Area bike event aims to beat MS

September 13, 2009 | 12:01 a.m. CDT

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Gateway Area Chapter, based in St. Louis, held the first day of their Bike MS, an annual fundraising event Saturday at the Boone County Fairgrounds. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. According to event organizers, more than 3,400 cyclists — mainly from Missouri and Illinois — participated in the bike ride this year, the most since the program began 25 years ago. The riders could choose between three routes of different lengths, which the organizers said were 40 miles, 75 miles and 100 miles. All the routes began and ended at the fairgrounds.