Reflections

These 10 days have honestly been some of the most mentally challenging days of my life. Mile after mile, there were countless episodes that I truly felt like just giving up and stepping off my bike, resisting the urge to ride back toward home. For example – climbing over the Sierras, Arvind and I both had a really difficult time to take on the grueling mountains. Heat exhaustion, fatigue, pain, hunger were just some of the obstacles we encountered, but despite all the challenges we had to overcome over the 1,000 miles we rode I feel I can honestly say we all gained so much from this ride. Our ultimate goal for Ride Against Cancer was to interact with all of the people with met along the away, and in turn, inspire others to take a stand as well. From gas station clerks, to highway patrol officers, and especially the Warmshower hosts,  I think I can say we definitely proved our mission a success during our tour.

Compared to last year’s ride along the Pacific Coast, this year’s ride from SF to Salt Lake City was truly more of a test, a true challenge that lied ahead of us. From hauling over fifty pounds of equipment, to being completely independent and responsible for our well-being on the road, a lot of obstacles were involved in our ride. Unfortunately on Day 6, Arvind’s knee complications hit him hard, preventing him from continuing any further. Not only mental, but physical challenges persisted. It was a tough week, but even after completing the rest of the ride solo and self-supported, the ride was finished.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you that have donated toward our cause. We have a mere $500 toward accomplishing our goal, and in the upcoming weeks I am hoping that we can all join together and push to reaching $5,000. Remember that every single dollar will help bring us one step closer to the cure.

A lot of people have asked me prior to the ride: how exactly is a bike ride going to help get rid of cancer? In a simple sentence, I could just easily tell someone, “Oh, I’m riding for cancer research.” Simple as that, right?

But after putting a lot of thought into it, I started Ride Against Cancer, of course, to promote cancer research and fundraise for the cause. But also, I wanted this cause to also represent something larger.

This thousand mile ride, across deserts, and mountains, represented a challenge. But as with nearly all challenges, with perseverance, and dedication, can eventually be overcome. Likewise, cancer is a disease that claims thousands of lives each day, and touches every single person. If we all join together bringing attention to the battle against the disease, support crucial research programs and increase funding, cancer can one day, be overcome. I’m not saying that it’s easy. It’s not something that simply requires just hope, but requires solid action and initiative. It’s not something that will happen overnight, but will take years, likely decades.

But it is a challenge. And one day, in my lifetime, I hope that we will overcome this challenge. I hope you do to.

Chris