The first day was rather unremarkable. We drove up to Hinckley, put on our skates and gear, and hit the trail about 8:50am. It was a bit foggy with a slight mist in the air at the start. But this burned off shortly and most of the day we were skating on dry trails. It was humid, but quite tolerable.
There were no spills or major equipment issues during the skate that day. I lost a nut (cue Beavis and Butthead laughter) while cruising down one the long steep downhills, but was able to find a replacement part at the next rest stop.
After we picked 'em up and put 'em down for thirty-eight miles we arrived at the County Fairgrounds in Barnum. We scarfed down a quick lunch and jumped on a shuttle bus which eventually dropped us off at the prestigious Royal Pines Motel near Carleton, our base camp for the evening. I was rooming with Atomizer, so naturally one of our first priorities was to secure some liquid refreshments. Luckily there was a liquor store within
I even had a chance to make a special call-in appearance on the Northern Alliance Radio Show in the third hour. Sitting on the floor of a seedy over-priced motel, sipping a Lake Superior Kayak Kolsch, and talking about the imaginary sex life of a celebrated fictional lesbian with the creator of "Plain Layne"? It really doesn't get any better.
In the evening we strolled over to the Big Bear Casino, where Atomizer dropped sixty bucks in less time than it took you to read this sentence. At least he wasn't bitter about it or anything. We had planned on putting on the feedbag at the casino as well, but a ninety minute wait deterred us from enjoying their buffet. Instead we dined at an Ember's near our motel. And it was...well Ember's. Not bad, but not particularly good either. It was a bit different from most of the Ember's that I've patronized here in the Twin Cities in that it included a full bar. Which helped make the food go down a little easier. Especially for Atomizer, whose "au jus" sandwedge didn't quite live up to his expectations. Thank God he's such a happy go lucky kind of guy who doesn't let such minor irritations get to him.
Sunday morning came all too soon. Especially when my slumber was interrupted by the crash of thunder at around 5am. The shuttle bus was due to pick us up at 6:30am and I hoped that the rumbling I was hearing was but a passing fancy. Alas, it turned out to be an omen for the day ahead.
By the time the bus pulled in to pick us up, it was raining. Not a hard pounding rain, but a consistent steady one. From the look of the clouds, we could tell it wasn't going to end soon. And it did not.
There was one brief respite while we were eating breakfast back at the fairgrounds in Barnum where we would resume skating. An announcement was made that those who wished to not complete the skate could take a shuttle bus back to Hinckley. The idea of quitting never crossed my mind. Atomizer tried to casually entertain it as a possibility, but my threat to deliver a Patton-like coward-slapping right then and there quickly ended any speculation on the matter. We were going on. We weren't "sunshine skaters" who shirked our duty when the going got tough. We made a commitment to skate seventy-five miles and come hell or high water we were going to.
Those of you who have not bladed probably can't appreciate the difficulty of in-line skating in the rain. There really is nothing worse than a wet trail to take you off your normal stride. Your wheels tend to slip and lose contact with the trail when it's wet, and that forces you into shorter, less productive strides. Which means more effort to cover the same distance. More effort, more energy, more pain in your already tired legs. Not fun.
And so we faced the high water. When we hit the trail it wasn't raining. Ten minutes later it was. And we skated most of the thirty-seven miles to Duluth in rain, ranging from steady drizzle to wind swept driving downpours. I had a rain jacket, but it provided little protection from the onslaught. After a couple of hours skating in the rain, we were soaked to the bone. We could feel the water moving around inside our skates. Wet socks + wet feet = blisters and brother we got 'em. The rest stops set up every six to nine miles provide momentary relief, but if you stopped skating for more than a few minutes the chill set in. And so we kept moving on.
By the time we reached the zoo in Duluth, the rain had stopped. At that point it really didn't matter that much, since the trail was so wet that we had to skate through puddles both deep and wide, and we were about as wet as we could get. We were just glad to be done. And to have finished with honor.
My wife was on hand to greet me in Duluth. After packing up my gear, we hit Fitger's Brew House for vittles and a couple of hand crafted brews. We stayed overnight in the port city and enjoyed a beautiful sunny Monday walking around the boardwalk on Lake Superior. My comrades had to endure riding a school bus back to Hinckley after Sunday's "picnic lunch" at the Zoo. C'est la vie.
Another year, another seventy-five miles of skating, another successful fund raising effort. It appears possible that we've broken our previous team record for pledges, although we won't know for certain for a coupla weeks. We can still accept and collect pledges up to a month after the event. Those of you who already have generously donated have our heart-felt thanks. Those of you still wishing to contribute can do so here.
It may seem as if I'm been pushing MS75 fundraising this year. And if it's come off like a never ending NPR telethon at times, I sincerely apologize. But please understand that this is a very worthwhile cause. Research for Multiple Sclerosis doesn't get the attention of other more well-known diseases. It's not as publicized as cancer. It doesn't enjoy the political support that AIDs does. You probably aren't going to see a special on Lifetime about it anytime soon.
It is a quiet under-the-radar disease that impacts many more people than you might realize. Nation-wide approximately 400,000 people have MS, including 7500 here in Minnesota. In the time that I've been actively involved in MS75 fundraising I've been surprised by the number of people that I've spoken to who have a friend or relative with MS. It's a frustrating disease that is still not very well understood. It's hard to diagnose. Hard to treat. Most of all, hard to live with.
Spending a few hours skating in the rain was the least we could to try to help those who suffer from it.
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