PAKTIYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – After riding 30 miles on his bicycle, U.S. Army Lt. Col. William Prusia, the officer in-charge of the Nebraska National Guard Agribusiness Development Team, the agricultural section for the Paktiya Provincial Reconstruction Team, is soaked in sweat but all smiles.

Prusia, along with U.S. Army Master Sgt. William Cary, a hydrology and irrigation specialist, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John Ruden, a food security specialist, and U.S. Army Capt. James Watson, a veterinarian, all with the ADT, rode stationary bikes along with friends and family to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Nebraska Chapter.

The NMSS is an organization dedicated to helping individuals deal with the challenges of living with MS throughout the US.

“I don’t have anyone close to me that has MS, but I really wanted to show support for my commander and his family while increasing other people’s awareness of MS,” Ruden stated.

The event is called “Bike MS,” and takes two days to complete. Prusia and the rest of the ADT rode three days to include Watson, who showed up late after attending a conference at another base. Participants are given the option to ride 30, 50, 75 or 100 miles the first day and then 25-50 miles the second day.

Prusia, Cary and Ruden took time out of their workday to ride 30 miles on the first day and then Prusia coordinated with his daughter Meghan, a 7th grader, to ride at the same time for another leg. Prusia called her before she left for her ride to make sure they were riding at the same time.

“Meghan and I had wanted to do this ride together for awhile, and when this deployment came up, we decided to do it anyway, but still at the same time,” Prusia, the Fremont, Neb. native said.

Prusia’s wife has an aunt who has MS. “Bike MS” was a means to spend quality time with his daughter while raising money for an organization that had helped his family cope with the trials of MS.

“We were riding in honor of her,” he said. She’s still with us, but every day is a fight.”

“Meghan rode 23 miles with me on her mountain bike the second day,” He added. “For motivation, she taped my picture to her handlebars along with a photograph of her great aunt.”

The minimum combined donation amount to enter the event was $200, and it was easily met.

“I contacted friends and family back home to donate money through an online portal,” Prusia said. “Meghan also gathered donations through her contacts, but we coordinated who we talked to, so that we didn’t double-tap anyone.”

Cary, Ruden and Watson all had a friendly competition among each other to see who could raise the most money.

“I’ve got to reach out to some more people back home, because I think Cary is beating me,” Watson said.

The ADT has a competition to see who can log the more than 7000 miles it would take for someone to bike, run or walk from Afghanistan to the state of Nebraska. Collectively, the team logged more than 200 miles while participating in “Bike MS.” It’s a drop in the bucket, but the event helped all four riders to increase their miles.

Omaha Steaks, a long time sponsor of the MS Bike Ride, sponsored Prusia and his team. The company donated jerseys with its logo on them as well as food to give the riders energy and motivation. Along with other members of the team who rode stateside, the combined effort raised thousands of extra dollars for the NMSS.

Prusia was thankful for the support that he garnered from family and friends back in Nebraska.

“I really appreciated everyone who donated money and supported us before, during and after our ride,” he said. “It was an awesome experience for all involved.”

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