Momentum - Summer 2012

on existing ones.” Along the way, Speyer and Cowan became friends.

“I learned that MS is a mysterious disease that is sometimes diagnosed when people are young and active,” says Speyer. “So we wanted to help.”

Scott Cowan, center, riding with friends Jerry Bradnan (r) and Kevin Madzin (l).

“All kinds of people participate and those who don’t ride cheer us on along the route,” he says. “It’s great when I am struggling up a hill, finally reach the top, and then see a bunch of smiling faces.” In the time Cowan has been with the team, it’s raised $23,500 and grown from six to 28 members. The Bay Rockets now rank No. 1 in fundraising in the school team category.

Speyer and Cowan worked together to establish an incentive program. Anyone who signed up for a local Bike MS event and purchased a Raleigh road bike from Century would receive a donation toward the event equal to 10 percent of the bike’s cost. For instance, if someone bought an $800 bike, the two companies would split the cost of an $80 donation.

But Cowan’s team isn’t the only one boasting a Century Cycles employee. Bob Soroky, who works in Century’s Medina, Ohio, store, has ridden individually in Bike MS events for 15 years and has even trained other riders. In 2009, he joined Patti’s Paladins, helping the team to raise more than $45,000.

However, Raleigh knew that to sustain the alliance it would need to go national. “Scott and Century were the first to put together this type of program, and it served as a prototype for other markets,” Speyer says. So Raleigh reached out to bike stores across the U.S. for ground support. “We began offering incentive programs to each of them,” says Speyer. “We have 10 on board now and hope for 40 this year.”

A big break

Meanwhile, Raleigh Bicycles, one of the largest bike makers in the United States, was seeking a community-based opportunity to give back. “We started looking into dealers we were already associated with and found that the majority of them were also associated with Bike MS,” says Chris Speyer, vice president of marketing and product development at Raleigh.

Speyer couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement. “I wanted to experience the atmosphere of Bike MS,” he says. So he began riding in Bike MS events with Cowan and others. “It’s a ton of fun and a great feeling of community. The directions are clear and easy. No one has to push farther than they want. And there are important oases along the way, like the feeding stations,” he says, laughing.

“Working toward something you really care about
affects your work positively,” Speyer adds. “We’re
looking forward to a long ride together.”
Cowan had served since 2005 as a member of
Raleigh’s Dealer Advisory Board, which, Speyer
says, is a kind of “sounding board for the company
about our new ideas, and it offers ideas to improve
For more information about Bike MS events
and Raleigh-Bike MS partnerships, visit
BikeMS.org. n