Rider Safety 101

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Say Hello to Lisa Calitri, Your 2012 BIKE MS Ambassador

INTRODUCING THE 2012 BIKE MS AMBASSADOR, LISA CALITRI

When Lisa Caltri was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago, she was a top, worldranked professional racquetball player. She was literally caught off guard when during a tournament her body started to feel the effects of MS. Several years later, Lisa’s Team was born as a friend started the team in Lisa’s honor. Since then Lisa has gotten stronger and has been riding in the Bike MS Coast the Coast Ride for 11 years. She has been a top fundraiser annually and Lisa’s Team has raised almost a quarter of a million dollars since they began!

“DO IT BECAUSE YOU CAN” – LISA’S MESSAGE

The man looks at me and says “But you’re so healthy, so fit, how could that be?” I look at him, and say “Looks can be deceiving.”

I look at myself as the healthiest unhealthy person alive! I exercise and lift weights, I golf, I scuba dive, I spin, I cycle and most importantly, I have MS. I eat nutritiously (most of the time), I play with my husband and three dogs. I’m a fitness person by trade so my job can be exhausting, so I rest when necessary. That’s the most important thing, when my body says I need to rest, I do.

Sometimes I need to push myself a little further and I’m not sure if I’m going to pay a price for my excessive behavior. It took me over 15 years to manage the disease instead of the disease managing me!

I’m frightened at the prospect of the disease giving more challenges but until that day comes I’m going to push myself to jump higher, lift heavier, strike the ball further, cycle and spin longer.

Every year, my team (Lisa’s Team) has new faces. My team has grown from 4 to 35. Your team has the potential to grow as well. Tell them the story of why you are doing the ride and how MS has impacted your life. Make the ride personal, if not for you, for me. Tell them of the athlete who tripped and faltered but is now able to ride the 170 with her team. My motto is “I do because I can” and so could you. The Bike MS Coast the Coast is a ride along the Jersey coastline with people just like you, all trying to shut the door on MS.

Please join us!

Sincerely,

Lisa Calitri, 2012 Bike MS Ambassador

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Something to Aim To for 2012 Bike MS Coast the Coast

The Bike MS Coast the Coast Jerseys Designs Are Unveiled!

 Which Jersey Will You Be Seen Wearing In May?

The Bike MS Coast the Coast raises over a million dollars, thanks to your fundraising efforts. One special group, The Miracle Milers, is comprised of self-selected top fundraisers who commit to making a big impact on our mission this year. You still have time to join!

For returning riders, commit to raising $750 over your 2011 total or for new riders, $750 over your ride minimum. This increased commitment to Bike MS establishes you as a leader in our MS NOW: Stop, Restore and End MS Research Campaign!!

Those who successfully achieve their Miracle Miler goal will receive a special MIRACLE MILER Jersey and a $75 Gift Certificate to one of our Bike Shop Sponsors.

Super Cyclists are extraordinary top fundraisers who raise $1,000 or more for the Coast the Coast Ride. As Super Cyclists raise half of our event’s total funds each year, they are crucial to the success of our mission.

By raising $1,000 or more, you’ll automatically be part of this extraordinary group and can choose the Super Cyclists jersey as part of your prize package. If you qualify for Super Cyclist status by the time of the Coast Ride, you’ll be able to receive your jersey at the event.

                                             

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Let’s Hear It For The Coast the Coast 2011

2011 Bike MS Coast the Coast Reaches All-Time Fundraising High!!

          Thank you cyclists for raising $1,014,000!

Congratulations to all of our cyclists and volunteers for participating in the 2011 Coast the Coast Ride. On May 21st and 22nd, over 1,600 cyclists took to the roads of the Jersey Shore to pedal in support of our mission. Your incredible dedication has led to outstanding results as over $1,014,000 will be raised this year!

Thank you for taking the challenge, bringing your enthusiasm and raising the highest funds ever for this event! Those living with MS thank you as well as these funds help to provide local programs and services for those living with MS and fund national research programs. The future of a world free of MS looks sunny and bright as you continue to make this the ride of a lifetime! We look forward to an even more successful 2012 Bike MS Coast the Coast ride!

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SIX WEEKS TO GO to 2011 BIKE MS COAST THE COAST!!!!

COUNTDOWN TO BIKE MS

COAST THE COAST

 6 MUST DO’S WITH 6 WEEKS LEFT BEFORE THE RIDE!

1- Make your ride the most enjoyable and safe, with a fit and prepped bike. Visit a bike shop to get your bike tuned up and ready to avoid flats and breakdowns. Our partner bike shops will do a free safety inspection; see a complete list below.

