As I mentioned here several months ago, I’m trading in my motorcycle for a bicycle and joining 13000 other riders on a charity bike tour from Houston to Austin (150 miles — or more, depending on the route you take).

The ride starts this Saturday morning, and ends at the foot of the Capitol building in Austin on Sunday (with an overnight camping stop in La Grange) — I’m leaving Austin tomorrow around noon, so blogging will be non-happening from noon until Sunday night.

I’ll have plenty of pictures and stories to tell when I get home.

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Why should you care? Why should you want to get involved or donate to helping find a cure?

Hal Gordon, a speech writer from Houston, recounted this tale from a previous year’s ride, which is enough for me:

In one of the speeches I gave — in this case to my church — I told our parishioners that I could talk to them about what a terrible disease multiple sclerosis is. I could talk to them about how it usually strikes people in the prime of their lives. I could talk to them about how there is a new case of MS diagnosed every hour. And I could talk to them about how there is still no cure.

But, I said, I’m not going to do this. I’m just going to tell a story. And I did.

The story went like this: One year, when I was riding the MS 150, I was stopped for a traffic light and I happened to glance over at the rider on my left.

Immediately, I took a closer look. He was riding alone on a tandem bicycle. What happened to the other rider, I wondered. Had he fallen off? Been taken sick? Had the two riders possibly had an argument and split up in the middle of the ride?

But as I looked even more closely, I noticed that the rear pedals on the bike had been removed. No question about it; this man was deliberately riding solo on a bicycle built for two. Why? I asked myself.

At that moment, the light turned, the other rider pulled ahead of me, and suddenly I had my answer. The rider had a sign propped up on the empty rear seat. The sign said: “Last year, I rode with my wife. This year, I’m riding for her.”

Please help me support my fellow Texans by making a one-time, tax-deductible donation. Please make your contribution to me using this easy and secure online e-donation link.

Any amount you feel comfortable giving is deeply appreciated. With your support, we can make a positive impact today in the lives of 17,000 Texans who are living with multiple sclerosis.

Thank you to all of you have already donated so generously.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 | Trackback |