Merles Miles For MS Introduction

Now ordinarily I like to do something, and then tell everyone that I have already done it. I don’t like announcing a grand plan, then having to explain why it didn’t happen if things don’t go as expected. This time circumstances simply didn’t allow me to do it the way I like.

The trip was a fund-raiser for the Georgia Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Therefore early public awareness was an absolute must in order to give me credibility with potential sponsors and contributors so I worked hard to get publicity even before the trip began.

In 1980 I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, having suffered symptoms for some years before. After having spent a couple of months unable to walk, my MS has settled into a mostly sensory impairment pattern, leaving me free to get around and do almost anything that I want to do. I feel blessed that after nearly 30 years of having the disease it seldom involves my motor skills. I would venture to say that before this trip only a few of my friends even knew that I am afflicted.

On August 3, 2007 my graduating class at Oak Harbor High School (Oak Harbor, Washington, about 90 miles northwest of Seattle) celebrated its 50-year class reunion and I planed to attend. In January of 1966 I, along with my wife Jan and my newborn son Mike, moved to Georgia, making the trip to Oak Harbor into about the longest trip that I could make and still be within the contiguous 48 states.

For several years after arriving in Georgia I played tennis and ran for exercise. But a bad knee from my high school tennis team days and years of stress on joints dictated that I give up high impact sports. I started walking up Kennesaw Mountain every day to keep in shape. After putting in about 3000 miles walking up and down the mountain the thought occurred to me that it might be fun to walk to my class reunion. But one short session with my calculator convinced me of the impracticality of that endeavor. In 2004, a couple of years after my retirement, I had a total knee replacement. At that time I turned to bicycling as a way to exercise without doing so much damage to my joints, although I still walk the mountain occasionally, just for the love of it and to keep in touch with the friends that I have made on the trail. Human powered travel to Washington State then seemed more practical, by bicycle.

In August 2006 my son and I traveled by recumbent tricycle from Georgia to Columbia, Tennessee to test the practicality of this type of travel in 95-degree temperatures. My particular MS fortunately doesn’t seem to be bothered much by the heat and I convinced myself that I was capable of averaging the 50 miles per day that would be required to make my planned trip in about two and a half months. Pictures of the Tennessee shakedown trip can be seen here.

The route took me through such interesting places as Tennessee/Kentucky’s Land Between the Lakes and Wyoming’s Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. It crossed the Appalachian, Ozark, Rocky, and Cascade Mountains and crossed mighty rivers. It took me many miles out of the way in order to stay on published bicycle routes wherever possible.

During a visit to my neurologist, Dr. William Stuart of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta, he suggested that I use my trip as a fund-raiser for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This seemed like such a good idea that I was embarrassed to have not thought of it myself.

The trip became a twofold plan: 1) to leave on May 19, 2007 to travel to my 50-year class reunion by recumbent tricycle, arriving by August 3 (in time for the reunion), and 2) to raise as much money as possible for the National Multiple Scleroses Society.

And, by the way, I know I'm getting taller as I get older because it's so much harder to touch my toes than it used to be.

Merle’s Miles for MS

Introduction