 2- Get social- it might boost your fundraising! Recruit a rookie rider, complete the Bonus Bucks form, found in your pledge packet and receive $100 of Bonus Bucks to use towards your incentive prizes. Join us at Langosta Lounge Wednesday, April 13^th, at the Meet & Greet.  Learn how to prep for the ride, share stories and fundraising secrets with other cyclists!! Use your Facebook page to fundraise as well!

 3- Keep training, get out on your bike and practice cycling safety! Check out the Bike MS website Training tab for great information on safety, preparation, training and nutrition. Check out the schedule of open rides, including Team Vitamin Shoppe’s schedule. Also, Hammer House in Colts Neck and Red Bank (http://www.hammerhouse.com/) is offering special rydes for Bike MS participants.

 4- Fundraise Now!  Use your personal webpage found in the Participant Center online to request support from your friends and family. Credit card donations go to our secure website. You can also enter checks to give supporters recognition online too.  Mail checks to our offices at 246 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 with a note including your name so that we apply the funds to your 2011 Coast ride.

 5- Learn more about where the money goes and share it with your donors.  The New Jersey Metro Chapter provides support to over 10,000 people in our service area and contributes to national research programs, thanks to successful events like Bike MS rides.  Visit the Chapter’s website www.nationalMSsociety.org/NJM for updates on programs like Swim In, wellness programs and research updates.  Today the Chapter’s Computer Outreach Program was featured on News 12 New Jersey! 

 6- Get your pledge minimum in by Saturday May 1st to have you rider numbers mailed to you! Pledge minimums are due before the ride, but don’t stop there. See our list of incentive prizes to see how your efforts can be rewarded. Those who raise $500+ will be eligible for a ride sweatshirt.  Super Cyclists, raising $1,000+, will be eligible for ride jersey and more!!

Registration Fees Increase on Tuesday, April 12^th 

 REGISTER TODAY!!!!!

 THANK YOU TO OUR 2011 Official Bike Shop Partners

Brielle Cyclery in Brielle & Asbury Park, Beacon Cycling in Northfield & Freehold, High Gear Cyclery in Sterling & Millburn, DJ Cycles in Belmar, Tom’s Atlantic Cyclery in Atlantic Highlands, Brick Bikes in Brick and Planet Bike in East Brunswick and Matawan

Visit our event website  for more information or email us: Mary Beth Maclearie, Director of Bike MS at marybeth.maclearie@nmss.org 

For information regarding teams, contact Alexis Stone, Director of Teams and Corporate Development at alexis.stone@nmss.org, Jessica Moll, Teams Manager at jessica.moll@nmss.org  or Lisa DiBenedetto, Teams Manager at lisa.dibenedetto@nmss.org

RIDE IT, LIVE IT, LOVE IT… MOVE IT!!

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Meet Your 2011 Bike MS Ambassador

Your 2011 Bike MS Ambassador — Joe Martz!!!

Hi everyone and welcome to the 2011 Bike MS Coast the Coast Ride!

This year, the ride is celebrating its 20th year of cycling, and my team – Team Joe – is riding for the 10th time. Seeing as both are very special milestones, I’m excited and honored to be this year’s Bike Ambassador. As a brief history of Team Joe, a brave few of us actually completed the entire 170-mile trek in our first year, but since then we’ve all decided we’re much better suited to a scenic, 50-mile ride on what is usually an incredible Saturday in May up and down the Jersey Shore. The team adds a few and loses a few every year (“got transferred to China” is by far the best excuse we’ve had so far,) but we always have a great team, great times and an amazing ride! Even though we’re billed as a friends and family team, we even have a corporate sponsor, Miro Consulting, who contributed award-winning riding jerseys and have a strong contingent from their company riding every year.

I was diagnosed with MS about a year before Team Joe was born, and that was the year I was most heavily dependent on the NJ Metro Chapter. I’ll never forget how lucky I am to be able to continue to support them by riding, as many folks who are afflicted with MS are not. I hope to be able to keep riding until we find a cure and wipe MS off the map for good. As the Ambassador this year, hopefully I’ll be able to bring awareness to even more people about MS and the role our chapter plays in helping everyone in our community who is impacted by its devastating effects.

