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Tracy MacDonald, Skowhegan, ME
The following article was published on August 1, 2003, in advance of the MS 150 Bike to the Breakwater ride. Tracy wrote to us on August 6 with this post-ride update:
"I did well on the ride. It was 26 miles and my husband and I did the whole thing. I had to nurse my bike, the battery lasted maybe 15 miles and I pedaled the rest (there were some flat spots at the start where I could turn the bike off). We raised just over $2000 for the National MS society."
Congratulations, Tracy! You did it!
Friday, August 1, 2003
Woman to bicycle for MS
Tracy MacDonald refuses to give up
By DARLA L. PICKETT, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — Not so long ago, Tracy MacDonald had a life anyone would envy. She was a natural athlete, had a career as a civil engineer, was married to a loving husband and had given birth to a daughter.
During the summer of 1998, however, the unimaginable happened. MacDonald began experiencing black spots that obscured her sight. Within three months after the onset of symptoms, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord and for which there is no cure.
The now 32-year-old MacDonald said Wednesday that she now struggles with the simplest of tasks. She has problems with balance and coordination and a troublesome ankle, and sometimes forced to use a cane for walking outside. Her worst symptom, she says, is chronic fatigue.
But, during her research on the disease, MacDonald discovered a battery-powered bicycle that has opened up whole new avenues of freedom.
The "Pedal Assist EBike" manufactured by EV Global Motors Co. and paid for through a Betaseron Champions of Courage grant, permits her do something she loves with the family she loves — bike with husband Kirk and daughters, Lauren, 6, and Monica, 3.
With the new bicycle, MacDonald and her husband will team up to participate in the first leg of the MS 150 Bike to the Breakwater, Aug. 2-3, a fund raiser that begins and ends each day at St. Joseph's College on Sebago Lake in Standish.
"I'm not even positive I can finish the race; the most I've ridden is 10 miles, " MacDonald said. "The distance is about 25 miles and the charge on the battery only lasts about 18 miles. But my goal is not to win, but to raise money — and show the bike to people with MS or disabilities that there are ways to keep chugging."
MacDonald said she has had to learn to develop a positive outlook since that first visit five years ago to the local optometrist.
Because she had always been athletic, MacDonald hoped for a mild form of the disease. She wanted another child and within six months was pregnant again.
When the second child was about 9-months old, MacDonald said she had a series of attacks "that really told me this is a serious disease; it really slowed me down."
But it did not stop her.
MacDonald continues to commute to Augusta, where she works part-time as a civil engineer in bridge maintenance for the state's Department of Transportation. "I used to inspect six or seven bridges a day, now I'm lucky if I do one. I sprain my ankle a lot." Until recently, she was doing water aerobics and has been helping coach basketball for small children.
"I refuse to give up, I continue to find innovative ways to do the things I like," MacDonald said.
Like bicycling.
MacDonald said she raised $1,100 for the fund raiser, $600 on her own and $500 from Plum Creek Timber Corp..
The bicycle weighs about 55 pounds, making it difficult for MacDonald to get it in the bicycle rack. "I fell a few times, but now I've kind of got it down," she said with a smile.
MacDonald said she first spotted the bicycle during a vacation in Switzerland: "The people there lead a healthy lifestyle, biking and walking. I saw people on these electric bikes. I rented one for an afternoon and said 'this is the answer. '"
MacDonald said she discovered that, at about $1,500, the cost was prohibitive. However, about a week later she read about the Betaseron grant in MS magazine and applied. "I got the grant and decided to do something positive with it, I decided to ride in the MS Bike ride."
The bicycle supplies extra power through a 24-volt battery when she pedals. A sensor inside the motor regulates the power output based on how hard and how fast she pedals.
Now, MacDonald said, when she feels a little bit tired, or is riding uphill, she gets a small boost from the battery, while still getting good exercise.
Tracy MacDonald, 32, of Skowhegan, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, stands with her electric bicycle, a Pedal Assist Ebike" manufactured by EV Global Motors Co. and paid for through a Betaseron Champions of Courage grant, which she will ride Saturday in the MS 150 Bike to the Breakwater event.
"Exercise is important," she said. "You have to read all you can and push for yourself. You have to be your own advocate."
- Updated
