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The trio decided last fall that they would attempt to do the ride all in one day.
“This was my ninth time to do this MS150 ride and I wanted a new challenge,” Porr said. “I knew people who had done it and I knew if they could do it, so could I.”
The ride took place this past weekend in the BP MS 150 with a large number of Victoria cyclists participating. The BP MS150 is a two-day cycling challenge from Houston to Austin that raises money for those living with multiple sclerosis.
Over $12 million dollars was raised in 2007 with a record number of cyclists participating in last year’s event. This year’s fundraising goals were set at $14 million dollars. The BP MS150 is the largest single fundraising event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Of the cyclist, three of those cyclists are in the prestigious “300 Club”, which are cyclists who are the top fundraisers for the MS society.
Daren Jarisch, Phillip Suarez, and Skip Sockell are all in the top 300 (out of 13,000 entrants) for raising money for the MS society. A few of the riders were new to the MS150 this year.
Paul Polasek, a city councilman and owner of a software company, decided to join his wife Michelle for the challenge this year. “I have a sister with multiple sclerosis and I wanted to do this not only for the challenge of it, but because it raises money for a good cause.”
Michelle, who is the president of Victoria’s cycling group, has done the MS150 the past few years but has always opted to do the standard 150-mile course. Paul decided he wanted more of a challenge so he and Michelle decided to ride the more challenging approximately 180-mile ride.
Polasek stated, “It was extremely hard this year with the strong winds, but I made it and I’m proud of myself.”
When asked if he would do the MS150 again, Polasek quickly replied “yes”.