Bike MS Event Will Bring Thousands Through Encinitas Sunday

This weekend as many as 2,500 cyclists will come through Encinitas as they ride from Irvine to San Diego as part of a fundraiser for National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in San Diego is advising North County residents that its weekend cycling fundraiser may cause some traffic disruptions on Saturday, Oct. 22, and on Sunday morning, Oct. 23. Though there will not be any road closures in Encinitas, the bike route will go through Leucadia, Encinitas and Cardiff on Sunday morning.

National MS Society officials also said automobile traffic backup is possible on several city streets in Oceanside and Carlsbad to allow the safe passage of cyclists who are expected to help raise $2.2 million in donations for MS research, as well as programs and services for people affected by MS, a chronic, unpredictable and disabling disease of the central nervous system with no known cause, cure or prevention.
 
The cyclists will begin a 100-mile ride on Saturday morning in Irvine, Calif., and will continue south through Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Clemente, past San Onofre, through Camp Pendleton and Oceanside and end in Carlsbad at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa, 5480 Grand Pacific Dr., near the Legoland California theme park. North County streets on the 100-mile route include Eaton Street, Carlsbad Boulevard, Poinsettia Lane, Aviara Parkway, Melrose Drive, San Elijo Road and portions of Del Dios Highway.
 
The two-day ride will resume with a 50-mile ride on Sunday morning, Oct. 23, at the Sheraton hotel and conclude at San Diego’s Mission Bay. The Sunday route will head south through Leucadia, Encinitas and Cardiff. After a rest stop in Solana Beach, the cyclists will proceed up the grueling Torrey Pines Hill to North Torrey Pines Road, down the steep La Jolla Shores Drive and through La Jolla and Pacific Beach, including such streets as Crown Point Drive, Pacific Beach Drive and Grand Avenue. The riders are expected to conclude their pedaling trek starting around 10:30 a.m. at San Diego's Mission Bay area. The finish line is at Hospitality Point on Quivara Way in Mission Bay.
 
Registration is still open, and information is available at biketofinishMS.com. Registration donation minimums vary from $150 to $400 per rider depending on the route. The fundraiser is open to all levels of cyclists ranging from beginner to expert. The minimum age limit for riders is 12 years. Riders raising the highest dollar amount will be eligible for a variety of incentives and prizes. In the past, the fundraiser has reached its limit of 2,500 riders, the maximum number allowed for safety reasons. Cyclists will include people living with MS, as well as friends and family members of people who have MS. The Bike MS event has been voted “Best Cycling Event” for the past five years by the readers of Competitor Magazine. Bus transportation is available on Saturday to Irvine for San Diego-based riders for their Saturday morning ride start, and for Orange County-based riders for a return trip to Irvine on Sunday afternoon.
 
MS is the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young‑ to middle‑aged adults. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and more than twice as many women as men have MS. Symptoms cannot be predicted and can vary greatly, ranging from numbness in the limbs and extreme fatigue to loss of balance and muscle coordination or paralysis.

Press release by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in San Diego