This month I have a guest blogger, my
longtime friend, Caroline. She participated in Oregon's Bike MS in my honor
last weekend. When I asked what her experience was like, this was her very touching response:
In February of this year, I
participated in my first organized bicycling ride, "The Worst Day of the
Year Ride", in Portland, Oregon. This ride was created to be a fun
event held on what is, supposedly, statistically, Portland's
worst weather day of the year. After I finished the ride,
I encountered a booth full of flyers for several upcoming
organized cycling events. One flyer in particular caught my
attention--Bike MS. I first was drawn to this ride because of my longtime
friend, Caroline Kyriakou, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few
years back and has since been very active in the MS community,
including leading her own Walk MS team in her hometown of Boston.
I must admit that my decision to
participate in Bike MS, in part, was for personal and somewhat
selfish reasons. As described in the Bike MS flyer, the
ride was a two-day cycling event held in August. Both days
of the ride began in the small college town of Monmouth, Oregon (home to
Western Oregon University), ran through scenic parts of rural Oregon, and
then looped back to Monmouth at the end of that day's ride. So, in
addition to supporting a close friend's cause, I thought it sounded like a
lovely idea to be able to challenge myself physically by cycling some
to-be-determined, large number of miles through beautiful parts of Oregon
during the state's brief sunny season! I grew excited, yet nervous due to
the length of the ride, about the possibility of participating in Bike MS.
For months after The Worst Day
of the Year Ride, the Bike MS flyer remained on the floor of my car, where many
a flier has been left until its day of doom--the time it finally
meets my recycle bin. However, some part of me couldn't bear to
part with the Bike MS flyer. Perhaps it was the part of me who knew that
the athletically un-inclined and inexperienced cyclist in me could actually
finish a bike ride longer than anything I had previously fathomed.
Perhaps it was my friend Caroline telling me that I, too, could become active
in the MS community and could make a positive difference!
Never one to be stingy by
keeping physically-exhausting workouts to myself, I sought to enlist
a partner with whom I could share this experience. The length of the ride
scared off my boyfriend Ben, so I asked my physically-fit friend and colleague,
Deb, to join me. Like me, Deb was a relatively inexperienced cyclist, but
was up for the challenge! Once I had found solace in finding a
cycling buddy, I finally made the commitment by signing up for Bike MS in
June, and became part of a very warm Bike MS Oregon community.
Prior to the date of the Bike
MS ride, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Oregon Chapter
held multiple welcoming events. At a Happy Hour Meet and Greet, the
staff at the NMSS were more than willing to answer my numerous questions and
set my mind at ease about the length of the ride. With their help, I was
able to raise more than double the minimum fundraising requirement by fully
utilizing my Bike MS fundraising webpage. I was also informed of an
upcoming 52-mile practice ride, which at that time, was longer than any ride I
had completed. To gain more cycling experience, I decided to participate
in the practice ride. As the only woman, I brought up rear of the
cyclists, but the participants and support staff were phenomenal
in helping me along this challenging ride, waiting for me to arrive
at all rest stops and serving as my cheerleaders along the way.
The next phase was the actual Bike
MS event itself. Bike MS offered six routes of different lengths over the
event's two days and, by then, Deb and I had finally agreed that we would
ride 100 miles in total.
On the Friday evening before the
ride, Deb and I drove the one-and-a-half hour drive from Portland to Monmouth
and checked in to our rooms at beautiful Western Oregon University, which
graciously lends its campus to Bike MS each year. Early the next
morning, Deb and I set out on the longest ride either of us had completed, 64
miles. We rode a scenic loop, heading east from Monmouth, through rural
farming communities and wineries. The last ten miles were particularly
challenging for me, but I kept my friend Caroline in the forefront of my mind
and, by the time Deb and I crossed the "finish line" (in quotes
because Bike MS is a ride, not a race), I was near tears, overcome by my own
physical fatigue and with emotional empathy for others who take
on the challenges of MS on a daily basis.
Following the first day's ride, we
were welcomed back with a barbeque dinner, an inspiring guest speaker, and live
music. Deb and I enjoyed our dinner while getting to know three
other people sitting at our table and learning their stories. We were
amazed by guest speaker Maureen Manley's story, who, when in her twenties,
was a world-class cyclist headed to the Olympics. She began developing
symptoms, starting with impaired vision, which forced her, albeit
reluctantly, to focus on her health rather than on her Olympic
dream. It turned out that Maureen was experiencing early
symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Despite this, Maureen never
gave up her cycling dream. She rides frequently and I was surprised to
learn that she had ridden that day's course with us!
