We're done!

Yes, we finished. No injuries, no accidents, still able to walk. These were the words Dora and I heard over and over again during our bus ride from Austin back to Houston on Sunday afternoon. Seems like everyone who rode had a spouse, relative, or friend who wanted those basic stats, and the bus ride provided the opportunity for these folks to make their cell phone calls to spread the word.

To me, though, that sounds like a lot of focus on the wrong things. The ride was phenomenally successful. It was very enjoyable for this four-timer, better organized than ever, wonderful temperatures, and a lot of money was raised to aid in finding a cure for MS. It was just shy of $10,000,000 as of this writing per the MS150 website, but that's sure to go up.

To me, though, the bottom line is that a large number of people got together and did something huge to help others around them. The MS-150 is a gift - financially from the sponsors, and of time and energy from the thousands of riders and volunteers. The hope and prayer of every person involved is that somehow, the exertion of so much energy can lead to breakthroughs in research that can slow down or cure the effects of this disease. Per the National Multiple Sclerosis Society website, there are now FDA approved medications that can slow down the effects, and research for a cure is "promising."

It seems a novel premise to me, or at least it used to, that by riding a bike to Austin funds could be raised to fight a disease. But over the years, I've come to see that everyone has friends and neighbors who are willing to back your cause - if you're involved. I doubt that the NMSS would get the funds that they do were they to go door-to-door, or rely on television commercials. But if your best friend is riding for it, and he's willing to spend the time and energy to train, prepare, and ride 171 miles to raise money, then you'll probably help him out a little bit. Those "little bits" add up to a whole lot in this case.

So if you are one of our many sponsors, we sincerely thank you for your time and support in this crazy endeavor. It was very reassuring to know both that you had faith in our ability to complete the task, but also that you had faith that the contribution would go to something bigger. For that, we are very grateful, and we know that those folks with MS will be positively impacted in the future.