Bike MS: Dat’s How We Roll, a two-day, 150-mile journey from Hammond, La., to Percy Quin State Park and back, is gearing up for its annual ride on Oct. 7 and 8.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society official Tessa Disch said the group is looking for volunteers to set up a site at Percy Quin, serve on a bike and luggage crew, check in riders, tearing down the site and cheer on cyclists.
Cyclists are expected to raise more than $787,000 to help people who are affected by multiple sclerosis, said National MS Society spokesperson Bailey Starnes.
The ride attracts almost 100,000 participants nationwide and there are more than 80 rides held.
“To date, Bike MS cyclists, volunteers, sponsors and donors have raised more than $1 billion,” Starnes said. “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.”
Starnes said that participants include MS patients and their friends and families.
“Those who participate in the ride include people living with MS, friends, families, neighbors, corporate teams and individuals who are driven to support critical MS research and life-changing services for people living with MS,” she said.
Those who battle with the disease can also participate in “I Ride With MS” a program supported nationally by pharmaceutical company Biogen and cycling garment maker Primal.
The ride will begin and end at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and go to Percy Quin with six rest stops along the way.
The fee is $40 per cyclist and participants must raise at minimum $275. If a person cannot ride but still wants to participate, they can become a “virtual rider” by raising money online.
To date, $325,000 has been raised for the ride.
Multiple sclerosis is defined as unpredictable and often disabling that affects the central nervous systems and disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body.
MS symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. Starnes states that the progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person can’t yet be predicted.
“Advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS,” Starnes said in the release. “Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50.”
The disease that affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide and women are more diagnosed than men.
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For more information or to help, call 1-800-344-4867 or visit nationalmssociety.org.
