This is my mission. I ride to cure a terrible disease.
First, the headline. I participated in Bike MS: Bay to Bay for the second time this year. I raised over $500 for the cause. Here’s the story on how I became involved in this event.
In 2022 I rode in the Tour de Big Bear, an annual cycling event in one of the prettiest spots in Southern California. My wife accompanied me for the weekend, and we drove up to Big Bear from LA Friday afternoon.
After checking in at registration Friday afternoon, we made our way around the expo, a nice lady called out to me to tell me about Bike MS. Her name was Carolyn Spivak and she was so committed and charming that I signed up on the spot. Up until that moment I knew nothing about MS or about Bike MS. Yet because of a dedicated volunteer I’ve become part of something big.
- The Bike MS series is the largest fundraising bike event in the world.
- Each year, 7,500 teams and 100,000 cyclists choose Bike MS.
- To date, Bike MS cyclists, volunteers and donors have raised over $1 billion so people affected by MS can live their best lives as we stop MS in its tracks, restore what’s been lost and end MS forever.
What is MS? Multiple sclerosis is a disease that impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, which make up the central nervous system and controls everything we do.
The exact cause of MS is unknown, but we do know that something triggers the immune system to attack the CNS. The resulting damage to myelin, the protective layer insulating wire-like nerve fibers, disrupts signals to and from the brain.
This interruption of communication signals causes unpredictable symptoms such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, fatigue, blindness and/or paralysis. Everyone’s experience with MS is different and these losses may be temporary or long lasting.
In other words, it’s a terrible disease and I’ve made it one of my causes. Combining cycling with raising money to help find a cure for MS gives me great satisfaction, and it might do the same for you.
To learn more about Bike MS click here.
To watch my Bike MS: Bay to Bay video click here.
