Hey everyone, well the excitement of the first week has calmed a bit and everyone is getting into the groove of things—hopefully it has been a smooth transition for everyone, and I hope that your workload hasn’t been too overwhelming just yet. In all the hustle and bustle of move-in weekend I completely forgot to mention the MS-150 Bike Ride that I participated in along with 40 others from the Walsh community.

For those of you who are not familiar with the MS-150 it is a bike ride that is sponsored by the Multiple Sclerosis Society in hopes to raise money in the effort to fight the detrimental effects of MS and allow those who have it to live a life free of pain. This race takes place each year all over the world, and has a tremendous amount of supporters. This year Walsh formed a team named “Walsh Through the Gyears,” named specifically for our university’s 50^th Anniversary—with significance to the students and faculty alike that were participating in this ride. The MS-150 gets its name for the 150-mile ride—which spanned from Middleburg Heights, OH (near the Cleveland Airport) to Sandusky, OH (Cedar Point). Quite a ride you say? You have no idea! I had never road my bike further than 40 miles—so 150 was definitely something that I wanted to be sure I trained for—“but I have all summer to do that!” I said at the time—forgetting that summer flies by

The first news about this event went out back in May, as Elsie Francis (Campus Ministry) and Bobbi Stults (Fitness and Wellness Director) lead the team along with student captains Kate Hoffman and Zia Snyder. As word spread about this great event the team list grew and grew and by the beginning of summer was near 40 riders. Each of us were asked to raise at least $250 by the MS Society—which would allow us to get a ticket into Cedar Point—if we could still walk after a day of biking there, and also covered some of the expenses for our accommodations and t-shirts and things.

Signing up for this ride meant so much more to me than just riding for a good cause, as I have several family and friends who are affected by MS and I knew that I could finally make a difference by participating in this event. Realizing that I could make a difference in these individuals lives gave me the motivation I needed to raise as much money as I could in the time I had allotted (August 10^th being my deadline). I knew that I would not be satisfied in just raising the $250, and immediately set my goal to $500.

The MS Society provided a convenient website and participant page that I was able to customize and even import addresses in order to send out a mass email to all my family and friends asking for their support. I could have never predicted what happened next. I finished customizing my page, and uploading about 100 email addresses that my parents and I had compiled over the years of close family and friends—I hit send, and I kid you not, in 2 minutes after hitting send I had a pledge. The pledge was from my cousin Kathy in California who I had not seen in years due to the fact that she lives out there and has a great job that keeps her pretty busy. I was overjoyed by the fact that even though there was such a distance between us, not to mention years that it has been since we last had the chance to “catch up,” that she supported me with a generous donation—simply because she had faith in me that I could make a difference.

The pledges began to roll in and I cannot tell you how good of a feeling it was to check my email each day to find several more pledges from close family and friends—and even friends of friends—who I had never met, who simply wanted to support this great cause. The website allowed me to thank these individuals instantly and even read personal messages that they wrote to me along with their pledge. The support was overwhelming and I was anxious to begin the race. Of course training would come—although not quite enough, but I survived nonetheless.

Summer of course flew by and throughout the remainder of it I was able to surpass my goal of $500 and actually on my way to the $1000 mark. Each pledge brought me the confidence to take on anything—and it was great to connect with family, such as our relative in Arizona who were actually getting their church involved in pledging towards this cause. I realized just how amazing my family and friends were and how lucky I was to have them supporting me as I prepared for this ride. My Uncle Jerry, who is an avid cyclist, and has participated in several other MS-150 rides, actually made the trip down from upstate New York to ride in the event with me.

I can not tell you how much it meant for me to have my Aunt Carol and Uncle Jerry make the trip from NY to support me—providing me with a professional Trek bike that I was able to borrow for the race. My Uncle Jerry has years of experience in biking and offered his expertise to our entire Walsh Through the GYears team for any assistance with out bikes, as well as offering advice for biking such a distance.

But I’m sure your anxious to find out how the ride itself went. Well to give you an idea of my experience—it was about 94 degrees for a good majority of the ride; my tire blew out about a mile into the ride (but was fixed quickly by my Uncle) ha-ha – like I said he’s a professional. I basically had never road on the bike that I road for the race—but quickly adjusted and was thankful that he brought me his road bike instead of using my Wal-Mart mountain bike. The first 75 miles felt like 200 miles, although we did have several nice rest stops and lunch was provided to us along with all you could eat snacks and beverage along the way.

Me on the Trek road bike my Uncle brought me from NY to use for the ride!

After being on the road from around 8:00AM, we arrived at our destination in Sandusky at about 4:15 PM. As I jumped off my bike I felt that I might never get back on a bike, and actually felt like I was still riding for a good hour after. If you would have asked me at the moment if I was going to ride back the next morning I may have had to think about it. But the night went on, I went to Cedar Point for a bit and road the Millennium Force and several other rides (that we could get on in the hour or two that we had) and then I went back to camp and turned in early. To my surprise in the morning I was not sore at all. Tired, but not sore. I actually was ready for the next 75 miles we had ahead of us, which we completed in good time, considering it was just as warm, and to our surprise we found the course back to be a bit longer. Crossing the finish line back in Middleburg Heights was a great feeling, especially to complete it with my Uncle at my side.

Here is just half of the line for breakfast the next morning at the high school we stayed at overnight. A Flying Pancake Breakfast was served! Breakfast began at 6AM, with this constant line until around 8AM!

As we celebrated with dinner and talked about our experience with my parents and other riders I remember feeling a feeling of no other—that I had accomplished my goal, and made a difference for those who truly needed support! I know my Uncle felt the same way, along with the many Walsh faculty and staff that toughed it out to complete the ride. We not only road together but also we all bonded together to fight MS. The bond we shared was like no other, as we were of all ages, from different backgrounds, but all fighting one cause. My Uncle, who had no prior connection to the Walsh community, was quickly adopted in by all my friends and the Walsh faculty and staff riders.

My Uncle Jerry and I, still surprisngly able to stand aftet the ride!

When asked if I would do this again, there is no doubt in my mind that I will ride in this event again as it has transformed me as a person to the point that I had even envisioned myself doing something with fundraising or non-profit organizations in my future career. Not long after the ride, we found that our team actually collectively raised over $10,000 and will qualify as a VIP team next year! The future looks bright for The Walsh Through The GYears team as we continue the fight to cure MS. I’d like to thank everyone for their support and encourage you all to participate next year!

You can check out my participant page to find out more and even donate towards the cause still. The URL is: http://bikeoha.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=6394008&pg=personal&fr_id=10830

I hope I have inspired at least one person to ride for the cure, or in some way be an active supporter of the MS Society’s upcoming events.

Until next time, take care everyone!