Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Never has a pair of socks been more fitting than the Wonder Woman socks worn by Tania Granger during her bike ride from Napanee to Ottawa, and back, in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
The Napanee native left her home last Thursday for Metcalfe, returning home Monday, some 620 km later with $40,000 raised for MS Canada. Granger went the extra mile, or rather several hundred kilometres for this ride, riding from her house to and from the ‘official’ route, which for most people was just Ottawa to Cornwall.
“I got a good start on Thursday morning, there was a group of friends that showed up very unexpectedly,” said Granger. “I had a serenade from all the work vehicles where I work at SOS-Specialized Onsite Services, they brought all the company vehicles and had all the flashing lights going and lined up my road. It was a great send-off. It makes me emotional thinking about it. It was pretty incredible.”
Naturally she wore Wonder Woman socks for a good stretch of the trip, which she said were a great conversation starter among the other bike riders.
For the first leg of the trip, Napanee to Smith’s Falls, she had her parents riding in a car behind her from support. For the next day, Smith’s Falls to Metcalfe, she had her daughter and husband following with a trailer.
Day three was Metcalfe to Cornwall, and then the reverse for Day 4. The final day saw her go 160 km from Kemptville to Napanee.
“It was pretty overwhelming to take on that challenge but I had a lot of people who believed in me and supported me and knew I could do it,” said Granger. “I know people personally that struggle with MS. I just wanted to be that strong person for them that would maybe make them feel like not everything is despair. There’s still good people that try and do good things.”
Granger has MS herself. Since her diagnosis she has completed several fundraising rides to raise awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It’s estimated that one in every 11 Canadian lives with the disease.
Not one to seek being the centre of attention, she says she completes the rides to help get the word out about the disease that is still a mystery to a lot of people despite its growing numbers.
Earlier this summer, Granger completed an MS Society fundraising ride in Picton with three teammates-Tania’s Titans. That ride, coupled with her latest solo ride, has helped her raise over $40,000 to help research a cure.
She credited the support of friends, family and her trainer Sheryl Cook for helping her complete the ride.
She’s still accepting donations at www.mssoc.convio.net and searching her name under the donation tab.
People can also help by visiting A&W on Aug. 22 for their annual Burgers to Beat MS day. Two dollars from every Teen Burger sold will go towards MS Canada.