Article from Sean's Hometown Newspaper
Hi Y'all!
Pasted below is an article from The Madisonville Messenger (Madisonville, KY). Bret and I did an interview with reporter Patricia Wiles when we were in town for my mom's party. She was very nice and I think she did a good job of capturing the trip. It was also nice because it was accompanied by a big picture (of me riding my bike, wearing my, uh, extremely cool bike helmet) and was on the front page of the Sunday edition.
Hope you enjoy it.
- sean
Sean Spence
MS Advocate
http://www.missouritomanhattan.com/
seanspence@earthlink.net
City Native Bicycles to Raise Funds for MS
by Patricia Wiles
Madisonville Messenger, 9-16-07, page 1
Sean Spence’s mother told him the day he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis four years ago was the worst day of her life.
But it wasn’t that way for Spence.
“I choose to live in a positive way, to make the most of what I have,” the 36-year old said. “MS isn’t going to kill me, but it could put me in a wheelchair.”
Spence, who lives in Missouri, stopped in Madisonville this week to visit his mother, Shirley, as he bikes across the country to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Spence began his ride 12 days ago in St. Joseph, Mo. He expects to make it to New York City by Sept. 25. He spent four months training for the ride, still “the first day was the hardest,” he said. He only made it 25 miles before wearing out.
“The road was incredibly hilly,” he said. But it didn’t take long for his mileage to increase. Now he’s averaging 70 miles a day.
“The last couple of days, I’ve made it 75,” he said.
Bret Bender, also known as “the transporter,” drives ahead of Spence and meets him at pre-determined stops. Bender carries a laptop with him and does his work for Missouri state Rep. Jeff Roorda, while waiting for Spence to catch up.
Spence, a public relations and political consultant, managed Missouri state Auditor Susan Montee’s election campaign last year. Montee’s family is sponsoring Spence’s 1,500-mile ride. He and Bender had not met before the ride.
Bender said when he heard Spence was looking for someone to accompany him, he jumped at the chance. He and Spence blog about their experiences on the road at http://missouritomanhattan.com/. The blog has a link where visitors can contribute to MS research.
“Every penny raised goes to research,” he said.
For Spence, the trip has “over and over again reinforced my faith in humanity,” he said. “It’s been a pleasant surprise to see people’s reactions ... they’ve been so kind all along the route.”
He hopes his ride serves as an encouraging example to those who have the disease.
“Not everyone with MS can do a ride like this, but everyone can have a positive attitude, find a way to push their limits,” he said. He believes “the way people choose to view their health is related to the reality of their health.”
Spence doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do a ride like this 30, 20 or even five years from now.
“But I can do it today,” he said. And whatever the future brings, he said, he will continue to find ways to push his personal limits.
“A positive outlook on this disease makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
Pasted below is an article from The Madisonville Messenger (Madisonville, KY). Bret and I did an interview with reporter Patricia Wiles when we were in town for my mom's party. She was very nice and I think she did a good job of capturing the trip. It was also nice because it was accompanied by a big picture (of me riding my bike, wearing my, uh, extremely cool bike helmet) and was on the front page of the Sunday edition.
Hope you enjoy it.
- sean
Sean Spence
MS Advocate
http://www.missouritomanhattan.com/
seanspence@earthlink.net
City Native Bicycles to Raise Funds for MS
by Patricia Wiles
Madisonville Messenger, 9-16-07, page 1
Sean Spence’s mother told him the day he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis four years ago was the worst day of her life.
But it wasn’t that way for Spence.
“I choose to live in a positive way, to make the most of what I have,” the 36-year old said. “MS isn’t going to kill me, but it could put me in a wheelchair.”
Spence, who lives in Missouri, stopped in Madisonville this week to visit his mother, Shirley, as he bikes across the country to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Spence began his ride 12 days ago in St. Joseph, Mo. He expects to make it to New York City by Sept. 25. He spent four months training for the ride, still “the first day was the hardest,” he said. He only made it 25 miles before wearing out.
“The road was incredibly hilly,” he said. But it didn’t take long for his mileage to increase. Now he’s averaging 70 miles a day.
“The last couple of days, I’ve made it 75,” he said.
Bret Bender, also known as “the transporter,” drives ahead of Spence and meets him at pre-determined stops. Bender carries a laptop with him and does his work for Missouri state Rep. Jeff Roorda, while waiting for Spence to catch up.
Spence, a public relations and political consultant, managed Missouri state Auditor Susan Montee’s election campaign last year. Montee’s family is sponsoring Spence’s 1,500-mile ride. He and Bender had not met before the ride.
Bender said when he heard Spence was looking for someone to accompany him, he jumped at the chance. He and Spence blog about their experiences on the road at http://missouritomanhattan.com/. The blog has a link where visitors can contribute to MS research.
“Every penny raised goes to research,” he said.
For Spence, the trip has “over and over again reinforced my faith in humanity,” he said. “It’s been a pleasant surprise to see people’s reactions ... they’ve been so kind all along the route.”
He hopes his ride serves as an encouraging example to those who have the disease.
“Not everyone with MS can do a ride like this, but everyone can have a positive attitude, find a way to push their limits,” he said. He believes “the way people choose to view their health is related to the reality of their health.”
Spence doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do a ride like this 30, 20 or even five years from now.
“But I can do it today,” he said. And whatever the future brings, he said, he will continue to find ways to push his personal limits.
“A positive outlook on this disease makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
posted by Sean Spence at 2:39 AM
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