and they're off -

Registration for the 2010 MS150 opened last week for top fundraisers, so here we go again, registered up with 6 months to raise money, lose weight and train. To cap it all, this year I will also be eligible for the USPGA Senior Tour and AARP membership (American readers can help any Brits puzzled by these last benefits).

Thanks to the generosity of my supporters (and my employer matching my fund-raising), I made it into Club 300, the 300 highest fund-raisers from 2009. I get a special yellow rider's bib with my position in the Club as my rider number, shorter shower lines in LaGrange and Austin, and a chance to go to the head of the line for the Sunday morning start.

Yesterday was my first ride of the season and I rode with the Katy Bike Barn group on their Pool Hill route . 60 degrees when we started and not a cloud in the sky, but a nasty wind out of the north made things a bit challenging. Great fun, though, and a very social group of riders. Best of all, the rides start at 8.00am, which means I can to leave the house at 7.30am. Much as I love riding with the Mules, getting out to Zube for a 7.00am start means leaving no later than 6.30 am, and I do enjoy the extra hour in bed.