The MS Society of Canada has been holding summer cycling fundraising rides for over 20 years.
This is my 17th MS Bike Tour and my fifth Multiple Sclerosis fundraising tour in B.C. after 12 years of cycling in Ontario’s tour rides encompassing 30+ rides covering about 4,100 kilometres.
Last year, was a forced off year due to a bike fall and fractured shoulder while riding to prepare for last year’s event.
Now, having healed, two years older and also adapted to heart meds I now have to take, I have completed a duplicate of my unsupported 1,000-kilometre 2009 Van Isle End to End to End Ride.
I timed it to join up with this year’s Aug. 13 and 14 MS South Vancouver Island Chapter’s annual two-day Cowichan Valley Grape Escape tour for another 150 km before finishing at home, a mere 33 km south up over the Malahat.
Blurry vision. Overwhelming fatigue. Cognitive issues. Paralysis. Muscle weakness.
These are only a few of the possible symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, the most common disease of the central nervous system.
Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable, still incurable, often-debilitating neurological disease with a disproportionate presence amongst Canadians, affecting, in particular, women and young people. It is usually diagnosed during our family and career-building years, the years that feel the most promising and exciting.
The MS Society provides day-to-day support services for people living with MS and Canada is a key leader in establishing world-class research projects into the causes, treatments and potential cures for MS including “chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency” or CCSVI, which has yet to be proven to have a causal relationship.
To learn more about the research of the society, go to http://mssociety.ca/en/research/default.htm and for more information on CCSVI, go to http://ccsvi.ca and http://www.ccsvi.org.
According to a Leger Marketing survey, half of Canadians know someone with MS. That means someone in your church group, sports team or work place — perhaps even you — knows someone with MS.
So here I am, bike helmet in hand, asking for your help. I will do the sweating, pedalling and everything else.
I would be more than pleased to receive your support — please open your heart and your wallet to sponsor me. I have made my commitment; will you join me?
The cutoff date for donations is Aug. 28.
Please make a secure donation now at my personal donation site at www.mssociety.ca/en/give/default.htm. Use “a cyclist pledge” under "Other ways to make a difference" and enter David Cox.
This leads to my personal page where you will meet my niece Leslie, who contracted MS in her 30s and who is wheelchair-bound, be able to see the team’s fund raising totals in addition to my own, as well as being able to make the secure online donation.
Even if you prefer to donate by cheque, this page provides a wealth of information.
With an online donation, you get an immediate non-alterable electronic tax receipt; however, I am also happy to accept cheques for which a paper receipt will subsequently be sent by the society. Please ensure to provide an address and telephone number.
Make cheque payable to MS Society of Canada (Bike). c/o David Cox, 3332 Fulton Rd., Victoria, B.C. V9C 2T9.
Many thanks for your generosity. For those among you in other countries, I encourage you to search out your local or national Multiple Sclerosis organization and make a donation.
For more information on the MS Bike Tour, go to www.mssociety.ca/en/events/biketour/default.htm.