Touring - Momma Henry's Trek Across America - Cycling for a Cure

Hey people. I lurk the touring forum quite often (like 3 times daily), but i regretfully don't post very often. You may have seen my thread about Topeak Handlebar bags.

Either way, I wanted to share with you avid tourers about the tour three great friends and I will be embarking on this summer. We will be touring from San Francisco to Chicago and then to Yorktown, VA to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. My mom passed away on November 14th, 2011 from B Cell Lymphoma. The ride is in her memory.

All 4 cyclists are college kids that are originally from the south side of chicago. I am sure we will have plenty of questions (some have already been answered by you guys!). Either way, I just wanted to share with the forum what we are doing and give you all a chance to read more about it, watch our video, and hopefully share it with anyone you can.

I know that this forum gets plenty of threads like these, and to be honest I am not sure exactly how to set myself apart from the crowd. All I can say is that I loved my mom, and I am sure you do as well. I was robbed of my mother. Cancer took her life, but it did not take her being. And at this point this trip is all that I can do to give back to my amazing mother.

So if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I absolutely love bikes and touring and would love to chat about it. Once I get my bike back together (long story....but I am sure you guys know the feeling), I will be sure to share pictures and things of that nature.


p.s. the video really is amazing and I encourage you all to take a few minutes out of your day to watch it.


I've noticed that there are a lot of people that post on the touring forum asking for money for their trip... THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE. 100% of donations go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We are paying for the trip ourselves or with separate discounts/sponsorships.

Website:

www.mommahenrystrek.org


Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV-tuD0adbE

Man, you guys have got this together. Way more so than most that post about charitable rides on here. You're gonna do great! And no doubt raise a lot of money and stir up a lot of publicity for the cause.

The video message was certainly inspiring. Motivation to make this happen and see it to the finish will not be an issue.

Hint: Be highly visiable, obey traffic laws and conventions. Motorist have no interest in running over you. Help them out.

Thanks so much for the support! I wanted to make sure that we had all of our ducks lined up before I posted it on the forum. I have been lurking for about 5 months now and have been waiting to post it the entire time! (Iv been planning the trip since July 2011)

I should also mention that we will eventually be posting our route on our website and are inviting other cyclists who want to join in for parts of our journey. We will be using the ACA Western Express to the Trans American.

I have two friend who walked across American for cancer research. Matt Gregory lost his mother and Phil Goddard his wife. Separate walks. Phil, a Brit, had international support and raised over $100K. Matt, on his own, raised several thousand. Both were officially sponsored by the charity, a prerequisite for success, and were self funded.

That is incredible. We decided to handle the donations this way: only explicit corporate sponsorships could/would cover the cost of the trip itself. All individual donations made go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I definitely think that this is the best way to do it. I just didn't feel comfortable going up to people and asking them to buy me a fancy bike and things along those lines.

Our main issue as far as bringing in numbers close to $100k is that we are all young (between 18-21 years of age) and come from the same lower class neighborhood. We just don't have the contacts for publicity and larger donations. But we are working on it! Our main goal at this point is publicity and donations.

Phil was in his 40's, educated, and very well connnected. Plus, he could manage his job on the road from his computer. Most of the donations did not come from the US. Pretty unique circumstances.

It was difficult watching the video. Cancer is such a beast I hope they can find a cure someday. Best wishes on your trip.

It was difficult watching the video. Cancer is such a beast I hope they can find a cure someday. Best wishes on your trip.

Growing up I never really realized what cancer was. I always just thought it was some foreign disease that happens to some people but it will never happen to my family. It wasn't until I witnessed the affect that it has that I understood just how serious cancer is. Like......I was robbed. My family was robbed. My mom was robbed of her life. Cancer came in and stripped her of even thing she had. That is why we are doing this. I miss my mom so desperately. I know that I can't bring her back. but I can do everything possible to fight what killed her and do it in her memory.

Either way, thank you for the sentiment. I just want people to know what cancer does and how terrible of a thing it is.

Hey guys, quick question. Has anyone had experience starting out in San Fran on the western express? We are about 9 weeks out and I am getting incredibly anxious about the mountains. Let me know if you have/know someone who has so I can get an idea of what it will be like!

Hey guys, quick question. Has anyone had experience starting out in San Fran on the western express? We are about 9 months out and I am getting incredibly anxious about the mountains.

You are going to start the Western Express in December? Are you planning to follow it all the way to the Trans Am?

oops! I meant 9 weeks. brb editing

I don't get the reason why fund raising and cycle touring are so often linked, but I wish you success. I suggest that when calling ahead for hotel or camp arrangements that you start with, "We are riding coast to coast on bicycles, to raise money for...". Similarly when folks you meet ask where you are riding mention it. As I have witnessed when riding with friends who were fund raising, that will often result in a price break, donation, or comped room.

O.k. That makes more sense. Have you looked at Adventure Cycling's forum? Here is one thread on the WE:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.php?topic=10323.msg51961#msg51961

If you type "western express" in the search box you will find others.