Survivors, supporters cycle against cancer
The 3,500 riders in the area's first LiveStrong Ride raise $1.3 million for the Armstrong foundation
BEAVERTON -- We're used to his image in the Pyrenees, his face gaunt and wolfish with the concentration and effort of winning the Tour de France.
On Sunday, Lance Armstrong concentrated on the latest challenge he wants, more than anything, to win. But now he was relaxed and smiling, buoyed by the everyday cyclists who cheered him as a hero. The 3,500 riders in the area's first LiveStrong Ride had raised $1.3 million for his Lance Armstrong Foundation, dedicated to giving those fighting cancer and surviving its effects the tools, support and attitude to win their wars.
The riders were about to wind through Washington County on four routes, from 10 miles to 100 miles. Armstrong, who said he hasn't been on his bike much since retiring after his historic seventh consecutive Tour victory this summer, would lead them with a cadre of cycling stars: among them, Belgian great Eddy Merckx; George Hincapie, Armstrong's lieutenant on the Discovery Channel team; and Bob Roll, the Outdoor Life Network's Tour commentator.
Armstrong stood at the entrance of the Nike World Campus with microphone in hand. Before him were cyclists and cancer survivors. The ubiquitous yellow of the LiveStrong wristband was everywhere. "We're going to continue to try to help cancer survivors around the world as best we can," Armstrong said. "Tell our stories. Cancer is the deadliest disease in American and that's not acceptable."
Dr. Brandon Hayes-Lattin wore cycling togs and a No. 2 on his back, but he was following doctors' orders to stay off his bike a week after back surgery. Instead, the cancer survivor and medical oncologist at the OHSU Cancer Institute was at the start of the ride in appreciation. Hayes-Lattin is spearheading a state-of-the-art young adult survivorship center, made possible with a grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Where survival rates among children and older patients have improved, the rate for young adults, ages 25-35, hasn't increased since the 1970s, Hayes-Lattin said. The new center will bring together the pieces of treatment and establish a network of information sharing. "I had cancer as a young adult and so did Lance, and we realize there are different biological issues with young adults and different psycho-social issues," he said. "One in every two men and one in every three women are going to be diagnosed with cancer over their lifetimes, so this is a huge problem."
Nancy Olschewsky of Vancouver was diagnosed with Grade 3 astrocytoma -- a brain tumor -- in April 2004. On Sunday, she was one month post-treatment. "For me, it's just to raise awareness and to ride for the people affected by cancer," said Olschewsky, who wore a "survivor" placard and another in memory of her mother. "When I was diagnosed, I really relied a lot on his Web site for information, and I wanted to be here for that." Olschewsky, 40, had just bought a new bike -- sleek, and a snappy bright red -- before she was diagnosed. When her doctors forbade her from riding alone for fear that she'd have a seizure, she found a friend at work who joined her on early morning rides. Her husband, Tom Bennett, dusted off his old Trek bike, and the two trained for Sunday. "Riding is really my thing," she said.
The ride
The riders wear their hearts on their backs. "In memory, Grandma Bank." "In honor of my sisters and dad." "In memory, Clint, Gran, Curt." The conditions were perfect: Clear and calm, the sun slowly warming the fall chill. There are snatches of conversations, caught in the wind as cyclists pedaled past filbert groves and beside fallow fields. ? . . . No test for ovarian cancer so you don't know you have it until it's almost too late. Like my mom." Two strangers pedaled beside each other. One had a picture pinned to his jersey of a smiling woman with her service dog. "Who's the picture of?" "My wife." "Survivor?" "She passed in March . . ." Marcie Egger and her daughter Chris Heilman clanged cowbells and cheered riders on Johnson School Road. Marcie'So is daughter Kathy Sherwood. "This is a family affair," Marcie Egger said.
Val McCutchan greeted riders at the fifth rest stop -- the survivor rest stop -- in a bright yellow T-shirt and a spangled gold hat. "Melanoma," she said. "That's what the hat's for." McCutchan, of Eugene, had volunteered for the Ride for the Roses, the original ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, in Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas. "A lot of people are connected to cancer and this brings it out," she said. "Seeing people active is awesome."
The finish
Dallas Lee watched riders cross the finish back at the Nike campus. He offered a cookie. After 20 years off the bike, Lee, of Vancouver, trained in earnest after learning about the LiveStrong Ride. He and his wife, Joanne, are survivors. Joanne volunteered at the finish line. "We figured we've got to do this," he said. "We'll be back next year. And if I get the chance to train a little more, I may try the 70 miles."
The LiveStrong Ride filled up in 23 days. Riders paid $150 each. Many raised additional money through pledges. One rider raised $20,000. The Lance Armstrong Foundation awarded $3.3 million in research grants and $1.7 million to 31 community nonprofit organizations this year. The LiveStrong wristband, sold for $1, has raised $55 million.
The wristband was the theme in the riders' village, where yellow paper loops bearing the names of those fighting and those who fought formed a long chain. Nancy Olschewsky and Tom Bennett leaned their bikes against a fence and headed to the celebration of music and food at Renaldo Field. "A wonderful day," Olschewsky said.
Abby Haight: 503-221-8198; abhaight@aol.com
