Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system.

MS is not contagious and is not directly inherited.

Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50.

Two-three times as many women as men have MS.

Studies indicate that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible than others, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited.

MS occurs more commonly among people with northern European ancestry, but people of African, Asian, and Hispanic backgrounds are not immune.

Symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from person to person and from time to time in the same person.

Most people with MS have a normal or near-normal life expectancy.

The majority of people with MS do not become severely disabled.

There is no cure for MS yet, but drugs can help slow the course and/or symptoms in some patients.

Approximately 400,000 Americans acknowledge having MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. Worldwide, MS may affect 2.5 million individuals.

........THIS IS WHY WE RIDE

For more information about MS, please contact that National Multiple Sclerosis Society 1-800-FIGHT-MS (1-800-344-4867) or www.nationalmssociety.org