Rough riders gather for benefit ride
4/19/2008 4:31 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff


This was the second year of the annual Max's Ride for ALS research.
Motorcycle riders gathered at Cowboy Harley Davidson in South Austin to ride together in the fight against ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

This was the second year of the annual Max's Ride for ALS research and Patient Services.

Lou Gehrig's disease is named for the famous baseball player who died from the debilitating condition.

But according to the ride's organizers, ALS is more of a concern for veterans of the Gulf war.

They are twice as likely to develop the disease.


"It's a degenerative neurological disease. We don't know why it happens. We don't know who's at risk for it, but we do know that if you're diagnosed with ALS, two-to-five years later you will probably die of the disease," Patrick Callihan with the ALS Association said.

The ride is named for Max Harrison, who is a Gulf War veteran who died from ALS in 2006.

Before his death, with the help of family and friends, Max organized the ride to raise awareness and money for research and patient services.

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