For the second day, Deb and I had
planned to ride the 35-mile route. But after making a simple calculation
(64 miles + 35 miles = 99 miles, just one mile short of 100), Deb
convinced me to venture out on the 50-mile route instead. After a lengthy
ride on Day 1, the second day's ride felt more challenging, but it was well
worth it! The route headed south from Monmouth, through both barren and
forested land. I felt so grateful for Deb having encouraged me to
challenge myself with this longer route because, as I approached the
halfway point at Chip Ross Park, I was surrounded by a breathtakingly picturesque, tree-lined
landscape. Soon after entering this beautiful area, however, I was
also greeted with a 500-ft climb in elevation over a one-and-a-half mile
period. Pedaling up this hill exhausted me! At several points, I
wanted to stop and rest, but I convinced myself to persevere until I had
reached the top of the hill. After fifteen minutes of
I-could-walk-faster-than-this pedaling, I had finally reached the
top. Following a brief rest with my fellow exhausted
cyclists, all trying to catch our breaths, I headed down the opposite side
of the hill. For me, this was almost as tough as the ride up, as I
did my best to safely navigate the curvy road at speeds nearing 30 miles
per hour. The ride on Day 2 wound down with one last rest stop
along the beautiful Willamette River, followed by the final
stretch back into Monmouth. Even more difficult than
the steep hill at the middle of the ride, the last few miles proved a
serious mental challenge for me. To make it through,
I surrounded myself with constant positive talk for the entire
final seven miles of the route. As I reached the finish, I was
welcomed back by name over a loudspeaker and, again, nearly brought to
tears from exhaustion.
In preparing for Bike MS, I grew to
learn quite a bit about myself and how to make long rides more enjoyable.
Of course, it is essential to stay hydrated with water and energized with food,
but I learned the specific intervals at which I need to make this happen
for myself, in order to have a successful ride. The wonderful
people at Bike MS put together a highly-organized and fully-stocked
event, accompanied by the kindest and most supportive
staff. I appreciated the very frequent rest stops that provided not only
water and electrolytes, but the most delicious
and nutritionally-balanced rest stop food I have ever had! Even
for a picky eater like me, there were several options for all types of
palates. (My favorite were the peanut butter and banana sandwiches
made on local whole-grain Dave's Killer Bread. Yum!)
Additionally, I consistently felt supported during the ride, from the
cheerleaders' warm welcomes at each rest stop, to the multiple
bike mechanics riding the route, helping those with flat tires and other
mishaps, to the support staff driving the route to make sure that no cyclist
was left behind or was without water. This year's Bike MS event in
Oregon involved nearly 600 cyclists, riding thousands of miles, raising
over $400,000 (and donations are still being accepted for this year's event until
the end of September), and was supported by over 250 volunteers--all to help
make a difference in the lives of those living with MS!
I feel lucky to have been personally
introduced to such a warm community with such an important goal--to STOP MS in its
tracks, RESTORE lost function, and END MS forever! The staff
and volunteers at the Oregon chapter of the NMSS have taken
great care of me, and I can only imagine how hard they work to help those who
are more directly affected by MS. When it was announced during the
evening program on Day 1 that sign ups were now available for next year's Bike
MS, Deb and I jumped at the chance.
From February to August,
I participated in four different organized cycling events and, by far,
Bike MS has been my favorite!
There are roughly one hundred
different Bike MS events of varying lengths all over the
country. And there is no excuse not to participate--there are
activities for all ability levels. Participants, including older children,
can ride their bikes along short or long routes. Or leave the bikes
aside and take part in the day's alternate events at the Bike MS village,
including yoga, swimming, and massage. Bike MS is sure to benefit you as
much as it benefits those with MS in your community! I hope to see
you in 2014 at Bike MS!
The day started with a reception where wine and mimosas were
offered. There was a photo collage on display from last year's event and wonderful
raffle prizes, 9 in total. There was a
sports gift basket with a football autographed by the Patriots, game tickets,
memorabilia and equipment, a gift basket of $1000 worth of scratch tickets, an
indulgence basket with spa treatments and a gift basket offering Lasik surgery,
by the office I go to for my eye care, which I thought was extremely generous. I
entered once for the indulgences gift basket and two entries for the scratch
tickets twice, but didn't win. I was hoping I could write a blog about becoming
a millionaire instead! ;)
The event was hosted by Lori Grande, co-host of the "JW and Lori in the Morning”
show on Country 102.5. Lori herself has MS and told us how much she
enjoyed hosting the event in years past and was glad to be back. We were served a delicious corn chowder soup,
quiche and a green bean salad for lunch and a decadent chocolate banana torte
for dessert. At each table setting was a party favor of pink cookie in the
shape of a dress. It was adorable and delicious!
