Riding to Cure Cancer

Miles away from the hustle bustle of downtown Austin, a gently rolling landscape displays a spectacular array of wildflowers. Doe-eyed cattle frame country roads, pausing ever so briefly in their methodical chomping to check out the occasional passing car or tractor. You can almost hear grass growing in the green pastures. It's another blissful day in the Hill Country.

This scene, however, is about to change. Just over the horizon, like an approaching swarm of bees, the fluid cadence of cyclists and the precision-like zip of their gears cut the a bucolic quiet. One look and you know this is something is out of the ordinary. The road suddenly awash with a sea of brightly colored helmets, jerseys, and bikes--telltale signs that Ride for the Roses participants are passing through.

Comfortably weaving his way through the pack is three-time Tour de France winner and Texas native Lance Armstrong, who gives words of encouragement to some and accepts lauds from others. Despite a name that's immediately recognizable and a foundation that bears his name, Lance is just one of thousands of riders from allover the world taking part in the three-day event, designed to promote cancer awareness and raise money for survivorship-programs research.

"The ride weekend raises significant funds, but it mainly serves as our major outreach event. On average, it draws more than 25,000 participants and volunteers,” says Bianca Rodriguez, director of communications and outreach for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

From a physical standpoint, the weekend's final event, Sunday's 100- mile ride (there are also rides of 10, 20, and 50 miles), may not seem like much of a challenge for a world-class athlete like Lance, especially when you consider his success in the Tour de France-the grueling 21-day, 2,300-mile race considered the crown jewel of professional cycling. However, philosophically speaking, this ride and the other events of the weekend represent an enormous challenge. "My life as a cancer survivor is more important than my life as a professional cyclist," Lance reflects.

Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 1996, the Lance Armstrong Foundation emerged to help people manage and survive cancer. To jump-start the effort, Lance's cycling buddies turned what was originally a training ride for all of them

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