Most people probably don’t need an excuse to go for a bike ride on the Jersey Coast, but in case you do need a little extra coaxing, hopefully entertainment, food, beverages or just the sense of fulfillment you’ll get knowing you’re doing something positive for so many people, will be enough for you to circle the weekend of May 21st and 22nd on your calendar and come out and join us for what I know will be another amazing ride.

 I hope to see you there!

Joe Martz

 

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A WARM WELCOME TO THE 2011 BIKE MS COAST THE COAST

WELCOME TO THE 2011 BIKE MS COAST THE COAST

from the BIKE MS DIRECTOR

This winter will be one to remember with all the snow, but let’s think spring as the 20th Annual Bike MS Coast the Coast Ride will surely be the hottest cycling event of the year!

You are the sunshine that warms the world for those who live with MS. In 2010 you contributed to the National MS Society’s $35 million support of 345 research projects internationally. Your energy is providing housing to those living with MS as 30 housing units are being constructed right now at Kershaw Commons in Freehold, near the MS Wellness Center at CentraState Hospital. You’ve also contributed to the 100 on-going programs our chapter provides to those living with MS including computer outreach programs, self-help groups, educational programs, health and wellness programs, Kids Camp, Fun Day, nursing home programs and much more. Your ride has led to great success for those we serve at the NJ Metro Chapter. Thank you for your dedication to lead us to a world free of MS!

As this year marks the 20th year of the Coast the Coast Ride, we look back at the history of the event. For many years the Coast the Coast Ride started at Sandy Hook National Seashore. Having grown to over 1,600 cyclists, we now appreciate the Monmouth University facilities. We love the energy of the big group, the excitement of more support on our TV and local radio stations and the better quality of snacks and drinks, thanks to The Vitamin Shoppe. The Coast the Coast Ride has grown up and become bigger and more exciting, much like the exciting breakthroughs in MS research, treatments and programs.

“Ride It, Live It, Love It” has been the credo of this ride. We hope you love it just a little bit more this year as we heat it up as we celebrate the 20th Annual Ride. Please don’t miss it as we need you, our sunshine, to create a world free of MS!

 

Thank you for riding in 2011!

Mary Beth Maclearie 

Director, Bike MS

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WHY TO FUNDRAISE for BIKE MS COAST THE COAST 2011

JOIN THE MOVEMENT, BECOME A RESEARCH CHAMPION AND FUND THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH IN MS RESEARCH!

MS MADNESS CONTINUES THROUGH FRIDAY, APRIL 1st! 

Thanks to our sponsors, we can offer fabulous prizes to reward your fundraising success!  Here’s How to Qualify:

 ALL participants registered for the 2011 Coast the Coast who raise the qualifying amounts in confirmed donations, (either raised online or received at the chapter) before Friday, April 1st  will be entered into a drawing to win the following:

Raise $250+ and be entered to win a fun MS Prize Package and Broadway Show Tickets courtesy of The Breeze Radio

Raise $500+ and be entered to win a Gift Bag of Vitamin Shoppe Products courtesy of The Vitamin Shoppe 

Raise $750+ and be entered to win a Blackberry Torch, Runs on AT&T… America’s Fastest Mobile Broadband Network courtesy of AT&T 

Raise $1,000 or more and be entered to win “Registration for Two” to the NJ Metro Chapter MS Summer Golf Classic being hosted on June 27, 2011 at the Plainfield Country Club—home to The Barclays 2011. A $2,400 value! For more information, click here.

BUT IT’S NOT ALL A BIG GAME

Your fundraising makes a difference! 

Share the facts of where the

money goes with your donors too! 

Money raised from Bike MS “Coast the Coast” ride helps the over 13,000 people in New Jersey affected by MS. The chapter offers a wide variety of programs and services for all those affected by the disease.

Did you Know?

