In the nearly seven years since he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Matt Phippen has kept his diagnosis close, scared of how his life might change; how his wife and three daughters’ lives might change. Scared of, if he’s being honest, giving the disease undue power over him if he dedicates too much energy to it and too many thoughts. For someone who dwells and researches, someone who likes to break things down into their parts, to know about each detail, before he helps put it back together, mphipn, 43, spent a lot of time pushing his prognosis away. Instead, he immersed himself in his passion for cycling and, recently, his new job with RAGBRAI. But he’s announcing his fight with MS for the first time publicly to honor a new phase in his journey, a conquering of those fears and an acknowledgment of the power of sharing, a power he fully realized on last year’s RAGBRAI. Tap the link in our bio for more on this story. #Iowa #RAGBRAI #multiplesclerosis #RAGBRAI2023