Albany pharmacist Brad Smithson to tackle 103km MSWA charity ride in a cause close to his heart

For Brad Smithson, riding more than 100km to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis WA is “nothing” compared to what his father deals with every day. The MSWA Albany Ride has become a tradition for the Albany pharmacist, whose wife and children will also be getting on their bikes for the cause. The event is returning for its fifth year on Saturday, March 12 and Mr Smithson has been involved since the start. The charity bike ride starts and finishes at Emu Point, where there will be a sausage sizzle for spectators. This year there are four distances — a 10km family ride, 40km ride, 80km challenge and a 103km challenge. City of Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington will be the race starter for the 40km, 80km and 103km rides. Mr Smithson, whose father Graham has been living with MS for about 25 years, will be undertaking the 103km challenge. Several members of his wife Andrea’s family also have MS. “The things that I see my dad put up with every day — struggles with his lack of movement and that sort of stuff — and other people with MS and other neurological conditions, they struggle on a daily basis,” Mr Smithson said. “If we can plug away on a bike for five hours and it really hurts, and it’s hard work, that’s nothing really. “It puts you in the right frame of mind when you consider what everyone else is dealing with.” Andrea and their two children, Quinn, 10, and Nina, 8, will also join in on the day, completing the family ride together. The Smithsons hope to raise more $1000 through the efforts of their team, named ‘Worst Pace Scenario’. MSWA chief executive Melanie Kiely said the event raised about $43,000 last year. MSWA have already received $12,000 in donations in support of the teams as they prepare for this year. Ms Kiely said most of the money raised goes toward local outreach services that MSWA runs in the Great Southern, including services for people recently diagnosed with MS and respite care. “Our respite facilities have waiting lists like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “The more money we can raise, generally, the more we can look at opening more of those respite facilities, or extending beds in the ones that we do have.” MSWA is expected to open a $7 million multi-purpose facility with 10 residential beds for people living with neurological conditions in Albany in the coming months. Registrations for the MSWA Albany Ride close on March 9.