Douglas "Patches" Binkley pedaled across the starting line at Miami University on Saturday, July 18, wearing a jersey stitched with 43 century-ride patches on the front and two names on the back: Diane and Helen Binkley.

The 67-year-old Butler County cyclist was riding his 45th Bike MS event, honoring his late wife and mother, both of whom died from multiple sclerosis.

Diane Binkley was diagnosed with MS in 1983 while pregnant with the couple's daughter. A few years later, Douglas's mother, Helen, received the same diagnosis. Helen died in 2000. Diane also died from the disease after decades living with MS.

"So that no one has to live through what my wife did," Binkley told WLWT. "Nine years in a hospital bed is an awful thing."

Binkley earned his nickname by completing dozens of century rides, each one a 100-mile effort. He has become a fixture in the Bike MS community, handing out inspirational challenge coins and cheering fellow cyclists through difficult stretches. The friendships built over 45 rides, he said, have carried him as much as he has carried others.

Hundreds ride in Oxford

Bike MS: Oxford 2026 launched at 8 a.m. Saturday from Havighurst Hall on Miami University's campus in Oxford. Hundreds of cyclists participated, choosing routes of 25, 50 or 75 miles with a $300 fundraising minimum per rider.

As of Saturday, the event had raised $84,055 toward a $170,000 goal, according to the National MS Society's event page. Nationally, Bike MS is the seventh-largest peer-to-peer charity fundraising series in the country, according to the society, having raised a cumulative $1.4 billion for MS research and services.

Nearly 1 million people in the United States live with multiple sclerosis, the society reports.

At 67, Binkley said the annual ride keeps him going. He urged others facing loss to find something worth doing rather than staying home.

"Those connections keep you fueled, they keep you going, and they keep you hopeful we're going to beat this disease. I know we are," Binkley told WLWT.

The next Ohio Bike MS event is Pedal to the Point on Saturday, August 8, at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea.