It's time to start thinking about Bike MS 2010

If you have not registered yet, fees increase in September. Here is a link to the team page at the National MS Society Bike MS site.

Main Street Masher Team Page

Click on the link and follow the instructions to join the team. If you have already registered and want to join the team, contact me or the MS Society.

Masher Raffle Winners Announced

Seventeen winners were drawn in the 50/50 Plus Raffle done to raise money for the Main Street Mashers. Organized and most tickets sold by Gaile Buckley, the winners were drawn and announced earlier today. If you are a winner, please contact John Coomer at john@mainstreetdocs.com.

	Prize	Winner	Value
1.	50/50 Drawing		$113
		Angelica Remigio
2.	Miller Chiropractic Gift Certificate		$100
		Ross Grainger
3.	Miller Chiropractic Gift Certificate		$100
		Brian Conner
4.	Affinity PT 30 Minute Massage		$50
		P. Notestine
5.	AZ Lottery: 25 Scratchers		$25
		BJ Koeckes
6.	AZ Lottery: 25 Scratchers		$25
		Art Krzyzewski
7.	LB Inn Gift Certificate-2 specials		$22
		Gracie Murrillo
8.	LB Inn Gift Certificate-2 specials		$22
		D. Jacques
9.	AZ Lottery: 10 Scratchers		$10
		Vanice K
10.	AZ Lottery: 10 Scratchers		$10
		Sheryl Keeme
11.	AZ Lottery: 10 Scratchers		$10
		Lexus Baca
12.	AZ Lottery: 10 Scratchers		$10
		David Rojas
13.	AZ Lottery: 10 Scratchers		$10
		Latoya Gonzalez
14.	Ben Hogan Book		$15
		Ross Grainger
15.	AZ Lottery: 5 Music Downloads		$5
		Katelyn Weddie
16.	AZ Lottery: 5 Music Downloads		$5
		Brantes
17.	AZ Lottery Swag Pack		$20
	Lottery Tote Bag
	Neoprene Water Bottle
	Note Pad
	Sunscreen
	Keyring
	CD Case
	Desktop Holder
	Lottery Coaster
		Roellen Shepard

Finally! Round Up Ride 2009...more to come!

With 900 cyclists from 15 states and three countries, this was the largest cycling event ever in Florence, AZ. The Main Street Mashers were represented well with 44 registered team members including 38 cyclists and 35 who actually rode. We had a few illnesses and one surgery that kept a few riders from coming this year, but they will be back!

Please enjoy these photos and check out the photo album on Facebook by clicking on the link.

Why we ride: the story of Masher Steven Hay's cousin, Eric

I recently asked Masher cyclist Steven Hay if he would be willing to ask his cousin, Eric, to share his story of living with multiple sclerosis. Here is the email Steven sent with Eric's response. Please feel free to share other stories of people who live with MS. Only through education can we continue to make the case to support this cause, especially considering our current economy. Thank you Steven for asking, and Eric, thanks for being willing to share.


John – you had asked me to see if my cousin, Eric, who has MS would be willing to share his story so that we could better educate and inspire people to get involved with MS.


Eric was very pleased that I had asked and here is his story…



Hey Steven,


Here's my story.:) I'm 39 years old and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1992 at the tender age of 22. My reaction in 1992 was "I'm 22 and bullet proof." MS had other ideas and I have discovered that "bullet proof" sometimes means accepting life in a slower lane than one would hope.


I married the love of my life in 1997 and was living life well ~ no adverse MS affects. I had a great job and a career I loved! I worked as a serologist at an animal health laboratory for the state of Wisconsin which required fine motor skills, clear vision and the ability to sit in a lab for the normal 8 hour work day. By 2004 things were getting harder for me on all fronts. I was having ambulation difficulty, balance issues, vision issues and debilitating fatigue. I applied for and was granted disability status and have been at home since.


Some wonderful things have come my way in spite of the frustration of dealing with my MS. In July of 2004 we were blessed with a healthy and wonderful son and in May of 2008 our beautiful and healthy daughter was born. I do appreciate the fact that MS has granted me the opportunity to be at home with these children full-time. I always wish that my wife could have had the experience instead of me.


