Saturday was a lovely day for a bike ride and Bike MS: Ride the Vineyard. The ride drew more than 600 riders who resolutely crisscrossed the Island to raise money for research and treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating disease that affects 2.3 million worldwide, 22,000 of them in Massachusetts.
Ride the Vineyard fundraising this year reached $341,000 of its $400,000 goal from registrants before race day, eclipsing the $329,000 raised in 2017. The Vineyard ride, an annual event here for more than 25 years, is the largest one-day fundraising ride in five New England states. About 75 teams and hundreds of individual bikers raised money through pledges from family, friends, and companies for their efforts on 18-, 30-, and 60-mile courses beginning and ending at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS).
The Greater New England MS Chapter event is co-sponsored locally by the M.V. Boys and Girls Club, as well as local volunteers, including the MVRHS boys lacrosse team, who showed up on Saturday to set up and help with the care and feeding of riders.
According to the National MS Society, MS is “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”
That reality, and the memories of the effect of MS on their family and friends, informs the riders’ resolution to raise money to erase the neurological disorder. There are no prizes for winning.
Riders ride for their cause.
David Raimist of Frederick, Md., rides for his late brother-in-law, Brian O’Neal, who died of MS-related issues last August. He was 55 years old.
“He was full of life and energy, a former Towson University football player, and a successful sales executive with a wife and four kids,” Raimist said on Saturday morning before setting out with team Velox Rota on the 60-miler.
MS affects more women than men, but generally advances more aggressively among men, and shows up most in the 20-50 age group, a time when most of us are in mid-career and raising families. O’Neal fought his disease for 20 years, Raimist said. “The last year and a half was really rough. I think his body was just worn out,” he recalled.
Raimist has been active in MS community events, and has been riding in MS bike events for 11 years, often at 100-mile distances. “Yeah, I think about Brian in every ride. And when I get tired, particularly during a century [100-miler], I remember how he endured, and I get strength from his courage,” he said.
Raimist estimated he’s ridden 3,000 MS miles so far, and he’s not done. “I’m going to keep doing it. We have to find a cure,” he said. His team is part of a larger Velox Rota organization with chapters across the country, including Hawaii.
As you might expect, this galvanizing around a common goal produces camaraderie and bonds among bike participants who see each other at MS events around the country. Pre-ride handshakes and backslaps were common, particularly at four complimentary bike repair/tire inflation stations, three of which were manned by Edgartown Bike, Bike Happy, and Martha’s Bike.
Many of the riders, including many newcomers, were enthused about the opportunity to tour the Island on a four- to six-hour jaunt. Amy Mok from Boston and the Bean Team said, “This is my first time here, really. I’m looking forward to seeing the Island,” a sentiment echoed over and over on Saturday, and no doubt helping to make Ride the Vineyard a premier MS fundraiser.
“The money raised is making a difference to MS patients,” Liz Strawn, senior development director of the national MS organization, said. “Compared with 20 years ago, when few drug therapies were available, we now have 16 different therapies, including one for quickly progressing MS cases.”
“Also, we’re seeing patients get diagnosed earlier; that slows down progression of the disease. And because of heightened public attention, many patients are more at ease with their diagnosis and are more willing to acknowledge their MS publicly,” she said.
Top individual Island fundraisers included Tony Omer and Steven Nierenberg, who each topped $1,000. Leading teams and their totals were: Road Ruach ($23,390), Broken Spokes ($18,786), Crusaders & Eagles & Friends ($17,540), Kevlar Cruisers ($15,550), and the the Vineyard Square Wheelers ($12,085).