Bike journey raises money, awareness for muscular dystrophy

A 4,200-mile journey through 15 states that began in Seattle in May came to an end in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon, as cyclists pedaled their way to the Barclays Center and celebrated the funding and awareness they raised for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
FSHD is the most prevalent form of muscular dystrophy. It causes progressive muscle wasting and weakness.
About a dozen participating cyclists finished their journey around 4 p.m. They were met by Nets play-by-play radio personality Chris Carrino, who is also afflicted with FSHD.
Carrino’s foundation, the Chris Carrino Foundation for FSHD, sponsored the bicycle journey with the goal of raising money for research and rallying the muscular dystrophy community and its supporters.
“Man, to see it almost a year later come to fruition is pretty amazing,” said Carrino, who went on to say that since he started his foundation in 2011, over 20 pharmaceutical companies have become working on a treatment for the disease.
Carrino said his hope for the journey was to connect researchers, patients and the community of people afflicted with FSHD who may have “needed to see that they’ve got somebody in their corner.”
“It’s a lot of work and effort, but I don’t see it as a burden,” said Carrino.  “I see it as a privilege.”
Carrino said he is proud of the positive attention the ride has gotten and hopes people fighting FSHD will see how they’ve got a team of people who support the cause.