 "Photo: Andrew Rogers")
After biking about 86 miles at a weekend training camp for the Texas 4000, engineering senior Evan Holtzman said his fatigue showed that he needed more practice before making an average 80-mile-a-day trip from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska.
About 50 people, mostly UT students, will bike 4,500 miles from June 7 to Aug. 15 for the nonprofit organization Texas 4000 to raise money to fight cancer, according to the organization's Web site. Riders choose between a route through the West Coast and one through the Rocky Mountains.
After reading an article about the organization, Holtzman said he "immediately wanted to be involved, not only for the adventure and personal accomplishment but most importantly to raise awareness about the effects of cancer."
With $160,000 collected so far, the organization hopes to raise $350,000 this year, Holtzman said. About 75 percent of the donations fund the American Cancer Society and the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, while the rest pays for equipment for bike-ride participants.
"Not only are the donations helping out cancer research, but it's helping 50 students spread the word about cancer and the effects of it," Holtzman said. "In essence, it's all going to cancer."
Holtzman said he hopes to raise $6,000 by doing everything from sending letters to family and friends to panhandling outside Whole Foods Market.
Training consists of riding 40 to 50 miles every few days, and the mileage will increase until the team averages 70 to 80 miles each day of the week, Holtzman said. Riders have to prepare for the 100-mile test at the end of April and the 110-mile-a-day rides on the trip to Alaska.
"The bike ride to Alaska is like fighting cancer; we're going to have our good days and bad days. Some days we may be going uphill in the rain," Holtzman said. "But the main difference is we know we will be done with our ride in August and a cancer patient doesn't know if they're going to get through it or not."
He said Texas 4000's motto centers on the team riding for those who cannot.
Chris Condit, a 2004 UT graduate, said he started the organization five years ago to inform people about the disease, after he was diagnosed with cancer at age 11.
"Cancer is one of the biggest issues, and I wanted [Texas 4000] to be the biggest ride in the world, which it is," Condit said.
Texas 4000 is accepting applications for summer 2009 until April 11, Condit said. No experience is required - only the passion to fight cancer.
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