My Ass Hurts for MS Research

As I always do this time of year, I met up with members of Team Pro Bono for the annual MS 150, a charity ride that donates all fundraising proceeds to Multiple Sclerosis research. For those of you who may not know, I have a handful of friends that live with MS, so although I donate my time and money to other non-profits and charities, the MS Ride is my main fundraising focus throughout the year.

It gives me a good excuse to ride my bike, enjoy the company of strangers and help out some friends, what better charity could there be?

This year, Pro Bono took the show on the road and traveled to norther Idaho to participate in the closed course MS 150 that is a 75 mile out and back that runs from BFE, Idaho to Way Past BFE, Idaho. 2011 also welcomed a new member to Pro Bono.
A fellow Delta Chi and former EWU linebacker, Andy Castle brings good humor and good size to the team. He makes an excellent wind block. I hope you continue riding with us in the coming years Mr. Castle, because that stretch between Mt Vernon and Bellingham is always windy.

Much of the team could not attend due to previous engagements or family emergencies.
While it would have been great to have everyone along for the ride, sometimes life happens and that is understandable.

Mr. Castle and I decided to take it upon ourselves to complete all 150 miles on Saturday. We left the hotel room around 4:30 AM, only to find ourselves on a single lane dirt road waiting for Leatherface to hop in the back of the truck. Thanks for that Google Maps. Your sense of humor is stellar.
We ended up doubling back into town to have a look at a sign Andy had pointed out earlier. It very clearly said "TRAIL HEAD" in big letters. Maybe he oughta go work for Google Maps.
We rolled out in the blackness of the Tater Nation pre-dawn, onto a paved bike path that neither of us had every ridden. In true Delta fashion, we relied on small commuter head lights because we didn't want to tote around the extra weight of real headlights and battery packs for 150 miles.

Geniuses.

But, we rode until the sun came up without incident...save for the few times we almost crashed into each other and/or almost rode off the sides of the trail.
About an hour into the ride, we were passed by the only other 2 riders embarking on all 150 miles that day. They stopped ahead of us to take pictures of a bull moose grazing in the marsh next to the trail.

That would be the last time we saw them.

We made it to Mile 75, which was the starting line for the rest of the riders. We regrouped with Kristin and Shari, and hit the road for the ride back. Along the way, we picked up a solo rider looking to draft off big Andy. His name was Roger; a man on the far side of middle aged riding a neon green Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike who would not stop talking for the next 4 hours. Literally.
Other than some mild heat stroke, and Roger's incessant yapping, the second leg of the ride was without incident.

Upon our return to the BFE Indian Casino and Hotel, we attended a buffet style dinner where we promptly stuffed our empty stomachs while listening to the evening's speakers.
While most of the speakers were staff and/or volunteers for the MS Society, the speaker that got everyone's attention was a 20 year old kid who is the recipient of this year's MS Society scholarship.
Unfortunately I can't recall his name. :-(
Here is a kid who was diagnosed with MS as a teenager. As if being a teenager or being diagnosed with this mysterious illness isn't enough....no....this kid had both! Now, a sophomore at Montana, he is on his way to studying medicine....to help in MS research.
He received a standing ovation from the crowd and I think it was well deserved.
It was mentioned that Bike MS (MS 150) is the largest fundraising campaign run by the National MS Society. So far we've managed to raise $80MM for Multiple Sclerosis research and to help those living with MS.

And no matter how much your ass hurts from riding all day, doing something that positive makes you feel good.

Send Me Your Money

Dear reader,
I will be taking the next few days off from ranting to participate in the MS 150 charity bicycle ride in northern Idaho. I will be back online Monday Sept. 12th with more rantings.

As many things as I bitch about, I am happy for the fact that I have my health and that most of my physical issues are self inflicted. I look toward people who continue to live their lives to the fullest despite their "disabilities" or "limitations."

I  volunteer my time with great organizations such as the Outdoors For All foundation and the Seattle Slam quad rugby team. Both are great outfits with very inspiring messages for those of us who have full physical and mental capabilities, but find reasons to not live out our lives to the fullest.

I'm a strong believer in volunteering your time and not just throwing money at something to make yourself feel like you've done something. Anyone, including my broke ass, can donate a few bucks here and there. But it takes time, commitment and some emotional involvement to really make a difference in the world. You never understand a problem without really getting involved in it.

I choose to volunteer with these particular organizations because, as a person who enjoys activities that can potentially paralyze me, I like to know what to expect when my day of reckoning comes.

But the Multiple Sclerosis foundation is something a bit more to me.

A close family friend was diagnosed with MS when I was just a kid. I didn't know what it was or what it meant at the time. All I knew was that this once healthy and vibrant woman began to have issues with simple things like climbing a set of stairs. She was always tired. Then one day she began to use a cane to help her walk. Then it was a walker. Like an old lady.

But she was only in her late 30's or early 40's.

This scared me. The fact that nobody knew what MS really was or what had caused it really fucked with my head.
Remember that this was the late 1980's and AIDS was the big, new, scary disease. For all I knew, MS and AIDS were the same thing!


A few years ago, I found out that a friend of mine from college has been living with MS for about a decade now. So the way I see it, the least I can do is help raise money for MS research. A day or two suffering on a bicycle is nothing compared to what these two tough ladies have to endure every day.

The difference is that, I suffer for one weekend a year. These two live with this disease every day of their lives.

Multiple Sclerosis is a terrible disease that can and will cause loss of movement and paralysis, even blindness.
It's cause is unknown. It affects all kinds of people in all walks of life. No two cases are exactly alike.
The Pacific Northwest, and Washington State in particular, has the highest known MS rate of anywhere in the U.S.A.

Multiple Sclerosis could hit you or me at any time. I hope it doesn't. But it could....

To learn more about MS, please visit the National MS Society.

Please visit this site to donate to my fundraising and cycling team.

See you next week!