We spent a little while at that rest stop as we were all tiring out and Paul seemed to be feeling the effects a little more than most.  Other than my knees I recovered fairly quickly with each rest stop, a side benefit of all my training this year I suspect.  After each stop I was good for a few miles before the hills really started to get to me again.  Now that I had caught up with them we decided to stay together.  Or rather Ron and I decided to stay together.  Paul would get bursts of speed/energy and head out in front of us for a ways on his own.  He never went fast or far enough to get out of sight but he would stay out on his own for a while before gradually drifting back to us.  Ron and I just maintained a constant speed together enjoying the scenery and taking it nice and easy.  As usual Ron could’ve taken off because he’s always been in better shape but he was content to ride along with me now that I had caught up with them and he knew that even if he moved up to ride with Paul they wouldn’t have gotten far enough before I caught up again to justify heading off on their own.  I appreciated the help as he would pull me up the hills and let us draft off of him in the few and far between flats.

At about mile 70-75 the unthinkable happened as we were climbing a long gradual hill.  Ron turned to me and said that he was tired of climbing.  The course had finally broken him too, though it never slowed him down, it was just a mental break that he was tired of the hills.  Since he’s always thrived on hills around town and bounced up them every year in Austin this was quite an admission on his part.  It made me feel a bit better to know that if someone who loved climbing hills on a bike was toasted then I wasn’t that bad off overall.  It was about this time that the winds kicked in and we started pedaling into constant headwinds.  I think it was punishment for me remarking to Ron that the winds seemed a bit better this year.  It was tempting fate and we got punished for it.  We cruised into the next to last rest stop all together for a quick recharge of our water bottles and a bite to eat.  We knew we were coming into the home stretch and asked one of the volunteers what the rest of the course was like.  He told us it was all downhill and we’d be going down an average 10% grade for the rest of the course.  While it sounded great we were a bit skeptical which turned out to be justified.

Within half a mile of the rest stop we get to the steepest hill of the entire course.  One of those kind that you have to lean back in your saddle to see the top of.  If we hadn’t all been so miserable at the thought of climbing the hill we would’ve laughed at the 10% downgrade comment earlier.  All i remember thinking is “10% my ass”.  Each of us just beared down and started climbing which seemed to last forever as we slowed further and further.  Ron and Paul made it to the top pretty quickly with me bringing up the rear yet again.  At this point the downgrade actually did begin thankfully with only a few light uphills the remainder of the course.  There was only one more steep climb which was relatively short in comparison to the others and knowing we were near the finish helped make it easy to climb.

It was about this time that I had a bee fly into my helmet which caused me to slam on the brakes and jump off the bike to get it out.  Ron stopped with me and luckily I wasn’t stung before getting it out.  We started back to find Paul had taken off ahead having not heard me asking to stop, he had already pulled ahead of us again with another yo-yo effort breakaway.  I told Ron he could go ahead and run him down if he wanted but he said no that he wanted to ride together which i appreciated.  We had gone a mile or so with still no sign of Paul when we saw the strangest sight of the afternoon.  A rider ahead of us stood bolt upright on his pedals, gave a little yell, and fell over into the ditch.  We got up to him and hopped off the bikes to see if he needed help and his legs had completely cramped up from dehydration.  I gave him some of my salt tabs and water and eventually he was able to get up.  He told us he’d be fine and to go ahead that he was starting to loosen up and knew the finish was within 10 miles.  When we got to the next rest stop we finally caught up to Paul where we took our last rest stop and rested up for the final push.

The run in to the finish was a  short uphill then a sharp dip onto the highway for the final miles.  The highway was nice and flat and we got a good pace going knowing that we were almost done.  We decided as we got nearer that we would cross the line together as a team since we had done it all together.  Also there was the side thought that we would get some awesome pictures of all of us together coming down the finish chute and crossing the line.  It turned out that the strategy worked great as there are some outstanding pictures of the three of us on Kreutz photography’s website.  I told Ron that I was planning on holding up three fingers for the picture to signify my three consecutive rides and he liked the idea and held up four fingers to signify his fourth ride.  Unfortunately we thought of this during the time Paul was out on his own so he didn’t get in on the numbers game.

