My first MS 150
As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I'll be riding in the Sam's Club MS 150 (Dallas) on May 5-6, 2007. Over two days, we will ride 150+ miles. Starting from Frisco, Texas, we'll ride to the Texas Motor Speedway on day one. The next day, we'll start at the Speedway and end at Sundance Square in Ft. Worth.
I'll be riding with The Wheeler Dealers, an MS 150 team founded in 2005 by my friend Bob. I'm pleased to be riding with them this year, not just because they have so much fun but because I've seen firsthand the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. You see, Bob's wife, Gerry, has secondary progressive MS and has been confined to a wheelchair for the past eleven years.
Turtle and I first met Bob and Gerry in 2002, and each year we've seen Gerry lose a little bit more of her mobility and strength to the effects of MS. She's a lively, outgoing woman who handles her disease with aplomb and courage, but it's tragic to see her increasingly become a prisoner of her own body.
Then there are our friends Barb and Joe, another couple who both suffer from MS. Joe was diagnosed first, and was already using a motorized wheelchair to get around, by the time we met him. Barb is able to walk using a cane, but has an entirely different set of symptoms than Joe's.
MS is a wasting disease that presents itself differently in each of those afflicted with it, and it takes away dignity and mobility. If I can do a little something to help by just riding my bike—because I can ride my bike—then I'm in.
But I need your help. If you feel, as I do, that finding a cure for MS is a worthy cause, I hope you'll help me to meet my fundraising goal by sponsoring me in this year's MS 150. It's easy to make your donation online, and it's tax deductible. It doesn't even have to be a lot of money. $10? $5? Every little bit helps. And if you know others who might be interested in helping out, please refer them to this posting or to my official MS 150 donation page.
Thank you.
I'll be riding with The Wheeler Dealers, an MS 150 team founded in 2005 by my friend Bob. I'm pleased to be riding with them this year, not just because they have so much fun but because I've seen firsthand the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. You see, Bob's wife, Gerry, has secondary progressive MS and has been confined to a wheelchair for the past eleven years.
Turtle and I first met Bob and Gerry in 2002, and each year we've seen Gerry lose a little bit more of her mobility and strength to the effects of MS. She's a lively, outgoing woman who handles her disease with aplomb and courage, but it's tragic to see her increasingly become a prisoner of her own body.
Then there are our friends Barb and Joe, another couple who both suffer from MS. Joe was diagnosed first, and was already using a motorized wheelchair to get around, by the time we met him. Barb is able to walk using a cane, but has an entirely different set of symptoms than Joe's.
MS is a wasting disease that presents itself differently in each of those afflicted with it, and it takes away dignity and mobility. If I can do a little something to help by just riding my bike—because I can ride my bike—then I'm in.
But I need your help. If you feel, as I do, that finding a cure for MS is a worthy cause, I hope you'll help me to meet my fundraising goal by sponsoring me in this year's MS 150. It's easy to make your donation online, and it's tax deductible. It doesn't even have to be a lot of money. $10? $5? Every little bit helps. And if you know others who might be interested in helping out, please refer them to this posting or to my official MS 150 donation page.
Thank you.
Fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee!
Is Turtle riding too?
next year I may do the ride. It will be a good excuse to buy that $1200 road bike I looked at :)
Emma: Dashing? Pun notwithstanding, I picked that particular photo because I looked like such a dork. I was doing for non-threatening and accessible. If I wanted to look dashing, I'd put on the new jersey and my sly spy sunglasses, and I'd have Turtle photograph my alter ego, Deuce X. Machina.
Pun intended.
Unfortunately, Turtle's not really a distance cyclist. Some people sign up and ride a symbolic distance at the beginning of the first day and the end of the second. We'll have to see if I can meet my minimum fundraising quota before adding a second!
Señ Iguana: I've experienced the MS 150 vicariously for the past couple years, so I'm anticipating a very fun and moving (emotionally) experience. The three friends that I'm riding for have come out in the past to cheer their riders on, and there should be some good photo ops for me to share with my blog visitors when it's all in the books.
If you're looking for a way to blow a chunk of change on a bike, go recumbent. None of those is cheap. Oh, and I loved your "honey-baked ham" valentine. Priceless.
WV: "ixjxbufk" Great. Given my current work assignment, everything is starting to look like a C++ variable name.
sarahgrace: Send 'em on. Thanks!
Thanks for helping!
Ride safe.
That way if it does rain, I'll feel that much more motivated to push on.