COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Once a year, Kyle Field doubles as the finish line for the ACC Texas MS-150 ride. Pride, enthusiasm, joy and hope filled Aggie Park as thousands of riders pedal closer to a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS).
“It's unbelievable the amount of people that are here from all over the state, some out of the country,” rider and Club 300 member Carl D. Farris said. “It's just amazing to see this many bikes out here at one time. It's just unbelievable.”
“I'm grateful for every single person, not even just the riders,” Team Noble captain Lauren Loucel said. “Their families, their support systems, everybody coming together for one cause, and that's to end MS."
“It was fun,” Team ACC-Amazing Spaces rider & Texas A&M sophomore Jack Martin said. “Coming out and doing this for a great cause is really a blast, and being able to finish in College Station where I'm a student, being able to finish in front of Kyle Field is really a cool experience.”
They say everything's bigger in Texas, and this ride is no exception.
“The Texas ride is the ride of Bike MS,” President and CEO of the National MS Society Dr. Tim Coetzee said. “It's the largest. It's the most unique experience. There's no ride like the Texas MS-150 ride.”
Lauren Loucel was diagnosed with MS 11 years ago, and Sunday afternoon, she completed her eighth ride.
“When you're on the bike and living with MS, it is challenging,” Loucel said. “Biking 100 miles a day is challenging, but so is living with MS. I will tell you all the riders and the cyclists, when they're passing you, they're cheering you on, they're giving you that support and that extra push every day, and it's so great. I'm so grateful for it.”
Lauren is the captain of Team Noble, which is on their way to raising a million dollars to continue funding research and finding a cure.
“At the end of the day, all of these people are here for the people living with MS, but we're also here for the folks that are soon to be diagnosed or to be diagnosed, and what we want is to find a cure so you never have to hear the words ‘you have MS,’” Loucel said.
The number one fundraiser of the ride, JD Villaseñor, raised over $217,000 this year, and he rides for his father and sister, who both battle MS.
“Crossing here at Kyle Field as an Aggie, I mean you can't think of a better place to finish an amazing event,” Villaseñor said. “And then to have my dad and my sister fly in to come see it was just incredible. It ties it all together, it's why we do this, it's why we raise the money. It's why we go out there and ride the bike. It's why we put all our effort behind it.”
Whether you participate in the ride or support at the finish line, the community that comes together is what makes this event so special.
As of Sunday afternoon, the ride is expected to have raised over $10 million.
“We're here at the stadium with the 12th man, and when I look around here, all these people cheering, it's the 12th man for people affected by MS, and that just inspires me,” Coetzee said.
The Texas MS-150 Ride is the single largest event fundraiser for the National MS Society nationwide.
For information on how you can get involved, click here.
You can visit Aloha Beauty Lounge in Tomball from now until July 30th, mention the MS Society during your service, and they’ll match it 100% with a donation to the MS Society.