I enjoy everything that I can, but know I miss many things that men my age are enjoying because my symptoms are pretty pervasive.


I had been on one of the interferon drugs for MS for about six years to no avail and then did the Novantrone protocol for MS for two years. This has seemed to moderate the exacerbation's to some degree, but does not bring healing.


I am hopeful that new treatments are near completion in their trials and that I will be able to access them soon. I hope for a cure, but know I need to focus on living each day to the best of my ability while I wait.


I am always grateful to those whose caring encourages them to go the extra distance for the cause of people struggling with MS. Walking, riding, contributing money for research or helping someone with MS live a more meaningful life is not lost on me. I may seem like I can handle anything in my outward persona, but I'm always glad to see I'm not in this fight alone.


I especially thank my cousin Steven Hay and his father, Bruce Hay, for rising to the challenge of all of us dealing with this hateful disease. They are among the BEST!! Steve is also in the prime of his life and is still inspired to do all he can! Thanks Steve!!


In hope and friendship,





Eric M. Pannier




I thank you Eric, Steve and Bruce. We need to end this disease that hits men and women in the prime of their lives. Eric was diagnosed at the young age of 22. Please help by donating to the cyclists of the Main Street Mashers at mainstreetmashers.org.



Blessings,


John

Chino Valley High School secretary's story of life with MS

Seven cyclists on our team call Chino Valley, Arizona home. They are Jason Kelly, Mike Fogel, Al & Allee Steinberg, Janice & Zoe Dunn and me, John Coomer. Sometimes, we think that diseases such MS only affect others. Among local residents here in our small, northern Arizona town who live with MS 24/7 are my next door neighbor, a middle school teacher, and Ms. Kriss Dunn, an adminstative assistant at Chino Valley High School. I know there are more, but let's start with her story. Please support our cyclists, and Mashers, please feel free to use these posts for your fund raising efforts. I love to ride my bike, but let's cure MS and then we can ride for the next disease....we ride to create a world free of multiple sclerosis.

Here is Kriss Walton's story in her words:

Hi, my name is Kriss and I have multiple sclerosis. Sounds a bit like an AA Meeting – but to look at me you would not see a thing “wrong” with me – on most days. There are those days that I need a cane to make sure I don’t fall over and hurt myself – or anyone else for that matter, but for the most part I look “normal.”

Let me give you some background here about how I found out and what has happened in my life in the past 25 + years since my diagnosis.

Back in 1977, I was 19 and had just moved away from home when I had some unexplainable numbness in my hands and feet. About a year prior to these symptoms, I had had optic neuritis on two separate occasions. At that time, I remember a physician mentioning MS very vaguely. I just put that info on the back burner as I did not even know what “MS” was. I was tested for several things, a brain tumor, several neurological problems and test results kept coming back negative. At this point in medicine MRI’s were not around. Then I started having numbness in my fingers and toes. It felt as if they were “asleep” but would not wake up. No explanation for it and again more tests that came back negative. This went on for several years. Not knowing if I was losing my mind or if something was indeed really wrong I started to become really concerned that I had some major problem. It took about five years to get a relatively definitive diagnosis – again, without the MRI’s, the diagnosis was still “probable.” They put the pieces of the puzzle together and with the rest of the history of symptoms this is the best diagnosis that they could come up with. It was still a few years until I had an MRI that confirmed the previous diagnosis. At this point, I was relieved to finally get a true diagnosis – as I thought I was losing my mind and nothing was really wrong with me.

A relief for a brief moment and then panic set in. I went thru all the “what if’s” and the possible outcomes of my life and I was not too thrilled with any of them. However, after this brief bit of “pity- partying,” I decided that I may have MS, but that MS did not have me. In the years to follow I continued to experience MS and all the wonderful emotions and feelings that come with it. I became more and more unable to do certain physical things, such as running, roller skating, and a lot of other things I loved to do.

The hardest part of this was when I had my daughter and had a hard time playing with her as much as I would like – a lot of reading and quiet stuff – but we still managed to go to the park as much as I could. There were days when I hardly wanted to get out of bed because of the fatigue – but I just forced myself and did it. This is how I handle a lot of my life – some days I would rather just sit in bed and either sleep or just rest. However, since I work full time I am not able to do this – and I believe that this is a good thing for if I was able to just sit around I might get worse just for lack of any sort of motivation to keep going.

