The Difference the MS 150 Makes
The Texas MS 150 came back to Fayette County last weekend after a two year break. The number of riders was down from it’s peak a few years ago. But it still brought quite a spectacle to La Grange and the north end of the county.
The six thousand riders with their colorful uniforms who descended on La Grange are expected to raise $8.1 million this year. The vast majority of the money raised goes toward curing the neurological disease multiple sclerosis.
That’s probably worth a few traffic jams during one weekend out of the year.
Just ask Caroline Barrett, a rider who is living with MS.
Barrett, 23, was diagnosed with the disease in November 2015, 10 days after her 17th birthday. Some of the people at the Fairgrounds this weekend were in wheelchairs, having been living with the disease for decades. Barrett might escape that fate. She was one of the first patients to receive the new MS infusion drug Ocravus in 2017.
“I was the first person to get the new MS treatment at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston when it first came out,” she said.
“She’s done amazing with it,” said her mother Courtney. “She had oral pills she had to take every day and was having some bad side effects from it.”
“Thank God for it,” said her father, Jack, who also rode in the MS 150. “Now she goes in every six months for an infusion instead of taking these pills every day.”
“It’s amazing, the treatments that we have,” Courtney said. “A lot of the people here in wheelchairs, they’ve had MS for 25 years. Now when people get MS, there are so many available treatments.”
“A lot of that is due to this ride,” said Caroline. “This ride is the biggest financial contributor to the MS Society. The vast majority of the proceeds go directly toward research.”
How do people raise money for the ride? Before COVID, many riders like the Barretts would hold private fundraisers before the ride. The Barretts would host a barbecue fundraiser with live music, live and silent auctions, and a raffle.
This year’s top fundraiser was Steve Logan, who raised $84,915 so far (riders have until July 31 to turn in money).
“It’s not over yet, so someone might pass me up,” Logan said.
Logan’s wife Mary lives with MS. He started riding in the Texas MS 150 ten years ago. He’s been the top fundraiser for the last three years.
“For one, we have a lot of generous friends and family,” Logan said. “But I think with Mary having MS, there’s that personal story.”
The Barretts don’t consider themselves regular cyclists. Like many who participate, they dust their bikes off once a year and try to get into shape a few weeks ahead of time before pedaling for 150 miles over two days. Jack first rode in 2016 with a team sponsored by his company, DXP Power and Machinery of Houston.
“None of us had riding experience before we started,” said Jack Barrett.
Many others who ride in the MS 150 don’t have a personal connection to the disease. They ride for the challenge. Such was the case of Sandy Sorensen and Kevin Ford, a pair of riders from Fort Bend County.
“Why are we riding? Well, the right answer is we’re riding for MS,” Ford said.
“That is the answer, but I have something very personal,” Sorensen said. “I have a friend with Team Apache who is riding, and its her 52nd birthday tomorrow.”
Sorensen said she fell down on a ride three years ago and her friend was there to help her up.
“I wanted to be here to support her because three years ago she was there for me,” she said. “It’s my turn to pay her back and say ‘Thank You.’”