Madeleine Pelzel
President – Lovett – Sophomore in Architecture
Madeleine Pelzel is a sophomore Architecture student from southern Indiana. After completing a tour from Key West, FL to Bloomington, IN the summer before she came to Rice, she knew she wanted to be involved in cycling at the university. On that tour, she sustained nerve damage–which has now healed–which gives her the drive to ride for those whose nerve damage won’t heal. MS is a nerve-disabling disease with no cure. Through founding the MS150 Team here at Rice, she feels she can create a sustainable contribution from the university to the National MS Society while creating an additional avenue to progress the cycling culture at Rice. Don’t just ride. #BikeMS
Blake Bourne
Treasurer – Sid Rich – Junior in Mechanical Engineering
“Hi all! My name is Blake Bourne, and I am a Junior MechE at Sid! I got into cycling because I enjoy exploring and being in nature. I am riding the MS150 because I believe it is a great event, which helps to raise a lot of money and awareness for those suffering with MS. I also play rugby for Rice and enjoy playing the piano!”
Emily Thomas
Secretary – GSA – Fourth Year in Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Emily Thomas is a runner pretending to be a triathlete pretending to be a cyclist. She became interested in cycling in 2013 when her older brother challenged her to attempt the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in her hometown of St. George, Utah, and she realized that to do so, she would need to bike 56 miles (and, of course, progress from not drowning to swimming). Several rather frustrating months of trial and error and many, many hours of training later, she was able to accomplish the task. However, she found she was much more productive when she had a community to learn from and grow with. Last year, she completed the shortened BP MS150 to not only help support a great cause, but to meet fellow cyclists at Rice and learn from them. With the training from the race and support she found at Rice, she was able to complete her first full Ironman in Coeur d’Alene in June 2015. She looks forward to this next year to have the chance to bike the full BP MS150, the farther distance she will have cycled yet!
Brian Barr
Donations and Marketing Coordinator – Brown – Junior in Chemical Engineering
Brian is a Junior in Chemical Engineering from Atlanta, Georgia. He learned how to ride a bike as a kid, but didn’t really get into it seriously until he came to college and began to see bicycles as a way to get off campus and explore a booming city. Brian has done the MS150 both years that he has been in Texas, and looks forward to it in the future as a way to do something that he loves while also giving back.
Adam Lewis
Training Coordinator – Brown – Sophomore in Mechanical Engineering
“I heard about MS 150 while attending a Rice Rides event back in 2014. Someone suggested that our group participate in the Houston-Austin ride, and asked for contact information from anyone who was interested. Before then, the longest I’d ever ridden was 15 miles. But with a few months of training, I was able to complete the 2015 MS 150, which was unfortunately cut short due to weather. But next year I plan on completing the entire 180 mile ride! Fun Fact: I am an Eagle Scout originally from southern California.”
Bissy Micheal
Logistics Coordinator – Sid Rich – Junior in Civil Engineering
Jim Krane
Co-Sponsor – Faculty – Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies
Jeff Fleisher
Co-Sponsor – Faculty – Associate Professor in Anthropology