Hi there,

You might ask, "What's Anthony want this time? I hope he's not asking for donations again." Well, once again, I am. But, first, let's back up a bit...

About two years, after hearing about triathlons and related athletic endeavors from my coworkers, I decided to try my hand at my first triathlon. Tried another one a couple of months later. Both on my mountain bike back from my college days. Fast forward to a year ago and I was ready to commit to a full real season of triathlons. The first race was to be Wildflower located at Lake San Antonio in Central California. But if I was going to make a go at this for real, I needed better equipment, a real road bike. They don't come cheap but I'd committed to using it and thought cycling might be something I can enjoy and stick with (and it'd be easier on my poor knees than running all the time). About the same time, I decided I needed some reading and I'd heard a little about this guy named Lance Armstrong. He'd published a book entitled "It's Not About the Bike" a year before that apparently sold quite a few copies. So, for those who haven't heard his story, let's back up a little more...

Lance

Lance started his athletic career early as a triathlete, go figure, in his teens with the encouragement of his mother, a single parent. This led way to a cycling career that started his senior year in high school. He grew into the sport over time and by 1996 he was the number one ranked cyclist in the world. He'd just signed a lucrative contract with a major European racing team and just finished building his new home in Austin, Texas. Things were going great for a guy not yet 25 years old. And then, by October of that year, the pain he'd been having got so bad that he couldn't even get on his bike. That pain was diagnosed as testicular cancer and it was soon discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. The following weeks brought two operations, one to remove the malignant testicle and the other to remove the cancer that had spread to his brain. His chances for recovery were far less than 50%, but he soon began an aggressive form of chemotherapy aimed at combating the remaining cancer and maintaining as much of his lung capacity as possible. The treatment weakened his body, but it was worse to the cancer. Within 5 months of his diagnosis, Lance was back on his bike, but a shadow of the cyclist he was a year before. Despite some early setbacks in his training and racing, he persevered and was back in form by 1998 and was ready to tackle the world's premiere cycling event, the Tour De France, in July of 1999. Three weeks and 2,300 miles later, Lance emerged the winner. From what could have been his deathbed in 1996, less than three years later he had won what is possibly the greatest athletic endurance event in the world. A victory for Lance, his team, and cancer survivors everywhere. He went on to repeat this victory the following two years and will attempt a fourth consecutive victory this summer.

The Ride for the Roses

But before he gets his chance for a four-peat, Lance has a little ride that he puts on every year in his hometown, the Ride for the Roses. Shortly after his diagnosis, he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) to benefit cancer research and promote awareness and early detection. The foundation puts on a yearly benefit event, the Ride for the Roses, which is actually a series of rides, the longest of which is a century ride (100 miles). As I read the book, it connected with me in so many ways. I remember my dad teaching me to ride my first bike back in Houston. And I remember his suffering years later. And now, here I am, grown up and back on a bike. Riding in memory and with the hope that maybe I can help a little so that others won't have to suffer as much as he.

So then, here I am, 26 years old and a few triathlons wiser, preparing for the Ride for the Roses. The event is April 14^th, less than two weeks away. I just did a 70 mile ride this past weekend that went well. I think I'll be ready.

The Peloton Project

Now back to the beginning of this letter. One of the Foundation's fundraising programs for this event is called the Peloton Project. As members, we try to raise funds to benefit the foundation. There's no training program or team like Team-In-Training has. It's often just me alone out on the roads getting ready for this thing. The first time we'll come together will be in Austin. I haven't committed to raising anything in particular and I know many of you contributed to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society last year, so I'm just asking you to contribute whatever you can. If you can't contribute, then at least please remember me on April 14^th and send some good thoughts my way as I'll probably need all the help I can get out there.

Donating

If you can contribute, there are two ways to do so:

• Preferred way: click here to go directly to the online donation site. Donating online helps save the costs of processing the mail-in donations.

• Alternate way: click here to download a sponsor ticket. Print it out, fill it in, and mail it back with your donation. If your company offers matching gifts, you'll need to use this method.