Team Evesham is gearing up for its philanthropic ride to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis in the MS City to Shore bike ride on Saturday, Sept. 29.
The cycling team membership is open to anyone without dues. Practices can draw up to 109 team members. They meet every Sunday morning to train for the upcoming charity events.
“We started Team Evesham in 2008, and it was a group of people who wanted to cycle and exercise and do things for the community,” said Sandy Student, captain and organizer of Team Evesham. “The first year we had eight founding members, and we raised about $14,000 for MS.”
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website, multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The disease is unpredictable and affects each person differently. There is currently no cure for the disease.
“We started publicizing our bike rides, and, in 2009, we had 27 people for Bike MS. In 2010, we had 56 members. It’s been growing ever since, and we do more than just the MS ride now,” Student said.
The team trains throughout the year for a variety of fundraising events in the area.
“We train in the winter time if there’s no snow or ice on the ground. We’re all about doing things; so we’re all about charities. This year we’ll raise over $150,000 for charities,” said Student.
The fundraising for the team doesn’t end at the cycling events. They also give back to the community during the holiday season.
“We do other things in the community, we’ll do meals for seniors around the holidays along with a team holiday party,” said Student.
The training for Team Evesham is a weekly event, normally drawing more than 100 cyclists in preparation for the next event, or to simply learn to cycle and workout.
No group of riders for the workout is bigger than 15 people with a ride leader. Maps of the route are posted online to the team’s website Wednesdays before the Sunday morning ride. The training route can be anywhere from 25 miles to 50 miles depending on the time of the season and how far the team is into training.
“We try to keep it very safe. We want people to enjoy it,” Student said.
“It’s one of those things you need to make the time to do it, and it’s a social event as well. I’m looking forward to learning how to bike-ride and get into the fitness aspect of it,” said Evan Snyderman, Evesham resident and junior venture partner of the Bonefish Grill. “I’d like to do as much as time allows. I’m looking forward to it.”
The team meets at the Promenade at Sagemore every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. for coffee at Panera. Once the expected number of riders has arrived, each group is assigned a team leader and they break off into groups for the ride.
“We’ve trained people so they know how to ride in groups. There’s a social aspect, too. So afterward, we go to Panera and we might have 30 or 40 people out of 100 that stay,” Student said.
The team is supportive of one another. To get excited for the long distance rides, they hold a team dinner the night before the fundraiser.
“We always do dinners before our big rides, so the night before the MS ride, we’ll have a team dinner,” said Student.
The Evesham Police Department supports Team Evesham. The team shirts sport the Evesham Police Department emblem on the sleeve.
“This was my first foray into cycling. I had never done it before and that was the first large charity ride I had done. I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve done probably about somewhere from 20 to 25 events,” said Mike Barth the chief of the Evesham police. “I can’t wait [for Bike MS]. It’s a great event; it’s the biggest one we do all year and biggest one I’ve ever been involved in.
Team Evesham is expecting to raise between $85,000 to $90,000 for the MS Society through the City to Shore bike ride.
“It started because it was a good thing for the township to do. You don’t have to work or live in Evesham. It just keeps growing,” said Student.
For more information on Team Evesham and to donate to Bike MS, visit www.teamevesham.org.
