COMMON GOAL: BIKE MS AND THE CYCLEPATHS

Captain Emeritus and Team founder, Dave Holmes, first rode in the Tour in 1990 and completed his twenty-fourth Bike MS tour at age 75 in 2014. Judge Robert W. Bryant, Jr. is another founding father who continues to ride with the Cyclepaths. Bob has been involved in twenty-three Bike MS Tours in support of, and now in memory of, his brother Larry, who passed away from complications related to MS in 2008.  Larry was the inspiration for the formation of the Selma Cyclepaths and continues to be an inspiration for the Cyclepaths today.  Dave, Bob, Kinney Williams, and Lynn Burleson are the only Cyclepaths to have participated in 20 or more Eastern North Carolina MS Bike Tours (now Bike MS: Historic New Bern Ride).  Lynn Burleson joined these fellows in the 90's and was a natural performance enhancing drug for the team, growing the team from a mighty force of single digits of riders to more than 100.  While Lynn has passed his leadership torch on to others, he maintains an active recruitment role for the Cyclepaths.  Dave was featured in a WRALSportsFan segment last year.  Click here to watch.

 
North Carolina Bike Tours of the National MS Society

The first annual MS Bike Tour for the Eastern North Carolina Chapter was held in 1989. Most of the early tours prior to 1998 were called “Break Loose to the Neuse,” with riders starting and finishing in Greenville, North Carolina, spending one night at Camp Sea Gull. The tour was known as “Beach or Bust” from 1998 through 2000 when the riders pedaled from Clayton to Emerald Isle, with an overnight stay in Kinston. Riders and bikes were bused and trucked back to Clayton. Since 2001, the tour has been held in New Bern with consecutive day loops originating and ending on the New Bern waterfront.  Prior to 2012, there were two North Carolina Chapters of the National MS Society. The Central Carolinas Chapter sponsored the Tour to Tanglewood, and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter hosted the Breakaway to the Beach, while the Eastern North Carolina Chapter hosted the Historic New Bern Bike Ride. These three Chapters have merged into the new Greater Carolinas Chapter and continue to sponsor all three of these Tours.

The 2015 Historic New Bern Bike Tour and 2016 Goals

In 2015, the Bike MS: Historic New Bern Ride raised $1,802,556. There were 1,700 registered cyclists and 671 volunteers who contributed over 4,000 hours. Eighty-two of the cyclists participated in the "I Ride With MS" program.  For 2016, the Ride hopes to raise $1.95M with 2,000 registered cyclists.  In 2015, the Cyclepaths rolled out with 84 riders and raised $118,283.  Forty of the Cyclepaths achieved Jewelry Boomerang status by raising at least $1,000 each. Seven of those Cyclepaths became 100 Club members by joining the ranks of the top 100 individual fundraisers.  In 2012, the Selma Cyclepaths became the first team in the history of the Eastern North Carolina MS Bike Tour to raise over $1 million.  In the fall of 2014, we were honored with induction into the National MS Society's Circle of Distinction during a national awards ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.  What's in store for 2016 for the Cyclepaths? We plan on registering 100 riders and raising $135,000 for Bike MS.

Fundraising History of the Cyclepaths

Since becoming an official team in 1993, the Cyclepaths have registered as few as three riders and as many as one hundred twenty in a single year. Cyclepaths fundraising totals have been as little as $4,265 and as much as $134,452. The Cyclepaths have had four second place finishes and nine consecutive first place finishes (2005-2013). Going into the 2016 Tour, the Selma Cyclepaths have raised a total of $1,463,496 in support of MS research and programs.