Mental health and COVID

 

Bike MS 150. The good news and the bad

Soooo....I have good news and I have bad news.

The GOOD NEWS! (because everyone likes good news) You can still DONATE TO MY RIDE!! (click here)


And the Bad news. Hurricane Dorian


Unfortunately, it looks like we will not actually be riding this year. There is just something about floodwaters and tropical storm-force winds that makes for less than optimal conditions for a large group bike ride. Go figure. We have not yet received confirmation from the ride organizers, but our hotel has cancelled all reservations to make room for first responders (thank you!!).


But please do not let this dampen (haha) your enthusiasm for supporting this worthy cause. Now, more than ever, people with MS and their families need your support. Your donation can help ensure that people with MS have the support they need for their daily lives and during times of crisis (like natural disasters).


Your donation WILL make a difference.


Please donate to my (virtual) ride. Today. 
Thank you.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Rebeccas_donation-link

Did you know? Donations are like butterflies...

Did you know that this is a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly?

And this is a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly?

And so is this?

And that they are all the same species because the female is dimorphic?

I bet you didn't know that.


Ok, smartypants, maybe you did know that.

But I bet you didn't know that your donation to my MS 150 bike ride can help researchers find a cure for multiple sclerosis and provide support to more than 400,000 people living with MS and their families?

Truth.


Also, did you know that if you don't donate I will set my aggressive dimorphic eastern tiger swallowtail on you?


Ok, so that's a dragonfly, which is neither aggressive nor dimorphic.


But you should still donate. Use this link.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Rebeccas_donation-link




PS - Thanks.


PPS - All photos were taken in my parents' garden in NC


PPPS - did you donate yet?
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Rebeccas_donation-link

An uninspired plea

O...M...G!! I have FIVE weeks and $1500 to raise before this year's MS 150 bike ride in New Bern NC (which, fortunately, is no longer under water because my underwater biking skills are terrible).

Please help me raise this amount (or more!!) by DONATING NOW!!

PLEASE!...

Please?

Pretty please?

Here's some info to help sway you to DONATE NOW!

It feels like every day we are inundated with the bad: climate change, economic sanctions, the possibility that a bagel with lox and cream cheese might cause cancer (nooooo!).

This is your chance to focus on the good. The good you can do and the positive impact you can have on people with multiple sclerosis and their families.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system. The disease is progressively and increasingly debilitating. In the U.S. there are about 400,000 people living with MS, and 2.1 million people with MS worldwide, so it is likely that you have a friend or relative who is living with MS.

The MS 150 bike ride is sponsored by the National MS Society and is a 2 day fundraising event held on the coast of North Carolina. My father and I will be participating for the 7th time together this year and plan to ride 150(ish) miles (either individually or collectively...time will tell).

The money raised helps the National MS Society support research and education, as well as provide support for individuals and their families. More than 2000 cyclists of all levels and backgrounds come together with the shared goal of raising awareness and funds to help people with MS and their families live longer, healthier lives.

Please help me raise more money than I have in years past (and more than my dad so I get bragging rights until next year).

Thank you!


https://secure.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=30221&pg=personal&px=5431795

Will you donate Wednesday

Ok folks, it's Will you donate Wednesday!
(bet you didn't even know that was a thing)

17 days until I start my 150 mile MS ride

donate here

$500

Amount of money I still need to raise before my ride

yes, you. donate here!

~400,000 

Number of people your donation will help  (it's time to donate)

$0.01 - infinity

Amount you can donate that will help find a cure
doooooonate!

>$1200

Amount of money I'd like to raise to help people with MS and their families

1

Number of solar eclipses I watched this week

(except we were in the 97% path so it didn't really look like this at all)

Well? Why haven't you donated yet?!


Please help support my ride and donate today!
Thank you

Why I ride MS...and why you should care (and donate)

I am back to beg for your generosity. In the next 39 days I need YOUR help to raise more than $1,200 to support the National MS Society.

What follows is a story about how a mitsva became personal, and a long-winded appeal to your emotions that you will be swayed to part with your hard earned cash to support a good cause.

 

If you are already convinced or just don't feel like reading the rest of my story (I'm not offended!), and are ready to do your good deed for the day/week/year, get your wallet out and:

Donate to Rebecca's Ride for MS

 

Ah, it looks like you are still here.

Ok, here is why I ride the MS150 and why finding a cure for MS is important to me.

 

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system. The disease is progressive and increasingly debilitating. In the U.S. there are about 400,000 people living with MS and 2.1 million worldwide. So, it is likely that you have a friend or relative who is living with MS.

 

However, prior to last year, I did not have a personal connection to MS. I love to ride my bike, and being able to combine an activity I love with a good cause is reason enough to fundraise. So, for the last 6 years I have raised money to champion research into finding a cure for MS, education about MS, and support for people with MS and their families. Add to this, I get to do the ride with my dad every year (and my brother for the first time this year) and I can find no arguments against spending one weekend in September each year riding 150 miles in large circles to nowhere with about 2,000 of my closest riding buds in New Bern, NC in a joint effort to promote longer, healthier lives for people with MS and support their families.

