On Saturday and Sunday, thousands of multiple sclerosis (MS) community members across Canada will take part in the virtual MS Bike Ride.
Normally, the MS Society of Canada hosts various MS Bike events across the country, such as the Leduc to Camrose MS Bike Ride.
Due to COVID-19 health recommendations, the event will join the MS community together digitally as many riders tackle a route closer to home.
Jan Laarman is a longtime participant in the event. He joined the MS Bike Ride in 2013. In August 2015, Laarman was diagnosed with MS, a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.
“That next year was a very difficult year. Coming to terms with having MS, dealing with the medications’ side-effects,” Laarman said.
Laarman said it was important to him to have the ride continue, even if things looked different in 2020.
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“It really gives you that extra boost you need sometimes to get through those difficult times,” he said.
Participants are invited to ride however they choose.
“You can ride 10 kilometres around your home, you can do that. If you’d like to do a 100-kilometre ride through our Alberta prairies, you can do that too,” said the MS Society of Canada’s Nicole Gasior. “Any kind of support that you’re able to do.”
Laarman will be waking up early on Saturday to head to Pigeon Lake for his ride.
“It’s a 60-kilometre loop. I’m hoping to do that twice. If I raise enough money, I’ll do it a third time.”
Laarman said a shift to focusing more on social media has its benefits.
“One of the big draws of the event is the comradery of riding with so many, and eventually crossing the finish line with over 2,000 riders,” said Laarman. “This year, we are planning to do individual rides, following all the COVID-19 guidelines, but still trying to keep that comradery going. Going virtual also encourages our riders to use social media more, which will hopefully raise more awareness for MS.”
Laarman said it’s exciting to see riders across Canada come together in a new way.
“You really feel it’s out there not just right here in Edmonton, but across Canada. It’s nice to see and it really unifies us.”
Organizers say they too have been inspired by the community’s reaction to a new type of event.
“We are a resilient group of individuals but this has shown that our MS bike community is just unstoppable, no matter what,” Gasior said.
Alongside co-workers, friends and family, Laarman has raised more than $15,000 for this year’s ride.
You can support his initiative here.
If you’d like to get involved, you can watch a live-stream rally on Saturday at 10 a.m. MDT here.
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