By Dr. Walter W. Williams

The Metro Atlanta Cycling Club (MACC) added the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society to the organizations it supports by pedaling over 160 miles in the "Close Encounters MS Bike Ride, " August 18-19, 2007, in Sundance, Wyoming. MACC raised over $2000 to fight MS in this fundraising effort.

For more than 50 years, the National MS Society has offered hope and help for people with MS across the nation — hope through extensive national and international research programs, and help through services which make life better for people with MS and their families. Activities are made possible through private donations, grants, sponsorships and fundraising campaigns such as the MS Walk and the MS Bike Tour. Since the very first MS Bike Tour was held in 1981, people all over the country have met the challenge to train and ride to raise funds to fight MS.

MS is a chronic, unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system in which an overactive immune system attacks the body's own tissue in the brain and spinal cord. The result is a loss of insulating material surrounding the nerve fibers and damage to the nerve fibers themselves. The symptoms of MS vary substantially from person to person and in the same person over time, and can include numbness and tingling in the arms, extreme fatigue, cognitive complications, blurred vision, incontinence issues, loss of vision, and can even escalate to complete paralysis. Symptoms will suddenly reveal themselves in otherwise healthy individuals in the prime of their lives — usually between 20 and 50. Medications now available can impact the underlying disease process for those who have a relapsing form of the disease by reducing relapses and slowing disease activity. Much more is needed, however, to fuel the efforts of more than 200 researchers throughout the US and abroad to find better treatments and enhance diagnosis and rehabilitation for people with all forms of MS.

The "Close Encounters MS Bike Ride" started in Sundance, Wyoming, with Day 1 including 82 miles of stunning rustic scenery and over 10, 000 feet of climbs through the Wyoming side of the Black Hills National Forest. There was a 100-mile option on Day 1. The first 30 miles on Day 1 included the breathtaking "Mateo Teepee, " the first National Monument, now known as "Devil's Tower " and made more famous in the Spielberg film, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." The 78-mile Day 2 loop traversed from Sundance into South Dakota, rolling through historic Spearfish, SD, rural townships with populations as small as 15 people, and past the renowned "Vore Buffalo Jump," a large round sinkhole used by the Plains Indian Tribes between 1500 and 1800 AD to kill Buffalo for winter storage.

There were ride options for different levels of riders with 50, 75-mile, and century options. The ride was fully supported with lunch Day 1 in Hulett, WY, at Charlie T's Pizza and Subs, lunch Day 2 in Spearfish, SD, at the Enderby House, full SAG support, massage therapists, festive rest areas every ten miles well-stocked with energy foods and fluids, and lots of wonderful volunteers and friendly cyclists. Other events included dinner at the Crook County Courthouse in Sundance, with music on the Courthouse lawn by the Mountain Fire Band, a bike raffle, awards celebration, and a presentation by a former national cycling champion. All in all, this was a well-organized, fun event.

The National MS Society would not be able to fund research, provide services, host programs, or educate healthcare professionals and the public if it were not for the fundraising efforts of those who support the MS Bike Rides and other MS Society efforts. MACC joins with others to help ensure that people with MS have the information and quality care they need to live productive and independent lives. For more information about MS contact the National MS Society at 1-800-FIGHT-MS.