Cycling for a cure

With a passion to help others, Carl and Denise Wieman of Owatonna are on a crusade to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
The Wiemans have found a unique way of combining their love for motorcycling as well as helping raise money for MS research. They are one of the organizers for the 33rdannual MS River Road Run. 
This past weekend they led a motorcycle tour from Lakeville through southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. About 55 motorcyclists joined in on the tour in an effort to raise money to aid in the search for a cure for MS.
Prior to the road tour, the Wiemans send out a fundraising request letter to everyone, including “friends, family and even enemies,” Carl said with a chuckle. “They can’t say yes unless you ask them.”
And their strategy appears to be working. Carl and Denise raised $3,300 alone for this year’s River Road Run, and in the 17 years they have been involved with the tour, the Wiemans have raised nearly $68,000 by themselves. 
In all, the fundraiser typically brings in about $35,000 per year. Since the tour began 32 years ago, it has raised $2 million for MS research, according to Holly Anderson, president of the Upper Midwest Chapter of the MS Society. 
“Our challenge is to get people to do fundraising like we do,” Carl said. 
MS motorcycle runs for MS began in Minnesota in 1986. For years it had been the only state in the nation to do such fundraising. A few other states have joined in within the past 10 years. Iowa is currently trying to get a MS run going. 
In addition to orchestrating aggressive fundraising, the Wiemans designed this year’s motorcycle route. The ride goes for 280 miles on the “scenic back roads,” Carl said. The tour is unique in that it is self guided where motorcyclists leave as one big group but then do the rest of the tour at their own pace. 
“We ride because we can and for those that cannot,” Carl said. 
Anderson appreciates the devotion the Wiemans have to this run. “They are champions of this event,” she said. The MS organization, she added, depends on “amazing volunteers” like the Wiemans. 
Anderson had no personal connection to MS when she became involved with the MS Society. “I have gotten to know people with MS, and they have changed the world for me,” she said, adding she quickly found that working with MS was her life’s work. 
For the Wiemans, they have a personal stake in the ride. Denise’s niece, Lori Serbus, had MS for about 23 years and died in 2004 from complications caused by MS. “We want to help others like Lori that have this devastating disease,” Carl said. “We believe in the quote of W. Hall Wendell, Jr.: ‘Work hard, play hard, give generously.’”
The Wiemans are still accepting tax-deductible contributions. They may be mailed to 524 Glendale St., Owatonna, MN 55060. 
MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, but the unpredictable physical and emotional effects can be lifelong.