My job is good for me – it gives me a reason to get up in the morning and keep going. I decided a long time ago, that I would NOT go into a wheelchair and thankfully I have not yet had to do this. As I previously mentioned, I do use a cane – more and more as the years go by – just to add more stability to my walking and standing.

I have dealt with the cards that have been dealt to me and I believe with a bit a grace even. The hardest part of MS is that it is a disease that not many know anything about and I hear the phrase “but you look just fine” all too often when one knows not what to say. This makes me feel as if I am just whining and need to get over it. I finally got a handicapped plate for my car a couple of years ago and only use it when I am having one of the bad days. Heat is bad for me and makes me feel even worse so I moved away from Phoenix about 15 years ago. Every summer though, I look forward to more fatigue related problems because of the heat. I have a cooling vest which helps me to be able to be out in the sun more. I highly recommend it to anyone that is heat sensitive with MS as it is a mega saver for me. I am able to go to the fairs and horse shows, and camping without too much discomfort. I love the outdoors and without this vest, I would not be able to enjoy as I can with it.

The one thing that I would like to get across to the main public that does not know what MS is that you can’t always tell what a person’s disability is just by looking at them. I was at a Wal-Mart the a year or two ago and put my handicapped placard in the window and left to go do my shopping – I immediately grabbed a shopping cart to steady myself– since I did not have my cane by then and went into the store to do my shopping. When I returned to my vehicle someone had written on a note that “you don’t look handicapped to me and you should park so someone that really NEEDS it can use it.” That struck my heart hard and I did not use it for a long time after than even though I was in extreme pain. I have since gotten over that and if they are so ignorant, then that is their problem to become educated or stay uninformed and ignorant.

I take a lot of medication – narcotics for the pain, muscle relaxants for the muscle cramps and other medications to alleviate other symptoms. There is so far no cure for this debilitating disease but they are getting closer. All they can do is to try and make the person more comfortable and more able to function in the world without to much trouble.

This brings up another problem with people and their perceptions. Not too long ago, a few people at work started a rumor saying that I was on drugs and that I really shouldn’t be working in “that state of mind.” I was not stoned and when asked why they said that, they replied that I was walking somewhat unsteady and hanging onto the walls and slurring my speech a bit. If they would have just asked me or done some research they would have found out that MS has all these symptoms. If they had bothered to look into a bit more they would have noticed that I was using my cane that day and it was at my desk. But as people are prone to do, they jumped to a big conclusion and assumed that I was under the influence of whatever they figured it was – yes, I was under the influence, the influence of MS. I can’t count the times that people have made comments that “boy, it is too early for you to be drinking” because of their ignorance to my disease.

In conclusion I would just like to say that there are many wonderful, understanding people out there that are there for me in a heartbeat. I just wish more would see the “light“ and not be so judging without knowledge.

We we ride: Vicki's mom

Tony and Vicki Williams are riding with the Mashers for the second time. Last year, injuries kept them from riding with us. This photo is from the start of Bike MS in 2006 when we rode from Lake Pleasant to Parker. Here is Vicki's story and another reason why we ride. Please support the Mashers this year by going to our website and click on "make donation."

Maria Antonie Bayer is the woman who made a life-changing decision for me. She is the biological mother who gave me a better life in 1968 by giving me to my family. As a single woman in Germany in the late '60's, pregnant with her second mixed-race child, she decided to give me the best gift of all-a future. When she was diagnosed with MS in 1996, she prayed that my sister and I would search for her and find her before MS took away her mobility or her life.

Her wish came true when I became pregnant with my own second daughter. I began my search in November of 1996 and we met for the first time on February 8, 1997, when I was almost 4 months pregnant. Maria was able to see my children and my sister's children many times over the next few years. Her MS affected her ability to walk at times, and her ability to articulate, but it never stopped her from caring for her animals (a few horses and too many dogs and cats to number) and her ranch outside Las Vegas. She was able to bring us together many times over the years with her other children, her sister's family, and her mother (who still lives in Germany).

When she passed away in January of 2008 at the age of sixty-one, we had enjoyed a friendship and love for ten years that I feel blessed to have enjoyed.