• This year the chapter along with community partners is helping to provided supportive, affordable housing for people with MS. Kershaw Commons is scheduled to open their doors in Freehold in the Fall of 2011.
• The chapter helps to support 5 MS Centers throughout the state of New Jersey where people can go for coordinated care.
• The chapter provides financial assistance for durable medical equipment and home and car modifications.
• The chapter provides newly diagnosed educational seminars and educational teleconferences that can be accessed from anywhere.
• The chapter provides programs for people with MS who are isolated in long term care facilities or their own home – including a day out program and the computer outreach program.
• The chapter provides social/emotional support through self help groups and specific telephone support groups.
• The chapter advocates on behalf of those living with MS on such issues as housing, transportation and accessibility.
  The chapter provides physical wellness programs all to help keep those with MS as active as possible in managing a life with MS.
• Over the past 63 years the National MS Society has invested $721 million in research, contributing to many of the current FDA-approved therapies including the newest MS drug, Gilenya, which can be taken orally.  In 2010 alone $36 million was invested in 375 new or ongoing research projects many of which take place here in New Jersey.
• The National MS Society has committed to raise $250 million by the end of 2015 for MS research, This research revolution will focus on three key areas: stopping the progression of the disease, restoring function that’s been lost and ending the disease forever. Visit www.nationalmssociety.org/research for more exciting updates.
• You can join in this research revolution! The NOW Campaign, No Opportunity Wasted, has joined forces with Phil Keoghan from the Amazing Race. To join Phil and to become a MS Research Champion, visit www.nationalmssociety.org/research/now-champion/index.aspx   
• For more information about the New Jersey Metro Chapter and the programs we offer, visit our website at www.nationalmssociety.org/NJM

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Easy Steps for Beginner Riders

This year you may want to bring a new rider along to join you on the Bike MS Coast the Coast. Here are some easy tips to make sure their first ride is as enjoyable as yours.

1. Protect your head. Buy a helmet and make sure that it is fitted properly.  Head injuries are the cause of 60 percent of all cycling deaths in the U. S. every year. Many of these deaths could be avoided if everyone wore a helmet while cycling. Always wear a helmet when riding and make sure your kids do as well. Many states have bike helmet laws, but you should always wear one even if you don’t have too.

2. Don’t pedal in high gear for extended periods of time. You want to try and keep your cadence between 70 and 90 rpm’s. When you pedal in a high gear it puts added strain on you knees. Take it nice and easy and it will make for a more pleasurable ride for everyone involved.

3. Use your gears. When climbing hills shift into a gear that will keep your cadence in the right range of rpm’s so you can make it up the hill without putting undue stress on your knees. Find a gear that will make pedaling easy and smooth.

4. Get a proper bike fit. Having your bike set up to fit your body will make riding much easier, more efficient and cause you much less pain and soreness during and after the ride.

5. Get the right saddle. Getting the right saddle will make a huge difference when riding. Don’t think the thickest padding will give you the most comfortable ride. A longer seat with a cutout will generally be the best type of saddle. Read reviews online and find out what others like, then test ride a few.

6. Change position while riding. Don’t have a death grip on your handlebars and make sure that if you start feeling numbness or fatigue in your hands, arms, or rear that you pull over in a safe area and take a break.

7. Don’t ride with headphones on. It can be extremely dangerous if you don’t hear an emergency vehicle or other commotions behind you or off to the side.

8. Know the rules. Ride with traffic and obey all road signs. Closely watch all cars in front of you so you can try to anticipate what they are going to do.

9. Keep your head up. Look out in front far enough ahead so you can react to any obstacles in the road or on the shoulder in front of you.  Things like storm drain grates are very bad for skinny road bike tires.

If you follow these tips you will have a better, safer and more enjoyable time on your bike.

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Teenagers Take on MS in Tandem

At the beginning of the 2009 summer, close friends Lexi Lorch and Hannah Larson, 15-year-old teenagers from Indianapolis, IN thought it would be fun to borrow their neighbor’s tandem bike. That first tandem bike ride evolved into a 13 day tandem ride to raise awareness and funds in support of Lexi’s dad, Kurt Lorch, who was diagnosed with MS in 1996.  

Before Kurt was diagnosed with MS, he answered a newspaper ad from Tom, a retired Southern Illinois University Professor who was blind and looking for an experienced cyclist to lead his tandem. Kurt toured the country while leading Tom, which kept his teammate’s dream alive. Kurt’s ride served as an inspiration to Lexi and Hannah. As Kurt’s MS is progressing, the two young women decided to embark on their own journey as a way to keep Kurt’s passion for service and cycling alive.

Lexi and Hannah called their 13 day adventure “Mission MS”, with each day representing the 13 years since Kurt was diagnosed. During their trek, they rode the tandem bike throughout Indiana and camped every night in the yard of someone else living with MS. During their overnight stays, they also did helpful projects like pulling weeds or baking for each host and interviewed them about how they were living with the disease. “These people are the reason we ride and we want to connect with each and every one of them,” says Lexi. “It is our prayer that someday we will find a cure for MS to allow those we love to continue to move their lives forward.”

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