Lance Rides in Vancouver

One of my hospital visitors after I was diagnosed in 2004 was my very good friend David from the Queen Charlotte Islands. David is a commercial fisherman, an avid bike racer, and a Tour de France fan. David was there the day I got out of the hospital after my colon surgery and helped me to get home. He and his beautiful wife Sandra have been solid friends and supporters along the whole journey. In those first weeks David brought me two special gifts which have nurtured and sustained me over the past three years. The first was a lovely plush lion, and the second was Lance Armstrong’s book, “It’s Not About the Bike”. The lion, a soft and cuddly symbol of courage, still watches over me from the headboard of my bed and the book has continued to inspire me in many ways… enough even to get me riding a bike again!!

It’s hard to believe it but at the time I hadn’t even heard of Lance Armstrong. Cancer and biking were not even on my radar.

I found Lance’s story to be very powerful, and very well told in his book. Lance’s survival is a source of inspiration to any who are facing an uphill battle in the cancer journey. An excerpt… “I’m asking you now at the outset to put aside your ideas about heroes and miracles, because I’m not storybook material… I’ll give you an example: I’ve read that I flew up the hills and mountains of France. But you don’t fly up a hill. You struggle slowly and painfully up a hill, and maybe, if you work very hard, you get to the top ahead of everybody else. Cancer is like that too. Good, strong people get cancer, and they do all the right things to beat it, and they still die. That is the essential truth that you learn. People die. And after you learn it, all other matters seem irrelevant. They just seem small.”

Lance survived against the odds. Not only did he survive, he thrived. He went on to win seven Tour de France bike races. Today Lance dedicates a significant amount of his time and energy to “LiveStrong” the “Lance Armstrong Foundation” http://www.livestrong.org/. Lance's work continues to raise money for cancer treatment and support and cancer awareness. He’s even raised the awareness to the level of the US Presidential campaign by hosting the “LiveStrong Presidential Cancer Forum”!! Way to go Lance!!
This weekend Lance is in Vancouver riding in the BC Cancer Foundations “Tour of Courage”. http://www.tourofcourage.ca/ Lance is leading a community ride on Sunday to help raise cancer funds in BC. Hopefully I can get out of church in time to watch them ride by (if the preacher is not too long winded!!). Too bad I’m not back up to riding yet… maybe next time I’ll be riding along with him!!

Blessings to all... Rob; in Vancouver

"Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight." Lance Armstrong