Community Corner

EG Team Captain goes the Distance for Rhode Islanders with MS

Nearly a decade ago, Doug Moore was riding his stationary bike on a cold winter's day in Seattle, flipping through an MS Connection newsletter, when he saw an ad for Bike MS.

Nearly a decade ago, Doug Moore was riding his stationary bike on a cold winter’s day in Seattle, flipping through an MS Connection newsletter, when he saw an ad for Bike MS. 

“I thought that seemed like fate,” said Moore, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few years earlier. “I’ve been extremely lucky the way MS impacts me, in a minimum way, and I had a very good network of friends and supporters who would be very generous in supporting me to raise funds and that was the impetus to ride.” 

And ride and raise funds he has. This summer will mark his tenth year of participating in Bike MS when he cycles in Bike MS: Ride the Rhode to benefit the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The event will be held June 21-22, 2014, and is the Chapter’s largest fundraiser, attracting nearly 1,000 cyclists and raising more than $800,000. Moore’s team, CU Later MS, is expected to reach a combined 10-year fundraising total of more than $300,000. 

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“It’s a substantial amount of money but it’s also awareness and it’s fun for me,” said Moore, who is a member of the Rhode Island Chapter’s Board of Trustees. “It’s a great way for me to stay physically and mentally focused on things related to the disease.”

From Seattle, Moore moved to New York, and eventually settled in East Greenwich in 2007 where he lives with his wife and children. Every year, the family hosts a team dinner the night before the event and ends the 150-mile weekend ride at their house. Many CU Later MS team members return annually, coming from all over the country. CU stands for Moore’s alma mater Cornell University, and many of his college friends ride with him and he’s added Rhode Island riders to his team also.

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“They make it a habit,” he said of team members coming together every summer to cycle in Bike MS. “We have some serious triathletes but we all start together and drink beers together at the end but everyone has their own pacing.”

The premiere 2-day cycling event in the state, Bike MS: Ride the Rhode will kick off from Pawtucket on June 21 and cyclists will ride approximately 75 miles to Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. They will be met with enthusiastic supporters, a beer tent, and BBQ. Later, they will feast on dinner and enjoy entertainment before staying overnight. The next morning, they will cycle the remaining 75 miles along a different route to the starting location  to celebrate with a finish line lunch. The ride is considered easy-to-moderate with various riding conditions and some rolling hills. To register or learn more, visit www.bikemsrhodeisland.org.


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