Last year, 400 bicyclists raised more than $225,000 during the MS 150 Great Bicycle Escape.

BJ Bangs, MS Maine Chapter public affairs manager, told me that of that amount, “60 percent stays in Maine and 40 percent goes to National but, of that amount, half goes to research.”

And, she pointed out, the National MS Society is “the largest funder, other than the U.S. government, of MS research in the country.”

Looking back at last year’s success, organizers of this year’s MS 150 Great Bicycle Escape, set for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5, in the Greater Standish area, have increased their fund-raising goal.

“We’re hoping to raise more than $240,000 this year,” Bangs said.

“Since we already have 433 riders registered, and we’re hoping for 450, we should be able to reach it.”

The tour, sponsored by Blue Rock Industries, begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph’s College on Sebago Lake in Standish.

Cyclists can choose to ride one or both days, and the fund-raiser concludes with a lobster barbecue back at St. Joseph’s College on Sunday.

The route takes cyclists “through scenic country roads and along the coast,” Bangs said. “People just seem to have fun, and it’s growing every year.”

Included among this year’s participants is one who benefits from the work of this organization, 57-year-old Marion Fowler of Millinocket, who has MS.

According to Bangs, Fowler “just dusted off her bike last year, for the first time in 15 years, and this will be her first tour. She’s been following a training schedule and, we understand, done very well.”

Cyclists can participate as individuals or as a team, and Bangs pointed out that “there is a large team from the Millinocket area” that includes Kathy Civiello, Kevin Libby, Kathy Michaud, Gina Nadeau, Mary Pinette and Teri Wheaton.

Bangor residents taking part in this fund-raiser are Chris Chambers, Melissa Childs, William Childs, Barbara Gillman, Irwin Gross, Chuck Shepley, Jon Siegel and Hilary Young.

Brewer residents Todd Karp, Robin Long and Arthur Verow plan to pedal around the Sebago Lake area along with Gail Bach of Dover-Foxcroft, Ronald Olson of Hampden, Joel Jipson of Howland and East Corinth residents Joel Greatorex and Wanda Greatorex.

Event organizers would prefer that interested individuals call to register by Wednesday, Aug. 1, but, Bangs said, “we will still accept registrations Saturday morning.”

To register, call the MS Society Maine Chapter at (800)-639-1330 or 761-5815; or visit its Web site at msmaine.org.

If you happen to see an unusual number of Corvettes in Bangor this weekend, there is a reason.

The nonprofit auto club, the “Vettes of Coastal Maine,” has as its club charity the Ronald McDonald Houses of Maine, which are located in Bangor and Portland.

The “Vettes of Coastal Maine” plan to present a check for more than $3,500 to the Bangor Ronald McDonald House at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the 654 State St. facility.

Sponsors of this fund-raiser, which includes individuals and businesses, include Corvette owners from Nova Scotia to Connecticut.

Since it is the height of the vacation season in Maine, perhaps some of the “missing classmates” whom members of the Bangor High School Class of 1956 45th Reunion Committee are seeking will read this request for information.

On behalf of the committee, Pat Averill of Glenburn invites “all classmates, graduates or nongraduates,” to attend that reunion on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer.

In the meantime, the committee is trying to locate Rule Bragg Jr., Albert Caler, Nina Bryant Cleland, Nancy Taylor Chadbourne, Gail Moral Ferdinzi, Edward Hadley, Joseph Henry and Lenor Hussey.

Also among the missing are Ronald Jellison, Kenneth Lane, Neil MacNichol, Diane McMinn, Gertrude Fowler Murray, Ronnie Strather Nelson, Warren Overlock, Bradley Peters and Ronald Stegall.

If you have any information about these members of BHS ’56, contact Averill at 942-4243, or Marlene Coleman at 843-5332 or marloys@webtv.net.

On behalf of the Heart of Maine Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, Anita McGarry of Bangor invites you to celebrate “Young at Heart Day” during the Bangor State Fair by attending a Musical Variety Show at 5 p.m. Monday, July 30, in the lobby of the Bangor Civic Center.

McGarry writes that, in addition to a performance by the chorus, the show will include novelty skits and an appearance by the tap dancing ensemble High Steppers, directed by Theresa Laliberte.

If you want to join Friends of the Symphony, and “Discover the Hidden Art Treasures of the Berkshires,” you must make your reservations by Friday, Aug. 3.

This coach tour to western Massachusetts, which benefits the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, includes a visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., which is featuring an Impressionist exhibit.

The tour leaves at 7 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, from the Park and Ride Lot on the corner of Odlin Road and Interstate 395 in Bangor, and will pick up passengers along I-95 and I-395, if such arrangements are made in advance.

The cost for the two-day trip, which includes overnight accommodations with gourmet dinner and breakfast at the Williams Inn, box luncheons on both days, and a dinner in Portland on the return trip, is $259 per person or $249 for FOS members.

Information or reservations can be made by calling the BSO office at (800) 639-3221 or 942-5555; by calling Nancy Ziegenbein, 947-7965; or by writing her at 41 Linden St., Bangor 04401.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.