RIDE TO AUSTIN BY ARTHUR

Returned from the P3 Ride to Austin this past Monday. We left out on October 19th with 23 riders and 12- 15 volunteers in 5 vans and the Hincapie racing team bus pulling a trailer. I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into after 3 miles there was already a computer problem on one of the bikes. That day I rode with 2 teams (3 hours each) and 107 miles. Then boarded the bus to work on bikes and slept about 2 hours. There were 5 teams with 4 to 5 riders a team. Each team rode 6 hours a day (Monday - Thursday) rotating shifts. I was able to ride each day for 6 hrs a day. We arrived in Austin on Thursday around noon. On Friday, we had a escort and rode into downtown Austin (riding by Lance's house). Saturday, we ran a 5K and Sunday there was the "Livestrong Challenge" ride. I rode the 90 mile course and was able to get to the front and ride with Lance, Taylor Phinney, Chris Carmichael, and the rest of Lance's gang. I finished 10th. The "Livestrong Challenge" ride was the highlight of my trip. However, I was glad to be able to help the riders during the trip and be part of this great cause. To read more on the "Ride to Austin", or for other photos and blogs go to www.ridetoaustin.com . Arthur