By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. —
Robin Creemer, who has multiple sclerosis and uses as wheelchair, had never been to Pittsburg.
But on Saturday, the Joplin, Mo., resident made the trip to see a group of 25 people she described as “angels” — a group of bicyclists who stopped in Pittsburg at the halfway point on their westward trip across America.
Riders pulled into Wheat State Pizza in pairs and groups of three or four just after noon, and Creemer presented each with a red, white and blue embroidered angel to wear as a reminder of why they ride.
The group’s mission is evident in its name: Bike the U.S. for MS. It’s a ride that Virginia native Don Fraser began three years ago as a tribute to his mother, who has had MS his entire life.
“It started with some friends, three roommates of mine who rode with me from Seattle to Maine after I graduated from college,” he said.
That was in 2007, and their efforts raised $20,000. Their Web site attracted many hits through Google, and others began expressing interest in continuing the ride in the future.
Fraser now serves as the ride’s director, coordinating stops and providing ride support along the 3,785-mile route that began June 1 in Yorktown, Va., and will end Aug. 1 in San Francisco.
To participate, riders must raise at least $3,000, $1,000 of which goes to ride support, camping costs and bike repair. They stay wherever a community can offer a spot. Saturday night, it was at Pittsburg Middle School; other nights it might be a campground, a park or a church.
Life-changing
“It’s hard, days like today,” Fraser said as temperature and humidity pushed the heat index close to 100 degrees. “Some of them are asking themselves why they’re doing it. But at the end of the day, it’s a life-changing experience.”
Riders consider Kansas, the route’s midpoint, the friendliest state on the tour, Fraser said. “This is the part of the trip that people always go from who they were before to the transformation of who they will be when they finish,” he said. “You can see it happen.”
On Saturday, a group of MS supporters — many of whom, like Creemer, have had the disease for decades — turned out to speak with the riders about the importance of what they’re doing. First and foremost, the group has raised $90,099 to fund a nurse practitioner position at the James Q. Miller MS Clinic in Charlottesville, Va.
In addition, the group is raising awareness along the route, and arranging service projects such as ramp building and yard cleanup for those who have MS — something the riders planned to do in Chanute, their next stop after Pittsburg.
Inspiration
“I have made each one of you an angel,” Creemer told the riders as they arrived for a much-anticipated lunch buffet, cold beverages, air conditioning and a look at the World Cup on television after having ridden about 70 miles from Missouri.
“You’ve been an angel in my life,” she added.
The riders, too, spoke of inspiration as they ate, recalling those they have met along the route and the stories that have affected them.
Ben King, a member of Virginia Tech’s cycling team and a first-time tour rider with his brother, Caleb, said the ride has taught him a lot about himself. He said he has developed what will be lifelong friendships with co-riders he likened to “foxhole buddies.”
He said he is riding in order “to be a part of something bigger than myself, to be a part of a team working together to accomplish something truly meaningful for some wonderful people.”
First-time rider Leigh Grazaino, of Tampa, Fla., said she believes that one person can create an enormous change in the world.
“I strive to be that change every day,” she said.
On the road
Bike the U.S. for MS riders put in between 45 and 80 miles a day. People can follow their tour or find out more at www.biketheusforms.org.
