Obliteride 2014: Cycling to End Cancer

There are so many charity bike rides it can feel overwhelming to choose the one(s) in which to participate. My typical reaction is to do nothing.

In the past I’ve focused my charity bike-riding efforts on the ALS Doubleday ride in Skagit County, which benefits the ALS Association’s Evergreen Chapter. My mom and an uncle both died of complications related to ALS and I feel the closest affinity with that (usually) terminal affliction. ALS is considered an “orphan disease” in that it is rare enough not to deserve significant attention towards a cure. It’s been nice to see the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge gaining so much traction in the last week; maybe this kind of thing will result in more life-saving research for ALS.

This year I decided to do Obliteride in support of numerous friends whose lives have been affected by cancer, and because I want to support the world-class research at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. My primary motivation this year was the idea that Fred Hutch is an epicenter for the research with the best chances to end cancer, and it’s personally meaningful to feel a financial connection with the great work that is going on there.

Obliteride is interesting in that 100% of the funds raised go directly to cancer research. Sponsors including University Village, The Sloan Foundation, the Ellison Foundation, and the Sinegal Family Foundation cover the administrative costs of the event, as well as the fantastic pre- and post-ride parties.

I was part of a crew of (mostly) High Performance Cycling teammates (two of whom are cancer survivors) and a friend who regularly rides with the Cheasty Boys and is a researcher at Fred Hutch. Together we raised over $12,000.

There were several different ride options to choose from, and we did the 100-mile route:

I cycled to and from the start and ended up with ~120 miles for the day, and altogether 913 riders cycled 60,927 Obliteride miles during the weekend.

Although I would like to say that I spent Sunday in a state of constant meditation about my friends’ experiences with cancer and the life-saving work at Fred Hutch, once the pedaling started I was focused on the ride. There were a few minutes in a May Valley paceline where I did spend time thinking about cancer, but I have to admit that was overshadowed by moments such as when I pedaled alongside a 20-something on the Tiger Mountain climb who remarked, “damn, you old men set a fierce pace.” Sad to say, getting the ego stroked felt better at that moment than reflecting on the beneficiaries of the event.

Although contributions are still coming in, to date the event has raised $1.5 million. The Obliteride organization hopes to double that number by the end of September when fundraising ends. They will announce the final number at the wrap-up thank-you party on Oct. 22 at Fred Hutch.

You can donate to my team’s efforts here.

One of my teammates felt we had so much fundraising success and fun on the ride that he plans to make Obliteride an annual event for High Performance Cycling. Next year’s Obliteride will be August 7-9, 2015.

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