6TH ANNUAL MS-150 BIKE TOUR

In New Bern NC, September 9-10

Two days of cross-country cycling

30, 75 or 100 miles each day

See http://www.nationalmssociety.org/nct/event/event_page.asp?p=17163&e=8671

Turn volume up for "Music Box"

I made it! 175 miles!

The weather was perfect for cycling both days. Not too hot, not too windy. My stats below are close to last year's except I'm coming to the realization that I can't always keep up with the young cyclists, most of whom are thirty-something. Nevertheless, I'm still arriving back in New Bern before most cyclists.

Saturday September 9 - 100 miles:

The Saturday 100-mile trip was tough. I can't hang in with the lead group of cyclists as I used to, however, I did manage to bypass the first rest stop at a saddle average of 19 mph and hold that average to the 2nd rest stop at 36 miles where I stopped. But pushing it I got leg cramps which caused me to drop out of groups and have to slow down for the cramps to work out. As a result, my overall saddle average dropped to 16.8 mph from 17.2 last year. 

I returned home, showered, took a short nap and returned to the Convention Center for the nice buffet. After that I joined the Pickin & Grinin Group of 20 players at the Union Point Park gazebo to entertain MS-150 cyclists camping until 9 PM.  Click here for Gazebo photos

Sunday September 10 - 75 miles:

I decided not to go for 100 miles Sunday. 75 miles is easier and the cyclists are not usually as fast as the 100-milers. Like Saturday, I bypassed the first rest stop with a saddle average of 19 mph and kept 19 to the next stop. But not  having to work as hard I experienced no leg cramps. It was an exhausting but enjoyable trip. I was ready for a hot shower and a nap upon arriving home. No soreness, just exhausted. 

Pictures: 

As I did last year, I purchased a small throwaway camera that I could keep in my Jersey pocket. Click Here for cycling photos

The rest of the story...

On Saturday morning as I was waiting in Union Point Park for the tour to start, an old gentleman passed by and we started a conversation. His name was Joe Kahn and he was from Cary. I asked how many times he had cycled the MS tour and I believe he said 13. Wow, I had done it only 5 times. How much did he raise for MS? $2,900! Gee, I only raised $2,400. I finally asked him how old he was and he replied 77. Hey, I'm 77 and I'm supposed to be the oldest male cyclist in the tour according to the MS Society. Turned out Joe's birthday is a couple weeks before mine so he's now the oldest male cyclist in the MS-150 bike tour. I have notified the MS Society of the error. Lillian Herderich of New Bern is still the oldest cyclist at age 81. You can see a picture of her on the Photo Page (see above). 

Where to send your check:

If you haven't done so already and you're listed as a sponsor below, please write your check to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and note on it "MS-150 sponsor for Dave Wallace." Send it to:

    Multiple Sclerosis Society, 3101 Industrial Drive, Suite 210, Raleigh NC, 27609

If you have questions you may call them at 1-800-344-4867. Also if you forgot your pledge amount send e-mail to me at  davewallace@XXXsuddenlink.net (remove the XXX) and I'll return your pledge message. 

Thank you folks! 

Thank you for your great  support for me to cycle the MS-150. Many of you have pledged money year after year to the MS Society for me to ride the tour.  

Thanks also go to the folks at the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Raleigh for putting on a really first-class bicycle tour. 

Sincerely,  Dave Wallace

The following is the original web page that solicited sponsors for the 6th Annual MS-150 Bike Tour in New Bern.

Hello, I'm Dave Wallace and I'm back again and ready to roll!  

This will be my 6th year to cycle the MS-150 tour as the oldest male cyclist. I'm now age 77.  Cycling is the easy part. The hard part is getting help in raising money for Multiple Sclerosis research which is what the tour is all about. Over 1500 cyclists are expected to converge on New Bern in September and hopefully raise more than $1,000,000. Over the past five years I have raised a total of $6,841.75, all thanks to you. Visit my past MS-150 web pages at http://pages.suddenlink.net/davew/dave.htm and see who my wonderful sponsors have been.    

What is Multiple Sclerosis and what is the Multiple Sclerosis Society doing about it?

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. We have two family members with it. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, but the unpredictable physical and emotional effects can be life-long. This year the MS Society will spend more than $35 million to fund more than 300 new and ongoing MS research projects. There are now five FDA-approved drugs that can impact the underlying disease course in people with the more common forms of MS: Avonex, Betaserom, Copaxone, Novantrone and Rebif and last June the FDA approved Tysabri for relapsing MS. The Society funded basic research that led to the development of several of these drugs and continues to advance research that will help end the devastating effects of MS.

What is the MS-150? 

Besides the new 30-mile loops this year the basic MS-150 tour consists of two 75-mile loops out of New Bern on September 9 and 10. Each day there is an option of adding 25 miles to round out the trip to 100 miles or what cyclists call a Century trip. I always cycle 100 miles on the first day and either 75 or 100 the second day depending on how I feel and the weather. Each day's tour starts and ends at Union Point park in New Bern. The Tour is not a race but despite all ages and types of bicycles participating it's still a race for many. I always start with the lead group and try to hang in as long as I can, usually to the first rest stop around 12 miles - which they simply bypass. 

I need your support

The purpose of the tour is to raise money for research to find a cure for the devastating disease of Multiple Sclerosis. What I need are sponsors that will pledge a donation to the MS Society provided I complete the tour, which in my case will be 175 or 200 miles of cycling in two days. If you go to http://pages.suddenlink.net/davew/dave.htm you may access my  previous MS-150 web pages and see sponsors for the past 5 years that raised $635, $1449, $1562, $1555 and $1640 respectively. The overall goal this year for the Tour in New Bern is to exceed $1,000,000.  

How to pledge via e-mail

To pledge a fixed amount or an amount per mile please send a message to me at davewallace@XXXsuddenlink.net (remove the XXX before sending) with your name, address and the pledge amount. Don't send money. I will then post your name (less the amount pledged) to the list of sponsors and show the cumulative total below on this web page. 

When the tour is over and I complete 175 or 200 miles I will notify everyone by e-mail and update the web page with a narrative on how the tour went. At that time you may send your pledge check to the following address. If I don't complete the tour you owe nothing.

You can ride the MS-150 too...

Check out the MS-150 web site and register at http://www.nationalmssociety.org/nct/event/event_detail.asp?e=8671 You'll see all ages and about every kind of bike participating in the tour but I must warn you that you're going to have a tough time keeping up on a heavy fat-tire bike because most of the bikes are light weight road bikes with skinny tires. If you have questions about cycling and the tour send them by e-mail and I'll try to answer them.        

MY SPONSOR LIST

All addresses are North Carolina unless shown otherwise

Below is a list of the folks sponsoring me in the MS 150 Bike T

PLEDGE AMOUNT TOTAL = $2727.50.00  Wow!

Webmaster: Dave Wallace davewallace@XXXsuddenlink.net (remove XXX)

Web page originated:  7/26/06

Updated: 10/13/06