[RedPenguins]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to update everyone...

Last weekend I rode in the Bike MS event here in Southern California. Again much thanks to those of you who donated to the cause. I raised $1100 and my team raised over $20,000.....and the MS Society raised over a million and still counting. Oh, my team is called Team Lost And Damaged!

I trained over the summer, often riding in 100+ degree heat and held my own the entire time.

On Saturday I cycled 30 miles...I was well prepared for that ride, as I had trained on the actual route. The first 15 miles were uphill!! But it was cake!

My best friend also raised $1000 for the event - and then she cycled the 100 mile option! And she did it all!!!

Sunday was a different story. The ride was 35 miles and I had not done that route before. The first 8 miles or so were uphill but at a 7-8% grade - it was STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! OMG, it almost killed me - or so I thought at the moment. Then we got to mile 12...and these incredible winds started. The last 23 miles were through the winds and it was insane. I was almost knocked off the bike a few times by the wind!! (And that's no easy feat - I'm a big person!!)

But I did it - Sunday was an extreme challenge. At one of the rest stops, I met a woman, who also has MS. And she was struggling, too....and she said the best thing to me : when she felt like quitting (b/c of the winds), she was just reminded of how she can't quit the MS, so quitting the ride was not an option.

I am a little worse for the wear...

Two months ago, my left hand started feeling numb and tingly after I had done a long training ride. First it was just my ring finger and pinkie. Then it progressed to my thumb. I did some physical therapy for it, but no relief. As time went one, my left hand lost most of it's strength (big problem for this lefty here!)... and then a few weeks ago, my right hand started to feel numb as well. I have seen a hand specialist and he said it is probably not the MS...but most likely carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes. I have to sleep wearing an elbow brace and wrist brace. Ugg. He wants me to have nerve conduction tests, so he sent me to my neuro for that. Now, I saw my neuro in early August (when it started) and he thought it was the MS. Neuro still thinks it is the MS - despite that it started when I was riding, it gets worse when I ride, etc). However, he did agree to do the nerve conduction studies. I go for that on the 20th...then I see the hand specialist at the end of the month. The numbness/tingling is really starting to concern me big time....I can't do basic things with my hands, which is really scary to me.

So that's my update...

Hope everyone is well,

~Keri

[pud's friend]

I'm in awe of your dedication and strength. well done you

[Judy2]

Congratulations Keri!!! That's alot of pedalling.

[PolarExpress]

Go Keri!!! I'm so proud of you! I can't even get my leg to work to get ON a bike, and here you are pedaling halfway across the state..Amazing!
I hope the hand numbness is resolved soon for you. It sucks not being able to feel what you're doing.

[Dejibo]

I am so proud of you! I knew my money was well spent on you! Way to go! I will tell my friends that donated as well.


You rock!

[ewizabeth]

You're awesome Keri!! Good job! Thanks for all of your hard work!

[gonnamakeit]

Congratulations on your ride and money raised!! Hope you can stay in shape and do it again next year.

gmi

[RedPenguins]

I just uploaded a few photos from the ride Check them out in my album.

[Desinie]

Thank you, Keri. You're amazing! Congrats!

[TXBatman]

Awesome Keri!!!! Thanks for riding!

I know all about riding into winds in the heat...it can be BRUTAL! As for your hands, look up "ulnar neuropathy" or "Cyclist's Palsy". It is not an uncommon malady for folks who take up cycling, and can usually be fixed by changing a few things in the gear or bike setup. It is essentially a bruised ulnar nerve and usually comes from leaning too hard on your hands or gripping the handlebars too tight. If you stop whatever is causing the pressure on it, it will recover over time, but can take a long time. My wife had it when sh first rode an MS150 ride and it took almost 6 weeks to come back to normal.

Here are some things to consider changing on your bike to help relieve it:

1 - Wear padded gloves if you are not already. Yes, it sounds basic, but some folks think they are just for show and forego them.

2 - Check the angle of your seat. If the nose is slightly down, it will tilt you forward and make you support your weight on your hands to keep from sliding forward off the seat. Levelling the seat off will take some of the pressure off of your hands.

3 - Change your hand positions on the handlebars more often to keep from constantly pressuring your hands in the same spot. If you are riding a mountain bike or a flat bar road bike, get bar ends to put on the ends of the bar and wrap them with bar tape. It will give you more places to put your hands while riding. The flat bar bikes are the worst for causing neuropathy, because there are usually so few positions to put your hands in.

4. If you are on a road bike with a standard bar with drops, get some of the gel cushioned bar pads to put under your bar tape. Look into "Bar Phat" or other similar products. They cushion the ride of your hands on the bars and reduce jarring of the wrists.

5. Relax your grip on the bars and reduce the angle of your hand against your wrist. Try to just rest your hand on the bar and let your fingers loosely circle the bar. Obviously if you are braking, cornering, or on a rough road, hang on more securely, but generally try not to have a death grip on the bars unless you need it. If you rotate your hands forward so that your hands are closer to a straight line with the rest of your wrist, it will reduce pressure on the wrist and the ulnar nerve.

6 - Finally, if you are riding and feel your fingers going numb or starting to tingle, take one hand off the bars at a time and shake them out to get blood flowing again. If you are cutting off bloodflow, you are probably putting pressure on the nerve too, so try a different position for a while or concentrate on relaxing your grip. One good exercise you can do on the bike to relax the tingling is to reach one hand behind you and reach is far up the middle of your back as possible...then flex your fingers into a fist and relax several times while wiggling all your fingers.

Most of all, don't panic about it. It does recover if you stop what is causing the pressure on the nerve...so try to rest your hands and wrists some now that the event is over and try some of the things above when you do ride, and it should get better over time.

Once again, thanks for riding! I hope you keep after it and rock the 100 mile route next year!