? ?
- John Haupt: You're basically in a prone position.
Your head's slightly elevated,
and your sole source of drive
comes from your arms.
Whoa!
- Hand cycling is a passion for John Haupt.
- I ride lots of trails around Milwaukee.
There's really nowhere that I don't ride.
It's been a great thing for me.
It's very relaxing.
I mean, because I just, very--
It's soothing.
It's therapeutic.
It's freeing.
The hills become part of the challenge.
- The challenge for John started as a teenager.
For more than 50 years,
he has battled multiple sclerosis.
- When I was first hospitalized, we had no idea what it was.
So, oddly, it was kind of a relief
to just know what it is
because then I could deal with it.
I always say your nerves
are like your body's electrical system
and if somebody throws a wrench into your electrical box,
things are going to go haywire.
And that's what happens.
In those days, we're talking the 1970s,
they used to tell us that, "You shouldn't participate.
You shouldn't be too physically active."
- Angela: Today, the science has changed
and encourages those with MS to stay active.
- And I know that to be true.
And I had the opportunity to get on a wakeboard,
which I'd never done before.
[motor boat revs]
I got up and got around the lake a couple times
on the second try. [cheering]
It was fantastic.
For people who are disabled,
either from spinal cord injuries, MS, whatever,
there's a ton of opportunity out there.
All right, here we go!
You can go downhill skiing.
Whoo-hoo!
It doesn't fix your MS.
It doesn't make your MS... better
but it maximizes what you have.
- What John has is motivation.
- If MS needs a poster boy,
I'm more than willing to be it.
[chain gears clinking]
- He also goes the extra mile to support MS research.
- I know that we can have a world free of MS.
And I know that with your help
we're going to beat this thing.
- Each year...
- Hey, hey, hey!
Johnny's big push is back.
- For nearly a decade...
- Hi, there.
Coming to you from the Lake Country Trail.
- John has produced and starred in these fundraising videos.
- But MS doesn't take vacations.
So, I'm pushing on in the 2021 MS Best Damn Bike Tour,
and I need your help.
- So far, he's raised more than $150,000.
- If it results in more MS progress, research,
then, yeah, I'll be-- I'll be the guy.
- John is also the guy
who brought hand cycle racing to Wisconsin.
? ?
- So, I became a big fan
of the bike racing here in Milwaukee.
- And was instrumental in getting hand cycling included
in the Tour of America's Dairyland Road Race.
- I did a kind of grassroots recruiting of riders
from around the country.
This year we had 25 riders from 15 states.
I'm the self-appointed hand cycle director.
- Now, the racing world has taken notice.
- I think we're one of the fastest growing hand cycle race in the country.
Yeah, it's become very popular.
It's pretty remarkable what they can do.
For John, hand cycling is liberating and empowering.
I'm not the fastest guy in the race, or even in town,
or even in Wisconsin.
It takes devotion, a single-minded devotion.
It keeps me in good shape.
I've met a whole bunch of great people.
It was the most fun thing I did all week.