Stephenson rides to end MS

Blair Stephenson rides for MS Champions. Everyone that he rides for is represented by an orange MS bandana that he keeps with him during the ride. He has to be creative on where to stash the 39 bandanas. He signs them and sends them to the Champions after each ride.

Pedaling with a passion

Blair Stephenson, a 1965 Salem High School graduate who now resides in Irving, Texas, rides his bike to make a difference in the lives of those suffering with Multiple Sclerosis. He has been active in the fundraising effort since his first ride in 2012.

“There was a lady in our company (Pioneer Natural Resources) who put down a challenge to ride in the Bike MS ride,” Blair said. So he went home and told his wife, Charlene, that he had signed up for a bike ride and it would only cost them $300.

There are more than 70 Bike MS rides across the US. The biggest ride, with about 13,000 riders, is in Houston, Texas. The ride that Blair rides in is based in north Texas, Dallas area, and it has about 2,000 riders. This smaller group, however, raised 1.7 million dollars just this year. The ride was held in May.

Blair alone raised $17,000.  He said, “Several of my classmates from the SHS class of 1965 are very generous in their support of my Bike MS ride every year.” He has numerous “generous and kind people” that helped him reach this milestone amount.

He has been riding a bike nearly 30 years. His mom, Gertrude Stephenson, said he’s been riding longer than that. She said, “He rode a big wheeled Schwinn to school before he got his license.”

Although he retired in May, he plans to keep participating. He has been captain or co-captain for the past seven years. “Now it’s not so much about the ride it has become more of a passion, a mission.”

Along the way, he has learned a lot about the disease and MS research, in addition to meeting a lot of MS patients along the way. “What keeps me coming back is the validity of where the money actually goes,” Blair said. Out of the money raised 82% goes to treatment and research.

He continues to ride, also for the people who he has met who have the disease; they are referred to as MS Champions. When he rides he takes those champions with him in the form of an orange bandana. “I have the names of each person I ride for, about 38 people, on a bandana that I carry with me on the ride,” Blair explained.

“After the ride, I sign them and send them to the MS Champions to honor them.”

He continued, “It seems to mean a lot to them. Four of my Champions are deceased and I send their bandanas to their parents or spouse.”

The rides are usually 60 to 70 miles and some MS sufferers participate. “I’m just tired one or two days, but they live with the pain every day,” Blair said.

He hopes to one day be able to step away from the ride, not because he doesn’t or can’t participate, but because they have found a cure.

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