‘Corks for MS,’ a charity wine and bourbon tasting event, will be held Saturday at Maximum Beverage in West Hartford.

By Ronni Newton

Rachael Bubbs has been riding her bike all over the country to raise funds for multiple sclerosis and on Saturday, June 2, will hold a charity wine and bourbon tasting at Maximum Beverage in Bishops Corner.

Bubbs, a graduate of West Hartford’s Kingswood Oxford School who now lives in Bloomfield, started riding seven years ago, in support of her sister-in-law, Amy Bubbs of Short Hills, NJ, who has MS.

“My sister-in-law is more than just a sister-in-law to me,” Bubbs said. “She’s really a sister, and the mother of my two nephews. I want to make a difference to those who are living with MS,” she said in a phone interview.

Bubbs has teamed up with Dayle James, whom she met at an MS fundraiser, and as part of the Bike MS National Passport program plan to undertake a “2 girls, 2 bikes, 50 states” journey. Each need to raise $5,000 to be part of the program, and the goal is to complete all states by 2022.

“We started with Texas – the largest bikeMS ride – in April 2018,” Bubbs said. In June they will participate in rides in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and later this year plan to add Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, Alabama, Florida, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and maybe Tennessee and Kentucky. “Anywhere between 13-15 rides our first year,” Bubbs said.

Bubbs said she is excited about the fundraising opportunities to assist those with MS, as well as the activism that is part of the 2 girls, 2 bikes, 50 states journey. And although Bubbs may have initially been inspired to undertake the journey by her sister-in-law, she and James are now advocating for many others.

“Our ‘Traveling Champion Bandana’ is to represent all of our MS champions that we meet along the way,” she said. Some of the names added to the bandana are “in memory,” including Jennifer Hawke-Petit, she said. Anyone interested in having a name added to the bandana can visit the contact section of www.2girls2bikes50states.com to add a champion.

Corks for MS will be held June 2, from 2-5:30 p.m., at Maximum Beverage, 333 North Main St., in West Hartford’s Bishops Corner.

Guests will enjoy 35-plus hand-picked wines, at least five bourbons (starting at 4 p.m.), a vodka lemonade stand, and food from Popover Bistro & Bakery and Juniper HomeCare as well as dessert from the Cake Gypsy.

A silent auction and raffle will also be held, and 100 percent of all proceeds will go to MS, and will matched dollar-for-dollar. Five free raffle tickets will be given to anyone who purchases event tickets by Friday.

For more information about the event, visit the Facebook event page or the 2 girls, 2 bikes, 50 states Facebook page.

Tickets can be purchased directly through this link. You can also find out more about the event through this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/6wkMos5Vr4o.

Locally, sponsors include Thule and BondiBand, and nationally sponsors of the Bike MS National Passport program include Southbridge Bicycle, LIV, Primal, Chamois Butt’r, Topical Edge, Tifosi, Skratch Labs, HoneyStringer, WordPress, Cambridge Repro, Thirteen Fit Apparel, roadID, 90+ Cellars, and JetBlue.