When six SIU boatmen from the Houston area decided earlier this year to help raise money for charity, one could say they went the extra mile—again and again.The Seafarers were among an estimated 12,000 people who participated in a 180-mile bike ride starting in Houston and ending in Austin, Texas. The two-day event raised more than $12 million for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society—a new record. It took place April 21-22 under the title sponsorship of BP.
The SIU contingent in the 23rd annual ride, all employed by G&H Towing, included Relief Masters Nickoli Payne and Blake Morgan, Mates Clay Buckley, Billy Kern and Travis Parker and Mate-in-Training Todd Keith. Together, they raised several thousand dollars through pledges, including donations from the SIU, G&H and others. (Although the ride itself is finished, pledges are accepted through September.)
“I think the participation says a lot about each one of those members,” stated SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. “There’s obviously nothing wrong with simply making a donation, but they did so much more. They devoted a lot of time and energy to this worthwhile cause.”
Payne, the only experienced cyclist among the group of Seafarers, also biked in the 2006 ride. He encouraged his fellow boatmen to participate this year as part of a larger team organized by the port of Houston.
“The other guys have shown interest in cycling from time to time,” Payne noted. “I’d loan them a bike and that’s usually all it takes to get hooked on the sport. We went on training rides together in the months leading up to the MS event….
“I’ve raced (competitively) many times for myself,” added Payne, who joined the union right out of high school in the late 1980s. “I thought this time I ought to race for somebody else for a change, whether I’m helping an individual or a group. The fund-raising part was easy, since the port of Houston put together the team.”
Payne, whose father is SIU retiree Jimmy “Indiana” Payne, noted that the MS fund-raiser was split with 100 miles of riding the first day, an overnight stay in La Grange and 80 miles on the second day. Much of the course went through small towns. While the times naturally varied with each rider, it generally took about five hours to complete the first leg and three-and-a-half hours for the second.
“When you pull into Austin, it’s a feeling of joy,” concluded Payne. “It’s a lot like the bike races you see on television. People are cheering at the finish line, and that wipes away all the pain from the ride. You realize you’re riding for people who can’t ride, and all of a sudden it’s all good.”
Kern said the experience was “great. I loved it. Especially on the second day, the scenery was amazing. It kind of kept you going when you were tired. I definitely plan on doing it again.”
Like Payne, Kern also mentioned getting a boost from the audience. “Coming into Austin was nice, with all the people cheering. It made us feel good,” he said. “This was my first time participating in anything like this—I had just gotten into cycling and it so happened that this event was coming up. I was curious to see if I could do it. Of course, it was an opportunity to help out the MS Society, also.”
The Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society serves 141 counties in Texas and assists an estimated 17,000 individuals with MS.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system which often disables its victims. It interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.
According to the National MS Society, most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
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