Interview with Steve & Kathy Price

1. Names: Steve and Kathy Price

2. When did you do your first ExperiencePlus! bicycle trip? The first trip we took was in 1994; it was the Pisa to Venice trip and we were lucky enough to have the whole Price family with us. We were hooked!

3. Future bicycle travel plans? We are going to do the “Cycling the Camino de Santiago-Roncesvalles to Santiago” trip in May 2008 and then my sister and I are going to celebrate her retirement by cycling Venice to Pisa in late September.

4. You have just created an ExperiencePlus! MS150 team. What can you tell us about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's bike events? The National Multiple Sclerosis Society MS 150 has over 100 cycle trips in almost every state in the Union. They are two day rides; each day is 75 miles long and is supported with a rest stop every ten miles. People of all athletic abilities ride. On our first ride we saw a man with MS ride a recumbent bike with hand pedals because his legs were not functioning. The cost of riding depends on the state and the money goes directly to the MS society. It is a wonderful way to raise money for MS and the rides are a wonderful way to see the country.

5. Your daughter was diagnosed with MS 3 years ago - is that when you did your first MS 150? We did our first ride in 2007, three years after Emily was diagnosed. Frankly, it took us a while to deal with our daughter’s MS in such a public, positive manner. Now we hope to ride all over the country. We did the Memphis MS 150 this September.

6. How did you decide to set-up an ExperiencePlus! MS 150 team? On both rides we wore ExperiencePlus! jerseys and people thought we were on your team and asked about your organization. We also saw how much fun team members have and we heard about all the support, training, and camaraderie a team can offer. I could not think of a better organization than ExperiencePlus! to combine the values and fun of biking with doing good works.

7. Tell us more about the ride (dates, location, fund raising requirements, etc.)? The “Great-West Bike MS” is June 28-29. It begins in Broomfield, CO, over-nights in Ft. Collins, CO, and then takes a different route to back to Broomfield. As individuals the cost for registration (which is also your donation) is $300 per person. It may vary slightly this year. There is much more information on the Colorado MS Society web page. Just go to MS Society Colorado Chapter or to the National MS Society: Special Events and log on to “Bike rides”. The ExperiencePlus! team will soon have a page there!

8. How can others join the ExperiencePlus! Colorado MS 150 team? You can join the team now by calling or e-mailing me. Soon we will have a web page online and that will be an optional way to join. My e-mail is: kandsprice@msn.com and my phone is 970-493-5081. I’m working with Allison Hines at the Northern Colorado Chapter now to set up our site.

9. Because of your daughter's experiences, the money our team raises will be designated for young families; can you tell us more about that? Our daughter was diagnosed when she was five months pregnant with her second child. Her husband was working hard; she was in a new neighborhood, and I was still working. She lives 80 miles away and had a baby and a two year old. There were some bad days when she had trouble functioning and there was no help. I called the MS society during a particularly bad episode and learned they had groups for feelings around these events, but no practical help on an immediate basis. My goal is to change that.

10. We hear you will be setting up training rides from Fort Collins for everyone on the team - how can people find out more? You can call or e-mail me to find out more. I will be putting routes on our web page soon. Basically, we will ride in the North and West areas of Ft. Collins around the foothills (Bingham, Lory State Park, Rist Canyon, Belleview, Horsetooth etc.) for varied terrain rides starting at 20 miles and graduating to around 50 miles. I also have some longer, flatter rides planned for going out East to some small towns. Also, my friend and neighbor Clark Mozer (who just did the Triple By-Pass) has volunteered to lead the macho training rides further up the Rockies.

11. If people can't ride and want to be involved, what are their other options? If you don’t want to ride, you can man the rest stops, fix bicycles, and/or drive the support vans. Allison Hines and our web page can give you more information.

12. When you aren't organizing events, what do you do for fun?! My main pleasures in life are biking, traveling and biking with my husband and playing with my grandbabies, Maddy and Skyler. I also play bridge and have two book groups. We take lots of trips and generally are having a good time.

Click here to check out Kathy's MS 150 webpage and help our ExperiencePlus! Team reach the goal!