Yard Sale to Benefit Cyclists on March 14

This is an opportunity for cyclists, volunteers, community members to clean out their "treasures" and earn money for Bike MS! Gaile Buckley will organize and hold a yard sale, as part of her neighborhood's community yard sale, on March 14.

Please label any donations of "stuff" with your name, and any money made will be submitted to the MS Society in your name as a rider or volunteer. Donations can be turned in during regular business hours to Main Street Family Practice at 660 South Main Street in Florence. Please make arrangements with me (John Coomer, Team Captain) as we do not have any real storage space here.

Gaile could use some volunteer help with the sale as well. Please comment on this post if you can help. She especially needs physical help that day and possibly the day before.

She will also sell raffle tickets for the big screen TV and other items that day. We are looking for raffle prizes as well. I don't have a big enough prize pool to offer tickets yet. If you have prizes like vendor gift certificates, cards, golf foursomes, hotel stays, meals, etc., please let me know.

Also, if you can create flyers, distribute them or let folks know this will be happening, we may be able to make more money for MS!

Florence Gulf War veteran volunteers for Bike MS

Yesterday, two new volunteers registered as Main Street Mashers, the Florence based charity bicycling team formed to raise money for the Bike MS Round Up Ride, a fund raising event for the Arizona Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Jeff and Michele Harbison live with multiple sclerosis every day.

In September 2007, Jeff was hospitalized for numbness and lack of muscle control on his right side. Most noticeable was difficulty with smiling, talking and opening his mouth to eat. His right arm and leg were affected as well. Doctors suspected multiple sclerosis at the time, but a spinal tap yielded negative results. He was released and instructed to “wait for it to happen again.” It took seven months, and in April 2008, immediately following the first Round Up Ride in Florence, he was officially diagnosed with MS.

Jeff enlisted in the United States Marine Corps right out of high school in 1984 and served until 1997. After leaving the Marines, he worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections until 2001. A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he has been diagnosed with Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression and Bipolar Disorder.

Jeff and Michele have been married since 1985. “Michele is my Wonder Woman,” declares Jeff. “Due to many issues we have had a rough time. Usually I was the cause of the issues.”

When an individual is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it affects the entire family. In the Harbisons’ case, Michele has been there through thick and thin. Jeff added, “When BP (Bipolar Disorder) came along and I was not working anymore, she stayed strong and when needed, worked two jobs to keep us afloat. Now with my MS, she continues to work, and supports me emotionally and physically, including hauling the trash! Many of the household chores and cooking are done by her. She makes the trips to the pharmacy to pick up my meds. She made the call to get my rolling walker when I needed it. I still have it and use it when I have to be on my feet for awhile. She argued with our apartment manager to get me a portable hand rail and shower nozzle on a hose.”

Jeff has a weekly regimen of injecting Rebif, a drug that helps decrease the frequency of relapses and delays the occurrence of some of the physical disability that is common in people with MS. “I do have memory issues that have not gotten any better, but the numbness and lack of muscle control on my right side have improved and maintain a level that allows me to walk, drive, or whatever for short periods,” he tells us.

In addition to the physical and emotional issues, two hospitalizations plus testing and specialists were very expensive. Good friends held a golf tournament that helped with copays, coinsurance and other debt.

Before multiple sclerosis affected his balance, Jeff’s passion was motorcycling. He started the first chapter of American Legion Riders in Arizona and rode daily. He helped other posts establish chapters and was a co-founder of Operation Wounded Warrior, an organization that delivers health and comfort items to wounded service personnel in military medical facilities. Not able to ride anymore, he now serves as chaplain for both Chapter 129 of the American Legion Riders and for American Legion Post 129. “In my role as chaplain, I lead the prayer for the opening and closing of our meetings and for our riders before embarking on a ride. They are on motorcycles instead of bicycles and every prayer includes mention of our troops overseas in harms way.”

He keeps a realistic attitude and approach to life. “I try to keep from getting my hopes up too high, but I have kept my sense of humor. A laugh does great things for the soul. I enjoy trying to make others laugh as well. We are where we are. We can only do the best we can to work through things. We have a lot to work through, but we aren't living on the streets and we can enjoy fast food once a payday.”

