Six Texas cyclists are traveling across the country to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The 33-day, 3,300-mile journey from San Diego to Washington, D.C., began July 1 and included a stop at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in Austin Wednesday.
Each rider has been affected by cancer in different ways, and all were inspired to hit the road.
"Our basic premise is that we all have a connection with cancer," said former Livestrong Challenge rider Joe Haeggquist, who as a teenager lost his best friend to leukemia.
Haeggquist generated the idea for the trip in October 2007. He originally planned to go alone before fellow Beaumont cyclists Tom Simon, Charlie Dixon, Eric Laing, Britt Gober and Richard James III volunteered to join him.
"Cancer is a plague on our society which worsens every year," James said. "Fifty years ago you didn't hear about cancer the way you do today."
James, CEO of Alchemy Creative, Inc., which focuses on children's education, said he undertook the ride to inspire kids to learn about science and enter the research field as adults. James has donated boxes of books to children's hospital wards along the riding trail, most recently stopping at Austin's Dell Children's Medical Center.
"If they see me on my bike, then they know every person can do their part," James said.
The Livestrong Across America riders blog from the road, posting video and photos of their progress.
"Fifteen thousand miles without socks," said a rider in one video as he discarded his old cycling shoes and donned a shiny new pair, "sure smells bad."
Inspiration for the cyclists to push on grows with each stop. The riders average 100 miles a day, followed by a "sprinter" van that meets them every 20 miles with extra tire tubes, water and gear.
In Austin, the group was welcomed by employees from Mellow Johnny's, a commuter bike center co-owned by Lance Armstrong and business partner Bart Knaggs. The shop provided the riders with breakfast tacos and coffee before they left town Wednesday, said center employee Robbie Brennan.
"The level of support and encouragement we have received has been the most surprising," Haeggquist said. "From the little desert towns in Nevada to Austin, Texas, we have received nothing but love."
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