It’s not a competition, but for those participating in MS Bike this past summer, the stakes are still high: to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, all while giving hope to those affected by the auto-immune disease.

MS Bike is a series of cycling events that raise funds for multiple sclerosis research — and, for one PCL employee, taking part is more than a good deed. It’s personal. Each year for more than a decade, Jan Laarman, a project manager with PCL, has donned his bike helmet for MS Canada to raise awareness and give back to a community that has supported him throughout his journey with MS. Laarman was diagnosed with MS in 2015.

“My own diagnosis has motivated me. MS Bike continues to be such a positive part of my MS journey; it helps me stay connected with people traveling a similar path,” he says. “Being involved with MS Bike means raising hope for those living with MS, hope of finding a cure.”

Laarman is not alone in his efforts. For the past eight years, between June and September, PCL employees at various locations in Canada cycled to support MS Bike. This past summer, 188 PCL riders from British Columbia to Nova Scotia participated in nine MS Bike events and raised $278,780 for MS research.

“It’s encouraging to see your colleagues joining in raising awareness and funds for those living with MS. Corporately, having MS Bike be one of PCL’s main community events, is a fantastic way of supporting those living with MS,” Laarman says.

According to MS Canada, the country has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with more than 90,000 Canadians living with MS and approximately 12 new diagnoses every day. With symptoms such as fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness or vision problems, among others, differing from person to person, MS can be difficult to diagnose.

“MS is an invisible disability, so there might be people in your life who haven’t shared their personal experience with MS; they live what appears to be a normal life but they’re silently navigating the disease — all the ups and downs,” says Nicole Sullivan, director of community fundraising for MS Canada.

“The disease is a lot closer to many of us than we even know or think. It could be extreme fatigue and neurological pain that you don’t see. It could be vision problems, it could be cognitive impairment, it could be bladder or bowel impairment. There are so many things that you don’t see about this disease.”

Most adults are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 49. Anyone can be diagnosed but women are up to three times more likely to be diagnosed than men.

Sullivan says PCL’s participation in MS Bike has helped elevate the profile of the event, not only by educating the public but also by encouraging people to show support and share in creating a memorable experience.

“It’s been a real pleasure to see the PCL teams — the team captains, the riders — engage locally, figuring out what works in their region and going with it,” Sullivan adds.

“It’s a win-win for everyone: a win for us because we have this incredible partner and a win for the participants because they see how engaged PCL is in supporting the MS community.”

PCL has long recognized the impact MS has on the communities in which the company operates, and on employees directly affected by the disease. That’s part of why PCL became a national sponsor of MS Bike eight years ago.

“Long before we became a national sponsor, there were PCL employees riding in MS Bike,” says Andrew Wallace, PCL general counsel. “PCL’s involvement with MS Canada gives us an opportunity to offer critical funding for research to hopefully one day find a cure for this disease.”

Mark Henderson, manager of sustainable retrofits and decarbonization, as well as PCL team captain the past two years for the Grand Bend to London, Ontario ride, agrees that fundraising is the primary goal of MS Bike but adds it’s the fun and camaraderie of past events that keeps him coming back.

“Last year we came back from the ride and there were a lot of smiles on people’s faces,” says Henderson. “Fun is focus number one. You don’t have to be a great rider; just go out there and have fun. It’s not about training or about winning; it’s about camaraderie, working together.”

For Project Manager Andrew Sanders, June 2024 was his second time riding in MS Bike. Participating in the one-day Fraser Valley, B.C. event, he was able to couple his love of cycling with commemorating his aunt.

“My aunt passed away from complications with MS, so it’s always been a cause that my family has supported,” says Sanders.

Making this year’s event even more memorable, Sanders won an opportunity to ride in the annual Tour of Champions, hosted by the National MS Society in the United States. The two-day ride took him through vineyards and across creeks surrounding McMinnville, Oregon, all while enjoying views of pastoral farmland and scenic wine country. 

“To get the chance to visit Oregon for the first time, ride my bike with a whole bunch of other people and tour through wine country — I was pretty excited when I heard the news,” he says.

While completing one of the rides may sound difficult to those who don’t regularly do it, Sanders says the challenge isn’t as daunting as it sounds.

“By no means do you have to be an avid cyclist to do MS Bike. All you need to do is beg or borrow a bike and raise some money for a great cause.”

For Laarman, he sees every year he can participate in MS Bike as another year taking control of his life.

“There is an extra 25-kilometre challenge loop on Day 1 of the [Leduc to Camrose, Alberta] ride that I completed a few months before I was diagnosed with MS. I’ve done it every ride since,” says Laarman. “It’s a personal goal of mine to complete this loop, no matter what. It signifies to me that I’m still in control of my health, no matter what the last nine years have thrown at me.”

Since becoming a Canadian national sponsor, PCL’s total contribution to the MS community is nearly $2.7 million – PCL riders participating in MS Bike every year have raised more than $1.2 million of that.

In November 2024, PCL renewed its commitment to MS Canada to be a Canadian national sponsor for the next three years. This commitment ensures that as the partnership between MS Canada and PCL flourishes, so does the hope of those affected by the auto-immune disease.