Jeff offered to help with the Main Street Mashers at the suggestion Dr. Dario Lizarraga, a four year bicyclist with the team. He responded enthusiastically, “I want to do what I can to help with registration or information tables or whatever else is needed.” He added, “I would be honored to lead a prayer for the Main Street Mashers, both riders and volunteers, and would gladly include a blessing for those who suffer with this illness.”

And that my friends, is why we ride.

Multiple Sclerosis and Persian Gulf War Veterans

In September 2008, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced a new research project funded by the United States Department of Defense. This information comes from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website.

Multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and fibromyalgia now are recognized by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments as potentially connected to service during the Persian Gulf War.

While there are no official numbers of Gulf War veterans with MS, the 500 veterans who signed onto a support group at MSVets@Yahoogroups.com, general government figures and anecdotal information from others merit study, said Senator Patty Murray.

"It seems to me that the numbers are high enough and the scientific evidence is enough that we should err on the side of the veterans in this," Murray added.

This project and others like it can help Jeff and other American veterans who may have contracted MS as a result of their service to our country.

This is just one more reason why our fund raising efforts are so important.

Good news, bad news

This entry has a combination of good news and bad news. First the good.

Our jerseys are ordered and look great! We have room for ten more riders, so get registered if you have not already. I selected a variety of jersey sizes and once your size is gone, it's gone. First registered, first served! Riders already signed up are good to go.

Our other good news is that we are up to 33 registered riders, bringing us to the bad. One of our riders, Trish Coy, was involved in a very serious cycling accident last weekend. She appeared to be doing everything right when her rear wheel was hit by a motor vehicle. Here is her response to my inquiry when I heard about it:

Well, I'm alive so I guess I fared well. 

I was on mile 28 of my 40 miles for the day on Ellsworth, 150 yards
south of Elliot in Mesa, headed south back to Queen Creek. In the bike
lane, full gear on and cruising at 20mph when a 2000 Ford Excursion
going 50 hit my back tire. As he tried to correct, he hit my head with
the mirror and needless to say...I went a flying. Somehow hit every part
of my body (raspberries everywhere) and finally landing on my face. I
was unconscious pretty much for the next 8 hours, came to for a few
seconds here and there. Remember being loaded into the helicopter and
laying in the CT machine, that's about it. They flew me to Scottsdale
Trauma and released me early Sunday morning. Now I appear to be nursing
a concussion, L4 & L5 vertebra rupture, knees are smashed, cuts
everywhere, they took glass out of my surrounding eye area, stitched it
up, teeth went thru my lower lip, nose is missing chunks of skin, road
rashed my whole face, yep... it was a good one.
Skin is healing great, me wanting to vomit 24/7 not so great. So far
I've had to see Dr's everyday so hopefully we're getting somewhere.
Thanx for dropping a line and I can use all the blessings I can get,

Please keep her in prayer, and remember to be safe in all you do. There are risks involved, and even if you take the precautions, wear appropriate safety attire, and ride safely, there is a chance this can happen. I thank the Lord she is alive, and encourage you all keep riding, but stay safe.

Blessings,

John

Updates

We added two more riders this week, Brian Conner and Steve Jarzabek. Welcome gentlemen. I'm told that we also may have four Chino Valley High School students and one or two more riders from Anthem at Merrill Ranch. We'll have enough jerseys for up to ten more riders, as long as they fit the sizes I ordered.

Jersey design is done and they are ordered!! Here is the final design along with all team underwriters. We could not include a logo for Yuma Insurance as they could not get us one in the right format. Hopefully we'll take care of them next year. I hope you like the design.

We need to move full force with training and fund raising now. More to come on that.

Several Mashers are competing in the 24 Hours at the Old Pueblo mountain bike event this weekend. I hope I have everyone. Good luck to Brian Conner, Chris Grimmer, Steven Hay, Jason Kelly and yours truly. This is my first ever mountain bike event...hope to finish in one piece!

Let me know what you think of the jersey. Pray it gets here in time this year!

Team up to 30 riders

With two months to raise money to fight MS, the Main Street Mashers are up to 30 registered cyclists. Last year, 25 rode.

