Bike Ride To Austin
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A few months ago I was asked if i could take a week out of my busy life to go to Austin, TX with a cycling team called P-3. Apparently they were planning to ride bicycles from Greenville, SC to Austin, TX, in 4 days. This means bike riding around the clock, approximately 400 miles per day! So, there are 5 teams of 4 to 7 riders, they ride in a relay, so one team is on the road all the time, day and night.My roll in all this is mechanical support, along with Aurther Reaves. We are driving The Great Escape van filled with tools, wheels, parts, etc... Aurther and I have been taking turns driving the van, riding our bikes with the teams, driving the bus following the teams and even driving the team support vans to give those drivers a break. It's been a very busy 4 days.So, while I was trying to get a few hours of sleep on the side of the road in the mountains of Tennessee, I began to think about all the people in my life who have suffered with cancer. My father suffered with Leukimea for severla years, Alicia's father died from throat cancer, my Uncle Don died from lung cance at 62, Warner Bacon with brain cancer at 57, Rick Gorzinski at age 49, Jed Collins at age 36 and the list goes on and on! Every team van is plastered with names of friends and loved one's who have been claimed by cancer, so many names that all 5 vans are covered from front to back. As I lay there shivering in the cold mountain air on the first night of our trip, I thought, "these are the people we are riding for"!But over the next 4 days, road with almost all the teams and heard some of there stories, and i realized that we are not riding for those who have passed, but for those who are alive! We are riding for Laurens, who is currently battling breast cancer and riding her bike to Austin! We ride for Cathy, who rides her bike with one lung, the other one lost to lung cancer! We ride for all the Warriors fighting cancer and all the survivors, who have fought cancer and won!In the last 4 days, I logged 250 miles on my bike, helping each team as much as I could on there mission. There are 28 riders of all abilities on the 5 teams, this is the best group of cyclists that I have ever ridden with, because they ride with passion and purpose!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A few months ago I was asked if i could take a week out of my busy life to go to Austin, TX with a cycling team called P-3. Apparently they were planning to ride bicycles from Greenville, SC to Austin, TX, in 4 days. This means bike riding around the clock, approximately 400 miles per day! So, there are 5 teams of 4 to 7 riders, they ride in a relay, so one team is on the road all the time, day and night.My roll in all this is mechanical support, along with Aurther Reaves. We are driving The Great Escape van filled with tools, wheels, parts, etc... Aurther and I have been taking turns driving the van, riding our bikes with the teams, driving the bus following the teams and even driving the team support vans to give those drivers a break. It's been a very busy 4 days.So, while I was trying to get a few hours of sleep on the side of the road in the mountains of Tennessee, I began to think about all the people in my life who have suffered with cancer. My father suffered with Leukimea for severla years, Alicia's father died from throat cancer, my Uncle Don died from lung cance at 62, Warner Bacon with brain cancer at 57, Rick Gorzinski at age 49, Jed Collins at age 36 and the list goes on and on! Every team van is plastered with names of friends and loved one's who have been claimed by cancer, so many names that all 5 vans are covered from front to back. As I lay there shivering in the cold mountain air on the first night of our trip, I thought, "these are the people we are riding for"!But over the next 4 days, road with almost all the teams and heard some of there stories, and i realized that we are not riding for those who have passed, but for those who are alive! We are riding for Laurens, who is currently battling breast cancer and riding her bike to Austin! We ride for Cathy, who rides her bike with one lung, the other one lost to lung cancer! We ride for all the Warriors fighting cancer and all the survivors, who have fought cancer and won!In the last 4 days, I logged 250 miles on my bike, helping each team as much as I could on there mission. There are 28 riders of all abilities on the 5 teams, this is the best group of cyclists that I have ever ridden with, because they ride with passion and purpose!
posted by The Great Escape @ 4:27 PM
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