In light of my dwindling finances I've decided to forego the Sam's Club MS150 for 2010 unless my job situation changes.  In the past I have paid the $300 minimum donation out of my own pocket to avoid coming up short at the time of the ride.  Add on top of that the hotel stay for the overnight and it is an expense I don't think I can afford.  My current priorities are making what I have for rent, car payment and child support stretch past the holidays so I can stay in Dallas as long as I can to continue job hunting.  Unemployment and a part-time job are helping, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to my previous engineering salary.  If I manage to land a more lucrative engineering position, in the mean time, I may sign up at a later date.

    I have continued to ride over the past couple weeks, although not as consistently as I have in the past.  On Friday before I went to the Renewable Round-up in Fredericksburg, I managed to find the one rainy spot with blue skies all around me on that ride.  In addition, on the same ride, my back tire started getting a slow leak.  So, after a summer of trouble-free riding, Mother Nature AND my bike let me down at the same time.  I rode 55 miles the Sunday after returning from Fredericksburg (and fixing the flat) and nearly side-swiped a motorcyclist and his ol' lady when they turned left in front of me without signaling.  I did a 35 mile ride Tues when I had a day off my solar PV installation job.  Thursday, I got off work early, but rain zoomed into the area too fast for me to get a ride in.  Yesterday, I did an early ride at WRL with my friend, Huzefa.  We had to contend with runners from the Cross Country Club on the paths until about 10 a.m.  Huzefa got a flat after about two laps, then had a defective tube so we ended up cutting that ride short to have lunch instead.

    So, I don't know if my work situation or my finances will allow me to continue riding.  As long as my bike doesn't break, I have daylight and good weather, I'll try to get on my bike as often as I can.  I hope I find an engineering position before the holiday that will allow me to continue my charity work for the MS Society.