Multiple Sclerosis - Will you help me fight for the cure?

What is it?
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves

Who does it affect?
2-3x more women than men. (More info. below).

What is the prevalence?
400,000 in the US. Increasing at the rate of 28/day (just in the US). 2.5 million world wide.

Can I help?
I am glad you asked :-). You can help by supporting me in my attempt to bike from Houston to Austin on the 12th of April 2008. My goal is to raise 500$ to donate to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Why are you doing this?
It started out as a desire to get healthy and find a way to stay healthy. One conversation led to another and soon I had registered to ride the MS150 along with a few other friends. I am new to biking (my first ride on a ride bike was in late 2007) but I am enjoying the learning process and the adventure of attempting... something this ambitious for a beginner like me.
It is a privilege that through all my muddled attempts at riding I have the opportunity to raise support for fight against multiple sclerosis. So to answer the question, I am doing this because I have the opportunity to help and because it is a good thing to do.

Great, what next?
If you are interested and would like to help me meet my goal please follow the instructions below.

1. Remember all donations are tax deductible.
2. No amount is too little or too much, I am grateful for your support so please give as you please.
3. You can either pay directly by clicking here. (I recommend this approach)
   
4. or you can send me a cheque (leave me a comment and I will send you the address details).

I want to know more about MS?
Here are some good places to start

• The National Multiple Sclerosis society site.
• The MS Wikipedia page.
• The MS150 Houston to Austin ride site.
• Squidoo's highest ranked lens on MS
  

Random tidbits

• The ride is a total of 175 miles, 100 miles on day 1 and 75 miles on day 2.
• I will be riding with 4-6 other close friends. some of them are veteran bikers and I am the noob, we will see how long I can hang with the pack :-)
• I began biking very recently (couple months back), so my goal is to ride well enough to finish the ride. Anything better than that the beer is on me ;-).

Finally, thank you for the taking the time to read this blog post. MS is but one of several chronic and debilitating diseases that affect individuals and their families. I appreciate your time and intention is understanding more about this problem.

Sincerely,
amar