Rita Wilczek                                                                                                                                                                                             This year’s ALS Bike Trek MN was held on May 17, a beautiful day to bike in Marine on St. Croix along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border.

There were over 300 bicyclists and nearly $121,000 was raised for research to cure ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  Riders, donors, sponsors, organizers all contributed to the success of this year’s Trek.

Why do so many support the mission to cure ALS when there are so many other good causes?
Likely they have a parent, brother, sister, friend or co-worker who has or had ALS.  Life expectancy for someone diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons, is only 2-5 years.  So bicyclists ride the Trek in honor of, or in memory of their relative or friend.

And they ride because they can.  It seems a cliche to say, “they ride because they can”, but for anyone who has had an injury that prevented them from biking temporarily, imagine giving up biking forever.  People diagnosed with ALS will lose their ability to walk, use their hands, eat, swallow and eventually breathe.

The picture to the right is an ALS Walk we did with my brother, Mark in 2006.  He was diagnosed in 2005 at the age of 52 and lost his battle 3/11/2007 at the age of 54.  Many lives are cut short by ALS and we hope to change that by supporting the efforts of ALS TDI (Therapy Development Institute).  Your help is appreciated.

Plan to participate in the ALS Bike Trek MN, next year on May 16, 2015 and ride because you can!