Why I Ride

Training ride is officially in the books! 🚴‍♂️💨 I smashed out a little over 9 miles tonight. I wanted to do a video diary entry, but the camera I ordered never arrived. I’ve got a new one on the way and hopefully it’ll be here in time for the Great Cycle Challenge so I can keep you all updated!

First, I want to give a massive shout-out to Sandy Van Dyken for being my first donor in Great Cycle Challenge history! Thank you so much for believing in me, and thank you for supporting the cause to fight kids' cancer. It means the world. 🧡

While I was out pounding the pavement this evening, I found myself wondering: Why am I doing this? What made me want to participate in the first place?

You’d expect someone in this challenge to say, "Oh, I signed up to help fight kids' cancer." But funny story—that’s actually not why I signed up initially. I didn't even know what it was! I just saw "Great Cycle Challenge" and thought, “Ooh, a challenge? I’m in!” My love for biking and pushing myself to the absolute limit is what brought me here.

But once I started riding in my first challenge and reading the stories of these kids and their struggles... wow. I completely fell in love with the mission. That's why I went back last year, and that's why I'm back again this year. Because without us, who is going to fight for them?

How far would you go if your kid was diagnosed with cancer? If I had kids, I would go to the moon and back. I don't, so I can't do that—but what I can do is donate my miles, my sweat equity, and find donors to back me up.

Kids' cancer isn't an easy fix, but if we keep riding, sooner or later we’re going to cross that finish line. 🏁

My journey to The Great Cycle Challenge .

This year marks my third year signing up for the Great Cycle Challenge! Last year, some frustrating bike issues kept me off the road entirely. But looking back at my first year, I managed to ride almost 200 miles—though I didn’t raise a single dollar in donations.

For 2026, I’m going for the doubleheader: riding all my miles and smashing my fundraising goal. To keep myself accountable, I’ll be blogging through the whole journey—sharing updates on practice rides, gear tune-ups, and pre-challenge prep. I’m riding as a solo team right now, but I’d love to have you along for the ride to cheer me on and help me reach the finish line. Stay tuned for updates!