We racked up our bikes and got out of our gear and headed over to the food tent to eat and relax for a few minutes.  It felt good to get out of the cycling shoes and walk normally again though walking was pretty painful in itself.   As we sat down to eat my knees stiffened more and more now that the constant pedaling had stopped.  By the time I stood to throw away my plate my knees felt like they were made of broken glass and I could barely walk to take a picture of the flags at the finish to show how stiff the winds were.  We headed over to the beer tent to get our free beer, Paul had already gone and gotten one while Ron and I were in line for food.  I ended up tossing half of mine so that we could get back to the van and then the hotel faster.  The ride back to the van was excruciating on my knees and I was glad that I wouldn’t be back on a bike anytime soon.

We spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the bed, taking showers, boxing the bikes, and generally relaxing and recounting the days ride.  That evening we headed out to Texas Land and Cattle to eat some giant steaks, potatoes, and nachos.  Our next stop was Six in downtown Austin.  Each year we go there and down some margaritas and rum and cokes.  After burning so many calories all day it doesn’t take many before we’re blitzed.  Six is a rooftop bar so getting up the stairs was a pain but I self-medicated with multiple margaritas which made the trip back down bearable.   We saw Lance’s friend college at the bar, which College also owns.  It turned out that the LAF volunteers were all there celebrating the ride and we got discounts on the drinks all night once we told the bartender we had ridden the ride.  The next day we found out that Lance had also been in Six that night.  Whether he was there the same time we were, we can’t be sure but we never saw him.  I suspect we had just missed him due to eating dinner.  Oh well, maybe next year and hopefully at the Ride for the Roses if I can qualify.

The cell phones and alarm clock all started ringing about 4 in the morning. To say we were a bit slow moving would be generous. Luckily we had setup our jersey’s with our race numbers, honor cards, and in memory cards the night before. All we needed to do was get everything on and head down to the minivan. There was no point in taking a shower since we were getting ready to head out for a 90 mile cycling effort. We called down to the valet and had the van pulled around and ready to go when we got downstairs with our bikes and gear. Since the course was in a new location this year and we had been warned about parking so wanted to get their early. It was an amazing accomplishment that we got out right when we wanted to at 5. The ride was fairly long out of town leading us to suspect that we missed our turn or something before we came across a tour bus ferrying riders. All parking was about half a mile from the Dripping Spring High School in a local park. We ended up there so early that we tried unsuccessfully to take a nap before heading out.

The actual start/finish of the challenge was about a half mile from where we parked so we rode our bikes up to the line after stopping in to the registration booth and restrooms. This year instead of one start finish with parallel corrals for the riders to line up in there was one long start chute with the lanes marked as sections of the start. So the starting line was actually one long road that wrapped the school. Since we were there fairly early we were able to get right up to the front of the lane and right behind the Ride For the Roses qualifiers who got to start off first and were joined by Lance. Since the first turn out onto the highway was sharp and narrow the start was staggered by four minutes for each group of about 100 riders. I’m guessing those in the back of the line didnt get started till well after the first group let out. As usual there were announcements about the route and words of encouragement from the PA announcer before the anthem was sung and Lance said a few words to the crowd.

One thing of note is that our team, Grab My Wheel, was up for the Austin team jersey award but we were beat out by another team. To be honest their jerseys were nowhere near as nice as ours were, or even as nice as another jersey that we thought was going to beat us out. I guess the fact that they had 130 members and raised 50K may have factored into their jersey win. Oh well, there’s always next year and we’ll have another new jersey to enter.

Our group finally got onto the road about a quarter to eight and we headed back to the park where we had started and through the field of parked cars and straight into the hills. They hadn’t been joking when they said the course would be hilly. Within 10 minutes of starting we were flying down the hills behind the park at over 20 mph before short quick climbs back up and another dive down the next hill. It would be a continuing theme of pounding up a hill and screaming down the other side all afternoon. Along the first few miles were herds of longhorn cattle watching us pedal by. The first challenge came early and was harsh as we rounded a corner on a downhill to find a bridge overrun by water. There were people off their bikes calling for everyone to dismount and walk across. Some, like Ron, Paul, and I, were able to get off in time and others went straight into the water and slid over to crash or barely caught themselves in time. It was a pretty messy situation but luckily it was the only occurrence. After I had walked across the bridge I mounted my bike and burned myself badly trying to make it up the steep hill on the other side. It was just bad luck that one of the first and steepest climbs occurred right when we had to start from a dead stop. Luckily it was a short hill but I still pegged my heart rate and never really got the same rhythm I had the first few miles again. I caught up to Paul and Ron after a couple miles and knew that the day was going to be long and brutal.

