional, those sorts of opportunities are few and far between, and I just had to do it.

Today, I've just returned from an outside bike trip. Not sure how far, but I rode about two and a half hours. It was downtown Kansas City, so there were lots and lots of hills. It was a great workout. With the weather cooperating for now, I think I'll get some good outside training. My goal is to train outside at least five days each week until the big day.

There is a lot to do between now the day I leave. I promise I'll keep you posted on a near-daily basis between now and then. And once I'm on my ride, I'll be blogging every day (if for no other reason than to verify that I'm alive!).

Take care. Please tell everyone you know about "Missouri to Manhattan -- 1500 Miles for Multiple Sclerosis." Thanks!

- sean

Sean Spence
MS Advocate
www.MissouriToManhattan.com
www.SharingOurDays.com
seanspence@earthlink.net