DUNAGAN PEARSON

Dunagan grew up on big wheels.  Actually, 1 big wheel and 2 small wheels. When his sister Meg got another pink bike with a white basket and brother Philip was fast enough to outrun the Big Wheel, Dunagan began cruising the streets of the South Hampton neighborhood of Houston on his Schwinn Predator BMX big boy bike. Someday he hopes to return back to his roots and become as "Rad" as his idols. For now, the open road from Houston to Austin is pretty much all he can ask for, and pretty much any bike will do.  Or Big Wheel.

DADEROO

John "Daderoo" Pearson is without a doubt the heart of the WeFightMS.com team. An eight-time veteran of the Houston-to-Austin MS150, former Chairman of the TX Lone Star Chapter of the MS Society, and voted "Sexiest Lawyer in a Tutu" in last April's ride, Daderoo is coming to California for his 2nd Waves to Wine this year. Rumors from Houston are that Daderoo's trainer from Houston has him readier-than-ready for the September ride, and WeFightMS.com is prouder than proud to have him lead us up the hills. See Finish Line, Why We Ride, and Hope is a Good Thing to get a sense for what this man means to the team!

MEG PEARSON

Meg learned everything she knows about biking from her dear old Daderoo. From the first time she took the training wheels off her pink bicycle with the pink handlebar streamers, to the first time she locked her feet into real clip-in pedals, he was there to laugh at her when she fell down. She hopes that she will not entertain Daderoo with too many "laugh-ins" on the tandem bike she and Rahul have foolishly decided to ride to Austin this year.

Although she will miss the chance the scandalize Buddhist monks with her spandex-clad legs, she is thrilled to be riding through Texas rather than Nepal for this, her sixth MS150. She takes great offense at Daderoo's heartless assertion that her first ride in 2001 didn't count because she didn't actually finish the ride on account of a bum knee. In response to his cruelty, she employs another important skill that Daderoo has taught her, the art of suffering quietly.

ADEN BLISS

When not raising money or making movies for the MS150, Aden works in finance, business development and operations at an educational non-profit in San Francisco.  A 1985 graduate of John Adams Elementary School where he majored in Coloring Inside the Lines with a minor in Tetherball, Aden enjoys cycling, watching college athletics, going to concerts and telling stories about how great an athlete he was in high school.  The 2006 ride will be his 3rd consecutive MS150.  His personal records include a 56: 34.08 split on the 3rd leg of day 2 of the 2004 ride, and 15 orange slices at the 6th rest stop of day 1 of the 2005 ride.  Aden's role-models include his family, Ghandi and Wilt Chamberlain.

DANNY KRAMER

He was an eight year-old half-Californian circus bicyclist, the youngest of a family act called the "Bicycling Kramers" of the Gardere Circus. Danny joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in bicycling from birth.

While on tour on the MS 150, he overheard "boss" Rico Andrade, a well-known and feared tandem-lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid extortion money. The owner refused, and that night Danny watched in horror as his parents' bicycle frame snapped, sending them hurtling to their deaths, all while many of the MS 150's elite watched on. Young Danny felt responsible, because he didn't warn his parents in time.

Shortly after the tragedy, the millionaire philanthropist Aden Bliss rescued Danny from an uncaring juvenile services system. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Danny sneaked out of Bliss Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into the team of Brokebike Mountain on a tandem bicycle, who were also investigating the murder. They succeed in revealing Rico´s complicity, but he died of a heart attack before his arrest.

Seeing a reflection of themselves in Danny; first as a prodigious athlete with keen detective skills, and most importantly, that young Danny could temper compassion with a thirst for justice, the team of Brokebike Mountain not only revealed their identities as Dunagan and Aden to the boy, but also made the young orphan the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become their crime-fighting partner. Danny chose the name Sunscreen Dance, and his training began.

