(This is copied from an e-mail I just sent out to a bunch of people, and I belatedly decided to post it here. Bex and Schnoufer are doing a 12 hour duo team called "Bent for Beer", SteveO, Krd, Gunch, Milky, and Iowa city Ann are doing a 5 person coed sport 24 hour team called HFDB. Keep track of your fellow nobbies as we ride our bikes ALL DAY!! Wish us ALL luck!! Here's the e-mail:)

On Saturday July 25th at 11:00 AM, I will be starting a solo 24 hour mountain bike race. Solo, as in all by my self. I do not plan more than five 10 minute breaks and if I don't break down, my goal is to surpass 200 miles of off road riding. The race is "24 hours at 9 Mile Forest" held in Wausau, Wisconsin.

If you're interested, this free link: http://www.grannygear.com/realtime/p..._2009_ninemile will take you to "Real Time" scoring, where you can access the "Mens Solo-Just for fun" class, (it used to be the "solo freak" class. I liked that a lot better!) and you can keep up with what lap I'm on, how far I've ridden and whether or not I've said to heck with it and quit! each lap is approximately 14.5 miles. My team is Ray Nees, QCFORC.ORG. My wife Sorya will be my pit crew. When you wake up Sunday morning, you can check and see if I'm still pedaling!

(If the above link above doesn't work, just go to www.grannygear.com after the race starts and there will be a link to the realtime scoring and storyboard.)

I will be carrying my personal cell phone with me, please refrain from calling me during this time.

I'm not asking for donations for anything, but I would like to suggest that every once in a while we all need to take a look at ourselves and do a "rut check". The funny thing about life is that nobody gets out of it alive. People say they want to be remembered and make a difference and all that, and that's cool, but when I'm dead I probably won't think about it very much. So every once in a while I do a rut check- basically I ask myself "am I doing what I have to now so I can do what I want to a little later, or am I just wallowing through in a rut?"

When I was in the band, we got into a rut and didn't know it, once upon a time Sorya and I got into a rut and didn't know it, health wise a few years back I got in a rut and didn't know it. All three of these ruts ended up costing way more than they should have in terms of friends, relationships, time, money and misery.

So I'm asking that when you say to yourself, "Ray's doing what for 24 hours??!! That you also ask what are YOU doing for the next 24 hours. Are you living or are you in a rut?

Working too much or not enough?

Still want to quit smoking?

Still want to lose weight/be healthier?

Haven't told the ones you love that you love'em in a while?

Letting old wounds ruin new opportunities?

You can't change the past, but you can start today to create a new future. I didn't realize it was time to take a look around until they hauled me out of my office at 37 years old in an ambulance due to stress, smoking, drinking and being fat. I HAD to get out of THAT rut! I suggest you don't wait for that kind of a wake up call!

If you do a rut check and find you're not in a rut, you're on track- that's gold!! If you find you're sort of in a rut, make some small changes to get back on track. You don't usually have to change much to get out of a rut if you catch it early enough.

And wish me luck!!
Vibrato

Work Hard. Eat Right. Live Life. I Believe In You.