he likes to ride with the Bungee Bike Club. Photo by Mike Abell
By David Hurtado
Hundreds of cyclists will be riding from Olathe to Lawrence, in support of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) over a two day stretch this coming weekend.
The Mid-America chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is hosting their annual MS Bike tour, formally the MS-150, over Sept. 14 and 15. The tour, which draws thousands each year, has raised over $500,000 and is one of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s largest fundraising events. This will be the 30th anniversary of the bike tour.
Larry Stanfield, associate, Postal Services, is one of only two people who have participated all 30 years since the bike tour began. Stanfield said what got him initially interested in the bike tour was a desire to get outside and do something.
“I just moved here from California, and I am a pretty active outdoors type of person,” Stanfield said. “When I moved here, I decided ‘Well, the things I did out there like dune buggies and motorcycle racing wasn’t available here,’ so I decided to start bicycling.”
Over the 30 years Stanfield has rode, he said the event has only been cancelled once due to inclement weather. During the 2012 tour, the second day of the event was called off by the highway patrol, police department and local towns, fearing the rain presented a safety hazard to bikers.
Kristen Keith, marketing coordinator, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, said the organization is expecting between 2000 and 2500 participants this year. There will be three different routes bikers can take, including a traditional route at 100 miles or a shorter route around 43 miles. Keith said there will be plenty of rest stops along the way for participants.
“There are rest stops about every 10 miles or so along the route for cyclists to stop and refill their water bottles, get some Gatorade or a snack,” Keith said. “Really, just anything they need to keep up their strength and keep going.”
Online registration is currently closed, but anyone interested can still sign up on the day of the event after paying a $50 registration fee and $200 fundraising minimum at Garmin Headquarters in Olathe, KS. Keith said each year the MS Society has held the tour, it has been very successful in raising proceeds for people with MS.
“It’s extremely successful,” she said. “Every year we raise a little over 1 million dollars for the society and that goes back to research different support programs and services for the 11,000 people living with MS in our chapter territory.”
The most challenging aspect of the bike tour is hills, according to Stanfield. He spends about six or seven hours on his bike, averaging about 12 miles per hour. The first day generally consists of anywhere between 75 and 100 miles. The second day involves around 70 miles.
“When I first started out riding, the very first year I was so sore, but I enjoyed the ride so much that I said ‘well I’m going to try it again next year,” he said. “I came back for my second year and continued to ride. First I said I’d do it for five years, then ten years, then I just stopped counting after that. It’s something I look forward to every year.”
Jane Stanfield, Larry’s wife, said his exercise regimen involves riding his bike to different locations as much as he can, in preparation for the annual MS Bike Tour and because he enjoys being outside.
“Larry rides after work on the bike trail at Corporate Woods,” she said. “He also rides on weekends with his bike club, Bungee Bike Club, to the Plaza and many country rides. MS also has training rides at different locations that he and his club has rode.”
Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Symptoms vary in severity from person to person and may include numbness in the limbs, paralysis and loss of vision.
“Every time I ride and I have those aches and pains, they’re the ones I think about,” Stanfield said. “I think about the people in the wheelchairs and the walkers. I know they would rather be riding a bike than being in the position they’re in. It keeps me motivated.”
For more information about Stanfield and the event, visit nationalmssociety.org/goto/ larry30.
Contact David Hurtado, features editor, at dhurtado@jccc.edu.