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Almost five years ago, I had a beautiful red bass boat in my garage. My grandfather had often taken me fishing when I was growing up. Although he died of cancer when I was younger, I had great memories of spending time fishing with him and I always wanted a nice boat, so I could take my kids. I thought I would keep that boat forever, but today, that fiberglass has been replaced by carbon fiber.

I didn’t know, or care anything about cycling, until I got a phone call one Friday afternoon in Jan. 2000. It was the doctor with results from some tests I had just had. "You have testicular cancer", he said. Like most people getting news about cancer, I was stunned. My dad and recently died of cancer and so had both of my grandfathers. We hadn’t had much success with cancer in our family. I hung up the phone and then immediately slid up to my computer to search for some information. I remembered hearing Lance Armstrong’s story, he had just won his first Tour de France six months earlier and it was just the story of hope that someone diagnosed with cancer needs. I really didn’t have a good appreciation of what it took to win Tour de France. All I knew was, there was a guy that had cancer, he rides a bike and he’s alive. Sounded good to me!

I was fortunate that I had gotten an early diagnosis and my subsequent treatment was easier than I had feared, all things considered. I was comparing it to what we had just been through with my dad’s brain tumor, though. As the weeks and months passed, I read more about cycling, Lance and his cancer Foundation. Somewhere in there I asked my wife, Angie, if she’d be interested in getting into riding. She was already my best friend and biggest supporter, especially through the cancer stuff and she thought riding sounded fun and was something we could do together.

Besides getting into riding, we started raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and we made our first trip to Austin for the LAF Ride for the Roses. It turned out to be extremely emotional. Not because we met and rode with Lance, but as we were getting ready for the trip, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The first time I spoke with Lance, it was clear how dedicated he was to fighting this disease. It was incredible to meet so many cancer survivors, celebrating life, fighting cancer and riding across Texas. It was also the first time we had seen 6,500 cyclists riding together. We’ve been back to Austin every year since then, but that first year will always stand out.

Our lives changed dramatically after that ride weekend. As of today, we’ve raised over $50,000 for the LAF. Last July we made our fourth consecutive trip to the Tour de France to support Lance for number six. We’ve even taken our tandem and ridden up some of the toughest climbs in the Tour. It’s hard to narrow down the best bike ride I’ve ever had, because the most important ride may be the one that a fellow cancer survivor made when he won his first Tour de France. That’s the one that changed my life. It’s still not just about the bike, but it started there.

On the Champs Elysees this year. Photo by Jerry Kelly.
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