Another hazard we faced which was new was cattle guards across the roads over the course of the ride. I had never seen these before and the best way to describe them is a lattice of about 7 or 8 steel beams parallel to each other running longway across the road with a pit underneath. Needless to say you didn’t want to hit them at the wrong angle because you’d easily loose a tire, not to mention a couple bones as well.

Each hill found me popping off the back of whatever group we were in and I’d catch up to Ron and Paul after we got to the top. I just had no speed going up the hills and was barely making a decent speed up the hill. I’d say over the course of the ride my average was 5-10mph only on the uphills followed by speeds of 30-40mph downhill. It was monotonous, brutal, and extremely scenic. The countryside really did live up the the descriptions that Lance gave at the fundraising dinner with gorgeous views of mountains, valleys, hills, farms, and rivers as we rode beside and over each. At the first rest stop Paul wanted to have his bike checked out because he thought something was rubbing because it felt like it was dragging. Ron and I suspected it was more of the hills than the bike, which seemed more likely when the bike was given a clean bill of health. At that point we had only gone 15 or 16 miles and were averaging a pace under 16 per hour so we knew that we were in for a long, long day. There wasn’t much that could be done though since I knew I couldn’t manage much more and Paul was about the same. Only Ron would’ve been able to go and maintain a faster pace but he had decided well before that he was there to have fun and ride with all of us.

My knees began tightening fairly early in the ride and I could tell that things were only going to get worse. The smart move after riding on the hills so far and knowing the harder ones were still ahead would’ve been to switch to the 60 mile course at the turn off. I had done that last year at the 70 because of my knee and this year it was both knees bothering me on a course that was light years harder than the previous. I talked this over with Ron as we were riding and he knew what I was thinking and said that it would be smart but he thought I could do the 90 and knew that I wanted to do it too. My regret last year was that I pulled off the 100 mile course, even though at the time and during the ride it felt like the right decision. At the finish line however I felt fine and over the course of the week after I wasn’t sore at all which told me I hadn’t pushed myself hard enough or far enough. I didn’t want this year to be the same way.

There were a series of hills before the 60 mile turn off/rest stop which wore me out and when I caught up to Ron and Paul I stopped and gave them the thumbs up that I was going to do the 90 as they kept on going. They both had said that they couldn’t keep hanging back and finally gave in when I kept saying to go ahead and take off. I understood I was holding them back and wanted them to have fun and not spend the ride looking over their shoulder waiting. Also I’ve gotten fairly use to riding alone and don’t have a problem with doing it which many people seem to. I did a pretty quick rest stop refueling and eating my salt tabs. I did really well managing the nutrition and hydration this year which I credit to the half-Ironman training and the previous Challenge experiences. I had a salt tab every 30 minutes, an ibuprofen for my knees every hour, alternated between water and Cytomax swallows every 10 minutes, and finally a power bar or some other food at the rest stops.

After that rest stop I looked down and saw that I was just under halfway to the finish which helped me feel better about my decision to go on.  I felt really good being on my own out there for some reason, probably because I was keeping my own steady pace rather than trying to catch up and slow down with each hill climb and recovery.  Within a mile there was a sign saying rest stop 5 miles which I thought was strange considering we had just had one.  It turns out that it meant that I wouldn’t be riding alone long.  When I got to the rest stop I skipped it because I had just had one but it turned out that Paul had needed to stop and they had stayed there for a lot longer than I had stayed at mine.  Within a mile of that rest stop I saw Ron and Paul in the distance and though I didn’t catch them before the next rest stop I never lost sight of them.  It turned out that they were slowing in speed closer to my average that I was maintaining now that I was riding alone.  I did manage to tack onto the back of a paceline every once in a while while still fresh from my rest stop though I would get popped off the back with the next hill.