 

But last year it became a personal quest. All because my dad left the key for the cable lock that secured our bikes to the car in Chapel Hill - about 3+ hours from New Bern. Oops. It is, as we quickly discovered, much more difficult to steal a bike off a cable-locked Yakima hitch rack than bike thieves would make you believe. Or maybe my dad and I would just be hopeless bike thieves (quite possible). Regardless we had bikes, we were in the right place, but we were going to go nowhere quickly without some help.



avoid these bike shop employees

If there is one thing I have learned in my many years of being a cyclist: people who work in bike shops are resourceful - and in legal possession of sharp tools. So we made our way over to the expo area and I randomly picked a mechanic who didn't look like an axe murdering psycho and explained that my dad and I are idiots and our bikes were going to be permanently locked to our car without the help of a nice man with access to sharp tools. (Note, just to be safe I left out the "legal" part.)

 

And this lovely person that I selected said something to the effect of "Sweet! I love destroying stuff!" And with that, he instructed us to pull our car around to his tent, Cycling Spoken Here (visit them in Cary, NC!!), and he pulled out a nice, big pair of cable cutters, and voila! our bikes were free.



This is Steve



Meet Steve. He IS Cycling Spoken Here. And he is an all-around mensch. He and his shop have been supporting the MS 150 New Bern ride for may years.

Another thing I have learned in my many years of riding a bike, it's that saying "thank you", especially to any bike shop employee who frees your bike from your own stupidity, is essential. And what says 'thank you' better than a six-pack of craft beer? Mmmm. Beer.

Except this particular non-axe murdering, not-psycho and very lovely bike shop owner does not drink beer. Oops. Our bad...again. (Proving once again that you really can't save us from our own stupidity.)

 

beer...for lunch

On the other hand, starting with a mistakenly forgotten set of keys, we met a very nice new friend who saved the beer we bought for him and gave it back to us at the lunch stop on day 1.

And, more importantly, he made my MS ride a personal cause. Finding a cure for MS is near and dear to Steve's heart because he, too, wants to pay it forward. Steve's mom, Rena, had MS. She passed away in 2016. Steve has generously allowed me to champion his personal cause.

 

So, last year, this year and for however many more years I end up doing this ride, I ride in honor of the memory of Rena.

Riding for Rena

When you donate:

• 60% of your donation will be used for programs, services and advocacy related to MS in the southeastern U.S.;

• The remaining 40% of your donation will be used at the national level to support research efforts to stop disease progression, restore function, and end MS forever.

 

0% of your donation will go to line someone's pocket.

Please donate now. With YOUR help WE can prevent MS.

 

Thank you.

 

MS 150 ride report - in rhyme (of course)

Because you haven't suffered through enough of my bad poetry over the last month, here is my entire MS 150 ride report in rhyme...


Day 1 - Sept. 10, 2016 - goal: 75 miles

Day 1 is done.
We had some fun.

The headwinds blew.

Alas, tailwinds...few.

Road kill ahead.

Are all possums dead??

Forecast is hot!

Salt stick, Gu shot.

Pbj for lunch.

Ooh! A beer! Thanks a bunch!

25 miles left to go,

Think we'll take this part slow.

This is a ride, not a race.

We set a leisurely pace.

75 miles. Well, a bit more.

Man! my tush sure is sore!

50 more miles to go,

But we'll leave that till tomorrow.

Day 2 - Sept. 11, 2016 - goal: 50 miles

Day 2 is now in the books.

Hot and windy. I am cooked!

Moment of silence to start the day.

National anthem, and bikes away!

Wait a second, let us pause

To remember the MS cause

Your support has helped a ton,

but the drive is not yet done.

Go here, friends, and donate now.

If you've done so, to you I bow.


Lots of sun. Clear blue skies.
The road is straight, not a single rise.

Wildflowers and dragonflies abound.

Butterflies, all around.

50 miles, now we're through.
Pretty sure my butt's black and blue!!

Let's get inside. AC! A fan!

OMG! Now, that's a bike tan!

125 miles we did endure.
To raise awareness for a cure.


Until next year, this job is done.
Thanks to all of you. You're #1!

And for those who prefer a more traditional thank you...

Dear all,

I have just returned from our MS 150 adventure and I want to say thank you to each an every one of you for your support, donations, thoughts, and positive messages. My dad and I had two fantastic rides, covering 125 miles, to raise awareness of MS and the need for research, advocacy and support for people with MS and their families.


Almost 2000 people participated this year and more than $1.3M was raised. With your donations, I was able to personally raise almost $1250, which may be an all-time record for me. ALL of this money will go to improve the lives of those supporting and those living with MS.


As promised in my many poems leading up to the event, you can read my ride report (also in rhyme) here: http://rtsfabblog.blogspot.com/ [don't click. you're already there. ;-)]


Thank you again!
rebecca