July 12 Rapid City to Wall, South Dakota

With the help of local chapters of the National MS Society, we’ve generated a lot of positive media attention for the MS ride. So far, I’ve done interviews with  three TV stations, two radio stations, and three newspapers.  In addition to generating awareness, I think we’ve also generated some new donations. I’ve also gotten a lot of questions about my life with MS and I’d like to devote today’s blog to answering them.

I was diagnosed with MS three years ago when I was 58.  There are four major forms of MS; I have the form known as Relapsing/Remitting MS (RRMS).  I can be in remission for long periods of time but there is always the possibility of a relapse, during which time new symptoms can appear and old ones can resurface.  My symptoms today are fairly mild — it feels like my right hand, right foot, and the right side of my head have gone to sleep.  I haven’t lost any function but I have lost some sensation.  I’ve been in remission since 2008.  My symptoms haven’t gotten any worse but neither have they gotten appreciably better.

My goal now is to avoid a relapse.  For various reasons, my docs and I have concluded that I’m not a good candidate for drug therapies.  There are three things I can do to reduce the risk of relapse: 1) reduce stress; 2) avoid infections; 3) stay in good physical condition.  So I’ve retired, I wash my hands a lot, and I exercise regularly.  Indeed, part of the reason I’m bicycling across America is to give myself a challenge that will help keep me in good shape.

Journalists often ask if I’m not nervous about living on the “edge” — a relapse could cripple me.  My answer is that life is uncertain but I’ve found that positive things happen much more frequently than negative things.  I sometimes ask my friends a simple question: “Is the world a better place today than it was when you were born?”  The answer is unanimous: of course it is.  (Then I wonder why we seem so cranky so much of the time).  So if the world is getting better and positive things happen much more frequently than negative things, then there’s a simple prescription for living: Let’s get on with it.

Day’s distance: 58.2 miles (93.7 km)
Average speed: 14.5 mph (23.3 kph)
Day’s climb: 1,550 feet (472.4 meters)
Total distance: 1,728.0 miles (2,780.9 km)