My knees were hurting worse and worse with each hill and I developed a strategy to try to save myself as much as I could. At the crest of each hill I would drop into my biggest gear and gain as much speed as possible on the downhill till I couldn’t pedal any faster.  Once up to speed I’d stop pedaling and get into an aero position and coast as far up the next hill as I could before I’d have to pedal again.  So between each set of hills I’d get a brief respite and rest my knees before having to climb yet again and have them burn more and more.  At the next rest stop I pulled in within about 30 seconds of Ron and Paul and beeped the bunny horn surprising them both.  I think having them out there to catch and having them in my sights for so long helped push me faster than I would’ve without seeing them.

Next up the final miles and finish (hopefully posted faster than this recap went up)

After the race we headed back to the hotel to get showered up and change.  We ended up spending the next few hours vegging out watching TV with Paul and Ron grabbing quick naps.  After we got cleaned up we headed over to The Jackalope.  Zack had gone to Austin a couple weekends previously for the Roller Derby nationals and had stumbled upon the burgers at The Jackalope and told me that we had to try them.  I can easily say that the chipotle burger was the best in town and i’d argue that it may be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.  Now my opinion may be colored by the fact I was starving from the race earlier but I don’t think that was the case.  When we ordered we talked to the chef about what to get and he said if it was our first time that we had to have the chipotle and I’ll say the same.  Check it out if you’re hungry and near 6th street, if you’re not near there take the trip over.

From there and having full stomachs we headed up sixth browsing around before turning onto Congress to walk along the riverfront.  A local told us that the bats were probably already gone for the season so we didn’t get a chance to check them out at sunset but maybe we’ll get lucky next year.  All in all it was a lazy afternoon and we headed back to get ready for the fundraising appreciation dinner that night.  We watched most of the LSU vs Kentucky game before we had to leave at the end of regulation.  Once we got to the convention center and headed upstairs we were checking Paul’s Blackberry for score updates.

When we first got to the dinner everyone was having appetizers and beers in the hall waiting for the room to open up where we would rush in and grab whatever seat we wanted with placards that were given to us.  We mingled around talking with random people we had met over the weekend so far.  We bumped into Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s trainer, in the crowd but didn’t chat.  Once the doors opened we headed in and grabbed one of the nearer tables to the podium so that we could get a good view of what was going on.  At each seat we found a silver keychain gift inscribed with the Livestrong Challenge logo. It was very cool and I’ve been looking for one for awhile.  It’s the kind that splits apart and I’ve been looking for one for awhile so I can pop off my house keys for running.

The presentation began with Doug Ulman who was president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Over the course of the evening we were treated to videos of the various work that the LAF has done over the course of the year such as the Livestrong Summit and presidential candidates debates.  We were also told how the LAF disperses the funds we raise and found out that the Austin Livestrong Challenge had raised 3.8 million dollars.  Quite an amazing number for a single event and were also told that the LAF has now raised 250 million dollars since its inception eleven years ago.

Doug also told us about the course and how Lance had ridden it a few days before and came back and told him it was a tough course.  That should’ve been a sign of what was to come.  Next Lance himself took the podium and talked about the history of the LAF and then told us about the course himself.  It turns out that he took over the ride course this year and decided that he wanted to “take it back to the hills and the most beautiful country in Texas if not the world” and had helped “make it possible to win seven tours”.  He also told us that it would be challenging with hills, switchbacks, and cattle guards.  When a seven time tour champion tells you that the course is tough then you know you’re in for one hell of a time.

The dinner wrapped up with the presentation of awards to the top fundraisers, teams, and those that reached the most people.  It was a great event and I hope that I get to go again but this time as my own fundraising award and not just a guest.  Knowing we had to get up and take on the ride the next day we all headed back to the hotel to crash for the evening with the alarms set for 4 am.

The cell phones started ringing at 6:30 in the morning and we all got out of bed dragging a bit. Morning people we aren’t though Ron does do a good impersonation. By the time we got everything together, such as Ron and I putting on our Nike+ systems, Paul’s heart rate monitor, and stretching it was about a quarter after seven so we headed out and walked the seven blocks to the capitol building in the heart of Austin. The start/finish was setup directly in front of it and the race headed out towards the river from its steps. We got a passerby to take a picture of the three of us in front of the start/finish then we headed around to the runners “corral” to get ready for the race. A random runner told us that there were 2,000 runners and 4,000 cyclists here for the weekend. We took the statements at face value but looking back at the results and the number of people I’d say around 500 was more accurate.

