The ride of a lifetime shines a light on MS

HEWITT — Ryan Riegler finished his six-year tour of duty in the Coast Guard in July, 2013. For most of that time, he was stationed at Port Angeles in Washington State. He had told his mom that when he got out, he wanted to do a cross-country bike trip.

While still in the Coast Guard, Riegler met and married the love of his life, Stephanie. Stephanie’s mother, Shelly, has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 25 years. Riegler looked online for a way to help and found “Bike the US for MS,” which raises funds for research and awareness. It was a perfect fit to achieve his dream and help his mother-in-law and countless others.

Riegler let people know his reasons for the trip on the Web site.

“In July 2011, I married the most wonderful woman, Stephanie, whose mother has multiple sclerosis,” wrote Riegler. “I have never met someone as strong as her mother ever before. Every time I see her, she has the biggest smile on her face and is so kind. I have never heard her complain about her struggles, even though I know they are constant. Daily tasks that most never even think about are a challenge to her, but she is strong and has the greatest attitude. I will be thinking of Shelly on my ride and when struggles come my way I will pray that I will have the same strength that she does every day.”

But he wouldn’t do it alone. He enlisted his childhood friend, Jason Turner, who was living in Brooklyn and whose aunt, Karen, also has MS, to join him.

Before leaving, they checked out the Web site warmshowers.com to find places where they could stay on the journey.

A journey of 4,609 miles
On Aug. 1, 2013, they set off from Port Angeles, Wash., on their cross-country odyssey. They rode Surly Long Haul Trucker brand bikes, using the TransAmerica Trail as their main route. Almost three months later, on Oct. 21, they arrived at their easternmost point in Brooklyn, N.Y., then biked to their boyhood home in the Awosting section of Hewitt, a total of 4,609 miles. They raised $6,800 for MS and donations are still coming in (see box).

Along the way, they had adventure, fun and the extraordinary experience of meeting people who opened their homes and hearts to them.

An early setback
Outside Riggins, Idaho, Riegler and Turner met a group of cyclists traveling in the opposite direction and decided to spend the night with their group of six. They went to a nearby library to plan their route on the library computer for the next couple of days, to Lolo Pass.

“We were talking to the girls about how beautiful it was,” Riegler said. “And the librarian said ‘You can’t go there!’”

Turns out the pass was on fire due to thunderstorms and dry conditions. Fires were also raging in Boise. The alternate routes would have taken then 800 miles out of their way.

So, they hitchhiked to Spokane, Washington, and started out again, catching an Amtrak train to Whitefish, Montana.

“It was a backtrack and a mental challenge,” Riegler said, “Seventeen days into the ride and we were back in Washington. That was the big detour, thank goodness.”

Fun antics on the road
It was little things that were most fun to the men. Riegler said the most fun he had would include coasting.

“The satisfaction of coasting down a mountain pass after you just climbed for hours and you earned every single foot of that mountain,” he said.

They especially enjoyed the switchback mountain passes and incredible roads in Kentucky and Western Virginia.

“It brings back a childish joy of coasting down a hill on a bike amid incredible scenery,” Riegler said. “I was just laughing and having a great time.”

Turner said Riegler composed silly jingles along the route.

“He wrote, ‘You’re a mean one, Mr. Hill' to the tune of ‘You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch’ and he would sing that every time we went up a hill.”

One day they were on the road leading into Mitchell, Oregon, a high desert region where the air was hot and arid.

“It was probably around 100 degrees and we were really hot and I was probably to some extent dehydrated,” said Riegler.

One of his tires was leaking and every morning he would pump it up because he just didn’t feel like fixing it. But it was getting worse and hissing. They looked for someplace with shade to pull over and fix the tire. They came over a hill and saw before them a wide green grass expanse with sprinklers going.

“At first we just flopped over and laid there and let the sprinklers flow over us," Riegler said.

Eventually. he fixed his tire and they were on their way again.

People made the trip
By far the most interesting part of the trip for both Riegler and Turner was getting to know so many wonderful people. They were moved and humbled by the hospitality and kindness they encountered across the country.

“We met really, really incredible people; good deeds became a strong motif across the trip — really helpful strangers and people who were just interested in us,” said Turner. “We really got help from so many people that we never asked help from; people opened their houses, strangers from the side of the road offered a place to sleep. A woman at a stop light ran out of her car and gave us a bunch of Twizzlers and just said, ‘Have a good ride.’ It’s people like that who brightened up and made the trip more than just seeing the country.”

And they found inspiration.
There was a short day in Yellowstone when they only had 20 miles to ride and they spent some time waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. While there, they met a couple who inquired about the reason for their trip. The husband had MS and was on a motorized scooter. Before being diagnosed, he said he used to race bicycles. He appreciated what they were doing.

“It was a very motivating day for us,” Turner said. “There were people who offered incredible insight into how their families were impacted by MS.”

When they were in Canyon City, Colo., it was their last day in the Rockies and a long one. They went into a grocery store and asked around about places to stay. A couple named Lisa and Nick opened their home to them so they wouldn’t have to camp out in the rain.

“They were incredible,” Riegler said,

Looking forward and westward
Now that the journey across the country is over, Riegler will be looking for a job. He is EMT certified and may upgrade to a paramedic license. He also has the requirements for Merchant Mariners credentials; he just needs to take the test. So he has a couple of options when he returns to Seattle and Stephanie.

And what did Riegler and Turner do when they got back? The next day, they went for a bike ride.