MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                               March 24, 2009

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Round Rock’s ‘Spike’ Announces BP MS 150 Bid

Triple-A mascot vying to become first oversized dog to complete charitable race

ROUND ROCK – Leave it to an old dog to come up with a new trick.

Feeling a little left out of the Round Rock Express’ 10^th Anniversary Season festivities, Spike, the team’s long-standing mascot, announced Tuesday he has signed up to pedal more than 160 miles as part of the 2009 BP MS 150. He will become the first fully-outfitted mascot to complete the two-day cycling course.

“This is chance for me to prove I’m more than just an extremely loveable dog in a train conductor’s outfit,” Spike said through his handler, Express Mascot Coordinator Richard Tapia. “It’s our 10^th anniversary and the 25^th anniversary of the BP MS 150, so what better way to support both than by proving that dogs don’t have to be quadrupeds.”

Spike has been training in secret for several weeks and will begin working out today on a specialized recumbent bicycle from Austin-based Music City Cycles. His daily progress will be tracked through blog, video and photo updates on the Round Rock Express homepage up until the day he departs for Houston.

He’ll be one of more than 13,000 cyclists – and the only known 6-foot-5-inch costumed dog – departing Houston on Saturday, April 18 and arriving in Austin on Sunday, April 19.

Spike plans on taking a lunch break in Bellville on Day 1 before pedaling into La Grange for an overnight stay in the doghouse. He’ll then skirt up Hwy 71 past Smithville and into Bastrop for another lunch break. From there, it's FM 969 straight into Austin where all cyclists will be welcomed to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum near the Texas Capitol.

“He’ll be dog-tired by then, I’m sure,” said Round Rock Express founder and CEO Reid Ryan. “But this is Spike, this is what he does. When Lance Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France, Spike came to me and said he wanted to be a cycling pioneer. This is his biggest chance, and it’s for a great cause.”

Organized by the Lone Star Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the BP MS 150 is the largest non-profit event of its kind in North America with 13,000 cyclists, 3,000 volunteers and countless supporters and spectators. In 2008, the event raised more than $15 million for multiple sclerosis -- a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. More than 400,000 Americans currently live with MS.

Cyclists are required to raise at least $400 for their ride. Those wishing to support Spike in his latest altruistic effort may click here for a donation form. To find out more about the 2009 BP MS 150, click here.