As seven o’clock approached the LAF speakers began to take the stage and talk to the crowd. The main purpose of moving the 5K to Saturday and at the capitol was to promote awareness of a vote coming up in November to provide some of the most ambitious funding for cancer research in the nation. Not being from Texas I’m not entirely in the know on this law but do know from what I’ve heard and been told it seems like a great idea and initiative. Several of the lawmakers responsible for the law were introduced. During all this the rumor began circulating through the crowd that not only Lance Armstrong was running the 5K but also Andy Roddick, the tennis pro. The rumor was pretty quickly confirmed when Roddick was introduced and he came to the podium in running gear to talk about his support of the proposition and then introduced Lance who also spoke at length to the crowd. Afterwards a young girl did a pretty impressive rendition of the national anthem. It was a great version but those that tried to sing along in the crowd quickly gave up as she sang it her way and at her pace.

Paul, Ron, and I had been talking about the run most of the morning and they were getting the impression from my times that I was pretty fast. I don’t think so but they did, which while it may be wrong, was a pretty good ego stroke. Paul said that he was going to use me as a pace and try to stick with me as long as he could which I thought would be a cool idea and run. Once the guys cleared the stage the race started with Lance and Roddick leading everyone out, at least I assume they both were there since we were too far back to see. It took 19 seconds to get from where we were to the start line, based on the results. Once we got across the line I saw an opening against the barricades and told Ron excuse me and I’d see him at the finish as I got by him and started to push through the pack to get open. I set out with the purpose of setting a new PR and I felt that if there was a time and a place to do it I wanted it to be here at this race.

I got through the pack within a couple blocks and looked over to see Paul right there with me. I had only run fast to clear the crowd and was planning on slowing down to find my pace to stick with. Now with Paul right there and all the talk from before I was thinking that he was going to push me all day. I had a slight fear of this to begin with and then just went with it as I was feeling really good and AC/DC had just kicked in on the headphones as we approached the first bridge. I looked back again and Paul was gone. I continued to cruise as we made the turn to the first mile marker which said 7:03. After that it was another turn to head back over the river at the next bridge.

It was then that I caught site of a runner all in black with a yellow stripe on his pants, a survivor card on his back, and staff written in yellow on his back. Lance was wearing almost the exact same thing when I saw him on the stage, though I didn’t know whether the staff was there. Either way the thought I had caught Lance was in my head and I had to know so I sped up and caught the runner at the halfway point of the bridge. Turns out it wasn’t him and I didn’t really expect it to be since he had done the New York Marathon in three hours. I kept on going but at the two mile mark I started to feel the pace getting to me and wanted to walk and pull back, but I knew that where I was and why I was doing it meant quitting wasnt an option. I gritted my teeth and got through it and as we turned up the back of the capitol building to come back into the finish I was feeling great again.

As I rounded the capitol another runner caught up to me and said something I didn’t understand so I just nodded and told him we had 400 meters to go based on what my Nike+ had just told me. He sped up and so did I, then 300, I kept accelerating and he hung with me but a step behind. At 200 I kept accelerating and he was gone as I passed another runner. I came into the finishing chute and raised my hands over my head waving my hands in the “raise up” motion to the crowd to get them going. I knew I had to be close to my PR and I was loving it and wanted the crowd going too. I could hear them cheering more and I’m pretty sure the announcer said something though I couldn’t hear with my headphones. I saw the finish clock and it said 21:58 and I knew I had beaten my best chip time by 10 seconds and that clock was by gun time. I lept across the line with a fist pump, I can only hope that the cameraman caught it cause I want that picture.

Chip time is the time from when you cross the start and when you cross the finish. Gun time is when the race starts to when you cross the finish. Hence the gun time is higher based on how long it takes you to cross the line. I had beaten my chip time PR with my gun time this race. As I got out of the finish line area I knew it was a lock and I ran into Andy Roddick. I had carried my camera with me so I gave it to someone walking by and asked him if he’d mind if we got a picture. He said no problem so I got a shot of us at the finish line. I asked him his time and he said he didn’t know but his friend told him it was 20:55 so I came within a minute of catching him on the course. Lance was nowhere to be seen but I expected that. In the official results they had my gun time at 22:02 which was surprising but still beat my old PR of 22:08 and the chip time, which is what I track, was 21:43 which crushed my old time. Overall I got 31st place out of 463 timed results, so obviously the serious runners weren’t there if I pulled that place.

