Atlantic City Weekly

They all have their reasons for doing it, some with more personal ties to the neurological scourge they’re striving to stamp out, but the key bond is easy to see. About 7,000 bicyclists will push themselves through a lot of pain and discomfort to help ease the burden on others going through something much worse.

The 29th annual City to Shore Bike Tour — the largest two-day event of its kind on the East Coast, and the second largest in the United States behind another in Texas — travels from Cherry Hill to Ocean City and back Oct. 3-4. The tour is sponsored by the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and is one of 100 similar events held throughout the year. Each participant is asked to raise a minimum of $300 in sponsorship, and the target goal of the Del-Val Chapter alone is $5 million for the National MS Society.

“We estimate we’ve raised $40 million since we started [as an original chapter participant], about half of which goes toward research projects and the other half toward helping local people living with MS through things like transportation, appointments and referrals to neurologists, or help managing symptoms,” says Kevin Moffitt, vice president of communications for the Del-Val Chapter. “We have people who have been coming back for decades now. Most get involved for the first time because they hear it’s a well-run, well-supported event with a nice, scenic route. But what happens is — and we hear this time and time again — when they get to O.C. and turn the final corner toward the finish line, they actually see why they’re riding. They see all those people living with MS who come out to cheer them on.”

And these cheering committees are not limited to the finish lines, apparently.

“It’s very exciting to be out there among thousands of other riders working toward a cause and having all those people cheering for you at the rest stops, some of them patients in wheelchairs living with MS,” says Dr. Harry Chaikin, a Brigantine physician participating in his sixth City to Shore. “I know of people who were riders when they were first diagnosed with MS who now no longer have the balance or muscle control needed to do it. The figures are that about 400,000 people are living with MS in the United States, and about 25 million worldwide.”

Dresher, Pa., resident Craig Ostroff is gearing up for his third City to Shore, initially becoming involved as a motivational tool to get back in shape.

“I was starting to get a little older and needed to make sure I was exercising on a regular basis,” says Ostroff, 36. “I’m not in the best of shape — I’m overweight and generally a pretty lazy guy, so I needed some way to really motivate myself. I enjoyed riding my bike, and I knew that if I signed up it might inspire me to start riding again regularly. I knew that if I had already paid the entry fee, received donations and had friends counting on me to show up, I’d be letting too many people down if I wasn’t able to participate.

“I don’t have any friends or relatives who have been diagnosed with MS, but it’s certainly an added bonus that, even though this was something I wanted to do to test myself, I would be able to help raise funds and awareness for an important cause in the process,” adds Ostroff. “I have a large family that I always hit up for donations and they always come through. I’ll also e-mail co-workers soliciting donations, and I’ve also raised funds from Facebook friends, which surprises me because I never thought I’d find a productive use for Facebook.”

Chaikin networked himself through his fellow physicians, friends and family, and as a first-year City to Shore rider in 2004 earned “Rookie of the Year” honors with over $7,000 in sponsorship. He also participates in the annual Battle for Hunger Tour (assisting the Atlantic County Rescue Mission) and other events benefiting cancer and ALS (his colleague, Dr. Edward Lisk, died of ALS earlier this year), often riding as captain of the AtlantiCare Starfish Team or with his eldest daughter, Hannah. “You’ll see people of all sorts on the [MS] ride, and on all sorts of bikes,” says Chaikin. “There’s an Asian woman who must be in her 70s who’s been doing it for years, and she does it on a coaster [one-speed] bike wearing these clunky shoes and gear you wouldn’t think of as appropriate for such a long ride. But every year she’s out there, and now she’s got her grandkids doing it with her.”

Moffitt says he and his associates are hoping to track down some former participants for a special anniversary tour next fall.

“We’re looking into maybe finding some of the people who participated 10 or more years ago, and coaxing them back to do it again next year,” says Moffitt. “It’ll be a good excuse to come back and celebrate the tour’s 30th anniversary.”

Bike MS: City to Shore 2009
When: Sat.-Sun., Oct. 3-4
Where: The primary route goes from the PATCO-Woodcrest train station in Cherry Hill to the Ocean City Civic Center and back (75 miles each direction, each day). There are also two shorter, single-day routes and a first-day “century” ride (100 miles) for more advanced cyclists.
Phone: 1-800-445-2453
Web site: MScycling.org