About the Author

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Bio of Steven Misrack

I am not an expert cyclist, but in 1995 I became active in cycling to participate in the BikeMS (previously called the MS150) Bay to Bay bike ride that supports the Multiple Sclerosis society. This is a two day event that leaves from Irvine, CA and travels down the coast to Mission Bay, CA. When I rode the event for the first time, I had not rode a bike for almost 19 years! I found it a great challenge to train and prepare for this event.

In my first year, I was amazed at the inexperience of a lot of the riders and the blatant disregard for the law of the more experienced riders. Since that first ride, I have been an advocate of bicycle safety and worked with the MS Society to implement a safety program. This program, along with the Ride Marshall and training programs, has allowed us to train riders to be safer and obey the laws of the state and cities they ride through. In just the first year, the program saw a significant drop in violations of the law, and a huge rise in new cyclists practicing safe riding behaviors.

This event has three ride options (30, 100 and 150 miles) that all travel through an open course. There are approximately 2500 riders that ride through 17 communities along open roads. Because these riders are sharing the road with cars, other cyclists and pedestrians it was critical that they had proper training and attitudes. In 2011, we will celebrated our sixth year of the safety program and look forward to continuing the program for many years to come.

Learn more about the BikeMS ride and the MS Society by watching this video: