Pedal The Cause - Searching For A Cure For Cancer

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Yes, and it's a long, long look. A final post from Pedal The Cause, showing just a few of the more than 700 riders.

Tomorrow, a complete change of pace: Artica. Any one for some Dada theater with florescent-colored props?

Pedal The Cause: Kickoff Party

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Meet Kwesi Prince, brain cancer survivor. He and his family attended the Friday night dinner and kickoff party of Pedal The Cure. Kwesi was treated at St. Louis Children's Hospital and he's doing fine now. People like him are what the event is all about.

It was a pretty good party. You could get your bicycle tuned or your your music mixed. You could see Tour de France cyclist Christian Vande Velde talk to a local TV news reporter or have him sign your bike jersey. You could watch the gaggle of teenagers in the ride sway between adolescent goofiness and decorum. Everyone had a good time, including the photographer.

In response to yesterday's post, a couple of commenters suggested I ride next year, maybe the 60 mile route. Well, the last time I rode a bicycle i needed a steroid shot in my knee. That is so not going to happen.

Pedal The Cause

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Next assignment: Pedal The Cause. This is the first year for this cycling fundraiser for cancer research at Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center. That are all affiliated and provide top-shelf care. Why, they've patched me together from time to time.

There were over 700 riders covering 25 and 60 mile courses (60 miles!). Some enormous bucket of money was donated for a cause that will keep people alive. The announcer mentioned that 20 years ago the survival rate for leukemia was 10%. Now it's 90%. That's what the cash buys. Many of the riders were cancer survivors. Well, I suppose I am, too, although my treatment was not long and dramatic. Were it not for some of these very institutions I would not be here today writing this.

One note to the organizers: the event and your work is dedicated to the good of mankind. So next year could you skip the bottled water imported from Iceland? The amount of wasted energy to bring water here from Fiji, France, Iceland and so forth is appalling. And how about biodegradable bottles?