BIKE MS: Ride the Riverside! This weekend!

So, my shtick is bike commuting. You get that. I get that. But there are other bicycling things that don't involve commuting and some of those things (technical term) involve people taking to bicycle to raise awareness or funds for good causes. This is what Bike MS: Ride the Riverside is all about.

MS (not Ms., the feminist magazine Betty Friedan) needs to be eradicated and our region's cyclists are doing their part. Here are some true, and upsetting, facts about Multiple Sclerosis:

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.

And here are some true, and amazing, facts about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society:

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn‟t.  The Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move forward with their lives. In 2010 alone, through its national office and 50-state network of chapters, the Society devoted $159 million to programs and services that assisted more than one million people. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. Join the movement at www.MSandYOU.org.  

So, here's the gist and I know we're late in the game (Bike MS: Ride the Riverside is this weekend!), but nonetheless:

For more information on Bike MS or to register as a cyclist or volunteer, visit www.MSandYOU.org/bike. To learn more about local programs and services for people affected by MS, please visit www.MSandYOU.org or call (202)296-5363, option 2.

Thanks. If any of you do the ride or volunteer, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe even a guest post. Riding bikes- it's fun. And when it's for a good cause, even more fun.  So, if you're not up to anything this weekend, go for it. Thanks.