I headed back up the course with my camera to try to catch Paul and Ron on the run and as I started I saw Ron coming in. I managed to get the camera out and on just in time to catch a photo before he passed. I walked back and met him at the finish where we talked for a second before he spotted Paul in the chute and i got a picture of him as he got his water and chip taken off. Ron finished with 25:19 for 84th place and Paul got 26:24 for 120th place which was really good for his first ever 5K. We wandered around the finish for a little while and got another group photo in front of the capitol before heading back to the hotel to relax for awhile.

A side note is that my knee held up great. It got a bit stiff later in the day but during the run it twinged a bit in the beginning but as I got going it loosened up and didn’t bother me again. I think this bodes well for the cycling on Sunday.

The updates have been sporadic lately but the time has come for the Livestrong Challenge and I’ll do my best to keep the recaps coming quick and dirty.  This year Ron and I were able to book a Friday flight and head out without taking an extra day off from work.  I headed out to Ron’s on Thursday night to drop off my bike so that he could box it up and get it ready to travel.  Ron knows his way around the boxes and bikes better than I ever could so he knocks out this task each year.  I was hoping to help him but I had to head out to meet up with the statistics crew of the Carolina Rollergirls to find out what the plans were for the next few bouts.  It ended up being just a hanging out night with a few beers and joking around.  Not a bad way to spend the night before heading out to Austin.  But then again packing might also have been a good idea.  I spent the next few hours getting everything together and triple checking that I had what I needed.  I ended up getting to bed around 12:30 with the plan to wake up at 6 so that I’d be ready to go for the flight the next morning.  I spent the rest of the night waking up off and on and adding things to my bag as I remembered them.

I did manage to wake up on time the next day and get showered and ready to go.  Ron texted me that he would be at my place around eight so I took the extra time to relax and watch some TV knowing the next few days would be non-stop.  We got everything loaded and headed to the airport a little after eight.  As usual we had to do the dance with the American Airlines check-in about the bikes.  They always ask us to pay and we always have to point out that we have a free voucher to take them there and back.  I’ll gladly do that every time though if it means not having to pay for the bike shipping.  It’s great of American Airlines to do this for the riders each year and hopefully they’ll continue to do this.  I know it makes me a lot more likely to look at them when i think of traveling.  The flight to Dallas was smooth but we ended up getting stuck at the airport waiting for our gate to open so that we could pull in.  I’d say we spent about 30 minutes on the tarmac before getting into the terminal.  The Austin flight was just as quick and painless and we got in, got the van and headed into downtown.

We’re staying at the Courtyard by Marriot again which is outstanding.  We walk out the door and into the convention center, two blocks and we’re on sixth street, you can’t really ask for a better location.  Ron’s friend Paul is riding and running with us this year and he caught up to us about two hours after we landed.  In the meantime Ron and I went over to the convention center and checked in to receive our bags and numbers.  This year’s bag, which is the award for raising 1000, is outstanding.  Its an overnight/travel bag that I’ll get tons of use out of since its nice and big.  Ron got the limited edition jersey also which came with the 2500 level.  I was hoping that jersey would only be a free jersey that others would have to buy but it turns out that there is no challenge jersey this year other than that one.  So I missed out on getting one since I missed my mark on fundraising.  There’s always next year though.

Once Paul got into town we headed back over to the convention center so that he could have a look around.  We had gotten all of his numbers and what not when we got ours so that he wouldn’t have to wait in line.  From there we made a quick run to the local bike shop to get CO2 cartridges to cover any flats that may come up on the road.  For those that don’t know the CO2 will inflate your new innertube if you get a flat on the road and have to change it out.  It beats carrying around a tire pump.  After that it was our annual trip to Chuy’s.  Any trip to Austin is severely lacking if you don’t eat here.  Great Tex Mex and, like everything else in Austin, completely unique.  I had their burrito which lived up to its description of being as big as my face.  Needless to say we all headed to the hotel stuffed and lethargic after taking a few pics of us in front of the iconic sign.

We crashed out by 10:30 local time, which was 11:30 eastern, so that we’d be able to wake up early at six for the 5K race the next morning.   Dinner will be at the invitation only Saturday Gathering after Ron got two tickets for raising $5000 and scored an extra ticket for Paul to come with us.