The team roster to date includes:

Cyclists:
John Coomer
Luly Elizondo Coomer
William Coomer
Trish Coy
Robert Di Girolamo
Janice Dunn
Zoe Dunn
Mike Fogel
Chris Grimmer
Bruce Hay
Steven Hay
Steve Hunter
Jason Kelly
Art Krzyzewski
Max Krzyzewski
Steve Leininger
Beth Lizarraga
Dario Lizarraga
Gary Meier
Robert Michel
John Piggott
William Rubasch Jr.
Al Steinberg
Allee Steinberg
Bill Treder
Lawrence Wharton
Marcee Wharton
Leigh Wilcox
Cynthia Victoria Williams
Tony Williams

Volunteers:
Gail Buckley
Jessica Carbajal
Jim Donner Sr.

Click on any rider name to make an online donation to his/her account. All donations are tax deductible and go directly to the Arizona Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.


Go to mainstreetmashers.org for more team information. For more information on Bike MS or the Arizona Chapter of the National MS Society, go to bikeaza.nationalmssociety.org.

Camp Masher to locate at Heritage Park

The "Home Team" will base at Heritage Park for Round Up Ride 2009. This is significant as most cyclists camping in RV's must park at various other locations throughout Florence. This puts the Mashers right in the middle of the event.

We camped last year in the parking lot of Main Street Family Practice and Desert Springs Water & Ice, about a mile south of Heritage Park. We had access to rest rooms and 15 amp power service for RV's. However, the road noise on South Main kept several riders awake at night.

Out of town riders will benefit from us locating at the park. The Mashers will staff a "local information" table and have agreed to help organizers when local resources are needed. We want our visitors to feel welcome and have easy access to local resources. If visitors have a good experience, they will come back for visits and recruit other riders.

Although we won't have access to three restrooms, we will be near the bank of portapotties and have toilets in RV's. In addition, after ride showers will be more accessible.

This is a good thing!!!

Mashers earn coveted "cut-in-line beer passes"

January's "Shifting Gears Newsletter" from the National MS Society just hit email boxes and it confirmed what we hoped for! On Thursday, the Mashers registered more new team members than any other team and were awarded the "coveted" passes.

This means that members of this team, after riding up to 100 miles on Saturday, March 28, won't have to wait in line for one of New Belgium Brewing Company's great handcrafted brews. Yes, the recovery drink of champions will be waiting for us once again.

The Mashers earned this privilege in the 2008 event as well. It just goes to show what is important in life to our fun-loving group!

In addition to winning Thursday's contest, with 20 new members signing on all week, the Main Street Mashers registered more riders than any other team for the entire week. With that distinction, the team again earned a team tent in the team village as well. Hopefully, a team member will take on the task of decorating the tent and making it homey for visitors.

Congratulations Mashers! It's time to start raising the big bucks to help eradicate MS!

Main Street Mashers on Facebook

The Main Street Mashers are now on Facebook. Any donations sent via the Facebook cause will go to the Arizona Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I encourage you to join this group, but for now, prefer donations to go through our website and/or team page on the Bike MS site. Even if we don't get credit as a team, however, please feel free to donate via Facebook.

Team underwriters almost set

All of our last year's underwriters have come back including Main Street Family Practice, Advanced Billing Consultants, Affinity PT, Signature Technology Group, Desert Springs Water & Ice, Yuma Insurance, PassTimes Publications, and Anthem at Merrill Ranch. One new underwriter is confirmed and we welcome and thank the Rotary Club of Florence, AZ. I hope to announce at least three others in the next few days. If you would like to help (or know of others), please let us know.

Team Week Highly Successful for Mashers

On Monday, January 12, the Main Street Mashers had eight official members. By Sunday the 18th that had grown to 28!!! We don't know if we won any team contests for the week, but hopefully we'll learn shortly. Thanks and congratulations!

Welcome to our blog

We will use this blog to keep team members, donors and volunteers updated with fund raising information, new team members and other data. Feel free to subscribe and make entries. I will initially moderate all posts just to be sure they are relevant and appropriate, as I'm new to this game. Please feel free to post feelings, ideas, and thoughts that can help us be the best fund raising group possible, have the most fun doing it, and attract lots of folks to our cause. We may add additional causes if this takes off! Thanks for looking.