RAHUL YOUNG

Rahul fights MS so that he can have an excuse to wear spandex and to win the heart and grundel of his girlfriend Meg.  He also embraces the opportunities for mid-ride karaoke, whether they be singing Bon Jovi in a driving windstorm, or butchering Metallica lyrics when he thinks that no one's watching.  Rahul hopes to end his 16 months (and counting) of unemployment any day now and start saving the world again in San Francisco.  For now, you can find him wrestling calves and wearing chaps in rural Oregon.

MANDY LIEBSCHER

Made in Germany. Born to ride. And to be wild.

Mandy is riding in her 2nd MS150 of 2006, 6 months removed from the Houston to Austin ride, and she's ready for a little more punishment. Mandy rides for a family member back in Germany who is fighting MS, and for Daderoo, her future father-in-law. :-D

WeFightMS.com is lucky to have her! (And so is Dunagan.)

CABE NICKSIC

Why does he ride? Because it's there.

RICO ANDRADE

The Cobosce nods approvingly.

GEOFF FRASER

WELLESLEY FRASER

Fresh off of their recent nuptials, Geoff and Wellesley bring their honeymoon tans and smashing good looks to Waves to Wine for the first time this year. The most attractive Texan-Canadian duo (can you tell which is which?) ever to hit the course in September, Team WeFightMS.com is so happy to have this power couple on board. It's rumored that the spandex and spare tire tubes are still available on their wedding registry at MikesBikes.com, so if you really wanna see the happy couple in style, expedited shipping is available. Congrats Geoff and Wellesley!!

(BTW, Wellesley is a huge fan of Willy Nelson).

KIM MATHIS

Basically, Kim rides for her friends with MS, which, let's be honest, is all you have to say. But besides, she is quick to remind you -- what other sport can you do where it's okay to stop every 15 miles and eat cookies? The editorial staff at WeFightMS.com did not have a good answer for her, so that reason stands too. In search of 1 last reason to hop on a bike and ride Waves to Wine, she adds that she started riding so she could be part of the ultra cool, super elite riding groups such as WeFightMS.com! Now we're blushing. We applaud her arrival, and we can't wait to enjoy cookies with her every 15 miles.

MEREDITH KESSLER

Pictured here standing on top of Mt. Elbrus (Europe's tallest point), Meredith is trading vertical distance for horizontal this year, putting aside her ice axe and crampons and trading them in for spandex and butt balm. go figure...we're pumped she's riding with us!

JOHN CHASE

Juan Carlos Esteban Guapo was born to a peasant family in the small village of Yucaipa in the Mexican state of Jalisco. They lived in such poverty that he was forced to work in the agave fields at a very young age. Even with the extra income, his family barely had enough money to buy flour for tortillas and Mountain Dew to drink.

Luckily, he was able to find a way out of Yucaipa. Unfortunately, it was as a Velodromador on the brutal Mexican Velodrome Circuit. Every night he would ride the “Oval de Muerte” with 50 other half-crazied Velodromadores, each hoping to win enough money to be able to buy their way out of their spandexed and sprocketed indentured servitude, for each rider was owned by their sponsoring team. The only way out was to win enough races to pay the debts owed to their team and buy their own gear. Only then could one become “Un Lobo Solitario,” an independent rider.

He was eventually able to win his independence and had some early success as “Un Lobo.” In a stroke of marketing genius, he took advantage of the Great Canadian Velodrome Renaissance that swept North America during the Spring of 1999, changed his name to the anglicized “John Chase” and attracted dozens of new fans.

However, his fall from Velodromador glory was nearly as precipitous as his rise. The excesses of the circuit and a problem with mezcal soon took their toll and drove him from competitive riding.

He joins our team in the hope of making a comeback into cycling. He feels that a change of geography, from Mexico to the Bay Area, and of venue, the open road as opposed to the dangerous confines of the “Oval de Muerte,” will make all the difference.

RYAN PADREZ

Ryan is riding in his first MS150 ride this year and fired up. He rides for his friends with MS and to feel the wind in his hair. Moving back to the bay area from Washington DC this past year, Ryan now spends his time working in San Francisco at a health policy start-up research center and hopes that medical schools might be impressed by his ability to ride from Napa to coast with no hands.