THETFORD — Every June 1, little yellow signs pop up on the right-hand side of Route 113 in Thetford.
“Welcome MS cyclists,” reads one just across the Lyme-East Thetford bridge. “Only ~4 Miles to Go!” cheers the next, kindly not mentioning 2-mile long incline directly ahead. When Thetford Hill comes into view, there’s a reminder, “Keep Calm and Pedal For a Cure.”
Too small to read at driving speed, messages sprout overnight like mushrooms in a trail leading all the way from Woodstock, N.H. One is personal: “Thanks for biking for Me,” a reference to the primary force behind the signs, 49-year-old Meg Darrow Williams, of Thetford Center.
Every May, Williams rallies her community to welcome a unique group of bicyclists from the organization Bike the US for MS, which organizes cross country rides to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis research and provides services for patients along the way.
Usually her role in the event goes relatively unnoticed, but after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the ride returned to Thetford on Wednesday with a life-changing surprise in store for Williams.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her 20s, Williams seemingly does everything but bike. She teaches at Toddler Morning Out Preschool in White River Junction, and raises two girls with her husband.
More comfortable giving than receiving, she rarely draws attention to her physical needs or asks for help. When Bike the US for MS contacted the Thetford Hill Congregational Church in 2013, looking for an overnight host for the fifth night of its Northern Tier Route, a 69-day transcontinental haul, Williams characteristically volunteered to take on the challenge.
“I said, I got this. This is my thing.” Her enthusiasm spread, and, as she phrases it, “the community of Thetford really showed up. We show up for each other.” Since then, Thetford has rolled out the welcome mat and opened its doors for people from all walks of life challenging themselves to the organization’s longest most grueling route, 4,295 miles, spanning 15 states from Bar Harbor, Maine to Seattle.
Williams downplays her role and is quick to share credit. “All I do is send out an email, and they come. It’s the community that makes it happen. Since the first year, the entire community looks forward to it and is so excited to have them back. Everyone was so sad the last two years.”
It’s obvious that’s not all she does as she drew everyone’s attention to make an announcement: “Who had the wet cell phone? Do you still need rice?”
Thetford resident Sarah Holzer arrived and offered to bring people to and from her four separate bathrooms, each with a shower. Or she invited them to use her washer. “Does anyone want to do laundry?” Williams asked the room.
One of the riders wants to know if it’s one big load, or if they can somehow separate the loads. “That’s right,” Williams reminded herself out loud, “you guys don’t know each other that well yet. Mixing underwear might still be a little weird.”
“We don’t even know each other’s snoring patterns yet,” protested one rider amid reserved laughter.
With 14 riders, the group is smaller in number this year and has an older average age than usual, ranging from 21 to 70. Williams sensed a different dynamic and notes that 64 days of close living ahead will inevitably change the group.
Williams clucked over them like a Scout leader. “I’ll set the coffee all up and the first person who gets up just has to start it. It’s the last thing I do before I say goodnight to you all.”
The stove isn’t working, but no matter. Thetford Center resident Cherry Sullivan arrived to take breakfast sandwich orders. Sullivan purchased her home from Williams, and counts her as her first friend in town. She planned to make sandwiches in the morning with her own eggs and bring them to the center still warm, with gluten-free bread upon request. “Backyard eggs is how we do it here,” Williams said.
She may not complain about her physical discomfort, but she lives with it every second of every day. MS is a neurological disease that attacks the nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The progress, severity and specific symptoms are unpredictable and vary from one person to another, but a common condition is called ‘drop foot’ where the nerves do not fire correctly or in time to coordinate a step and result in a trip. Williams tripped twice in the last two years, breaking bones in her right hand, which has caused complications in her right arm, and cutting her head open, costing a trip to the emergency room, a CT scan and lasting scar.
New technology exists that assists in correcting gait for this condition, but insurance companies do not cover the equipment. Williams’ neurologist and others in the MS community told her it was pointless to ask, but she did anyway and was repeatedly denied, due to the fact that the equipment does not prevent MS from progressing. They dismissed her argument that her recent injuries were preventable had she been fitted with a device on her leg to assist her gait, a response she finds illogical. “Are they not going to cover a wheelchair because it won’t cure your paralysis?” she pointed out.
When she began coordinating this year’s overnight, she mentioned her situation to Cassie Wertz, the executive director of Bike the US for MS. Williams explained how the device that fits to her leg would improve her life, and how it would be a dream to have one for her arm as well. She asked if the organization ever helped with funding such equipment.
After all the times Williams opened her heart and rallied her community to host the bikers, the flow of support reversed. Wertz promptly replied that the organization would fund both pieces of equipment and immediately began coordinating with the manufacturer to have it delivered to her home.
“This happened Thursday,” Williams confided, still awe-struck. “I didn’t think it was a possibility. I had given up.”
There’s a lot of gratitude in the air, even if the group is still in an early forming stage.
“I’ve been to a lot of welcoming places, I’ve done all the rides, and this is the most incredible community,” said Ted Yates, a 70-year-old from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, the senior member of the group who has ridden more than 12,000 miles already with the organization. “I want to live here now.” To which Williams responded, “We show up for each other pretty fiercely.”
Back to those signs, which Williams acknowledged “took a few years to figure out.” It’s “’only’ a 49-mile day,” winked route leader Duncan Moore, but those signs “make a difference. They’re special to Thetford. No one else puts them up like that, all along the route.”
“Highly motivational,” a rookie and veteran rider agreed, which also describes Williams’ approach, upbeat and effortlessly able to make a positive difference.
“This is how we do things here,” she told the group before dinner started. “You are a part of the Thetford community now. We expect you to be here. We will be waiting for you with our lasagna and pies and showers every June 1st.”
L.A. Wetzel can be reached at LAwetzel@proton.me.