Team Etzel: On the road to conquer Multiple Sclerosis

By Mary Owen

When Ron Etzel was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, he didn’t let it keep him down. 

In late 2004, just 10 months after two major surgeries, Etzel rode his first century ride – 100 miles in one day. It’s a feat the 57-year-old Sublimity resident repeats every year while riding his bike to raise funds to battle multiple sclerosis through BIKE MS, a series of charity bicycle rides organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in various locations around the United States. 

“My brother Larry was involved in the ride in New Jersey since the mid-’80s, and our son and his cousins wanted to go back there to ride with him in 2002,” Etzel said. “That was year number one for the Frank and His Friends team here in Oregon.”

The team was named after Larry’s friend, Frank McCarry, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, causing loss of balance, extreme fatigue, paralysis, blindness and more. MS, as it is more commonly known, affects 2.5 million people worldwide, including 400,000 Americans.

“After riding along in the car the first year, watching my son ride his bike in the rain, I decided that I could ride with him,” Etzel said. “Our team consists of family members and friends, usually about five to seven members strong.”

Since Etzel began participating in 2003, Oregon’s BIKE MS has been held in Salem, Forest Grove, Sweethome and other places. This year, on Aug. 1-2, BIKE MS: Explore Oregon is centered at Regis High School in Stayton. From there an estimated 600 riders will pedal through, up and around 30- to 150-mile courses of scenic rolling farms, covered bridges and Silver Falls State Park. 

“Our riders are passionate about the experience we create for them, but even more for the people who lead them to our ride,” said Michael DeCesaro, Oregon Chapter development director. “Family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers join us every year to support the people they care about, people with MS.”

Frank and His Friends team members will ride to help raise a portion of the $400,000 Oregon chapter goal. The funds will go toward supporting the nearly 7,000 individuals living with MS and their families in Oregon and Clark County, Wash., as well as national MS research for a cure.

“For those of you who rode with us in 2001, you’ll remember the beautiful scenery of the Stayton area and the incredible support the community and Regis High School provided for the event,” Etzel said. “This is the 25th anniversary of the event, so it is fitting that we ride through Silver Falls Park.”

On day one, riders will travel toward Sweethome via Scio, Crabtree, Waterloo and many points in between, returning to Regis for an evening of fun. Day two’s circuitous route takes riders from Regis through Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, Pratum, Shaw, Sublimity and back to Regis. 

“Riders are a mix of people – teens and preteens, as well as grandparents and great-grandparents,” Etzel said. Some are victims of MS, while others are cancer survivors like me. Some have artificial knees, while others are professional cyclists. But we are all in it together, to provide funding so that someday another person will not have to hear the words, ‘You have MS.’”

Riders will arrive Friday evening, set up camp and renew friendships from past years, Etzel said. “The event is fully supported, with food and beverage rest stops every 10 to 5 miles,” he added.

Breakfast and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, entertainment and refreshments both afternoons at the finish line are included in the $35 registration fee. There is also a $250 minimum donation per rider.

“I continue to come back each year, raising funds that someday will lead to a cure for this debilitating disease,” Etzel said. “I have met so many wonderful people who are unable to walk, much less ride a bike. I ride for each of them.

“Also, there is a chance that someday, one of my descendants will be afflicted with MS, and because I ‘rode for a cure,’ my efforts will have made a difference for them,” he added.

Etzel has also served for the last three years as the logistics coordinator for Stayton’s Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. He and his wife, Anne, have two grown children – Mike, 20, a sophomore at Oregon State University, and Katie, 23, a recent graduate of Western Oregon University.  

For details on or to register for BIKE MS, visit http://bikeorc.nationalmssociety.org.