(CNN) — Amidst the sea of jerseys and bike shorts at New Jersey’s City to Shore — a 150-mile bike ride to benefit multiple sclerosis research — one unlikely rider stands out.

A tiny 84-year-old woman wears a neat, green turtleneck dress and an embroidered jacket. On her feet is a pair of high-heeled pumps. Her salt-and-pepper hair peeks out from the helmet that indicates she is, in fact, a participant in the bike ride. Her old-fashioned one-speed bicycle is purple, with a large wire basket on the front that carries her belongings and her number for the ride.

Lan Yin Tsai doesn’t give the impression that she could go five miles on that bike, let alone 150. But that’s what she’s done — for the past 26 years. Eiko, as she’s known to friends and family, is an institution at the annual City to Shore event. And over the years, she has become a symbol of hope and determination for City to Shore participants and MS patients.

Her unwavering determination makes her an unusual person in the days of this recession. According to the National Conference on Citizenship, 72 percent of Americans said they were spending less time volunteering since the economy hit rock bottom a year ago. It’s a double blow to nonprofits, which are relying increasingly on volunteers as their revenues sink. But Tsai is persisting with the service she’s done for 26 years.

“I always try to tell people, whatever you can do, keep doing it, keep doing it,” she says. “And that’s why I do MS. When I start something, I don’t want to just quit.”

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