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Riding to Fight MS: Bicyclists in annual Tour to Tanglewood fundraiser not only make money for the MS Society, they share a sense of camaraderie
Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll
Teresa Reynolds (left) of Clemmons gets a high five from her Wells Fargo Wachovia teammate John Yanni of Greensboro after crossing the finish line.
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Published: September 28, 2009
For Brian Mueller, who was finishing his first ride in the Tour to Tanglewood yesterday, one face drove him on when his energy began to wane: his mother's, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 39.
"When I get tired -- I'm not a biker," he said. "I think of her and I push through because her life was a struggle."
Multiple sclerosis, which disables the central nervous system and hinders mobility, brought huge changes to his family life. He said he was faced with responsibilities far beyond his years as his mother grew sicker.
Mueller, of Boone, was one of an estimated 1,400 cyclists who rode Saturday and yesterday in the 24th annual Bike MS: BB&T Tour to Tanglewood. The ride spanned two days and 90 miles, with alternate routes of different distances.
The first leg was from Volvo Trucks in Greensboro to Tanglewood Park in Clemmons. Yesterday, the cyclists rode back to cross the finish line at Volvo.
All money raised during the Tour to Tanglewood will be used by the Central North Carolina Chapter of the MS Society to help support families with MS and to finance research on MS.
The chapter provides services and programs to nearly 2,300 people with MS and their families in 15 northwestern North Carolina counties, chapter officials said.
Chris Dinan, a physical therapist from Winston-Salem, said that he sees people in his work every day who have MS. He has been riding in the Tour to Tanglewood for four years.
People choose to participate because it's a good cause, he said, but there is much more to it than that.
"It's easy to come back because you have such a good time," he said.
There is a sense of camaraderie and support that begins long before the tour, he said. Training rides are held weeks in advance. During the tour, riders are fed, watered and applauded along the route. People make friends that they look for when they return the next year.
"When you ride in on Sunday afternoon and all those people are there," he said, pausing. "I get emotional about it. It sort of brings you back to what you're out there for and how you spent your weekend."
Teresa Sells, of Kernersville, said that she well knows the social nature of the Tour to Tanglewood. She has been riding in it for six or seven years and met her future husband there three years ago.
They got married at Tanglewood during last year's tour, she said.
Both of her parents have MS, she said. Her mother, 67, has lived with the disease for 26 years.
"They're fighters," she said of her parents. "I nicknamed her the Energizer Bunny because she keeps going. She's an inspiration. She really is."
mgiunca@wsjournal.com | 727-4089
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