This year's traditional Bike MS: PGA TOUR Cycle to the Shore was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn't stop Florida's top fundraising bicycle team from getting together locally and celebrating a soon-to-be-record effort.
Formed in 2010 and made up of 38 Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Orlando and Palm Beach area riders, Big Bananas gathered recently in Nocatee to simulate an event that usually takes them to Daytona Beach and back with more than 1,000 Bike MS riders.
The scaled down one-day ride failed to impact the team's commitment and fundraising passion. They have already collected more than $150,000, on the way to a record $156,000. That total would give Big Bananas the distinction of being the MS Society's No. 1 team in the country for 2020.
In 11 years, the team has raised more than $1.2 million and in 2019 was awarded the MS Society's Circle of Distinction Award.
Next year's Bike MS is scheduled for Oct. 23-24. The Big Bananas' next fundraising project will be its annual free gift wrapping in December outside of Hallmark and Five Below in Jacksonville Beach.
