Article in the Youngstown Vindicator

Students cycle across country for cancer
Published:Friday, May 30, 2008
By ELISE FRANCO
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/may/30/students-cycle-across-country-for-cancer/

BOARDMAN — Not just anyone could spend the three hottest months of the year bicycling across the country, but one group of college students from the East Coast is doing just that.

Their cause — helping to find a cure for cancer.

And late Thursday afternoon they came to Boardman. About 15 of the 25 riders participating in the Hopkins 4K for Cancer arrived at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Stadium Drive, promptly kicking off their shoes and helmets and making themselves at home on the front lawn.

The Youngstown area was just one stop along the 4,000-mile bike trek for the students, who ride anywhere from 50 to 120 miles each day.

Dan Ingram, a junior at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., said some of the cyclists fell behind due to flat tires.

“We have a set schedule that we follow, but some groups do fall behind,” he said. “It seems like there were two groups cursed with flat tires all day long today.”

Ingram said three vehicles stay with the groups at all times. They are in charge of setting up respite stops so the riders have enough food and water throughout the day.

“We burn about 5,000 calories per day, and it’s really hard and dangerous to bike hungry,” said Clare Blubaugh, a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins. “It’s important to eat at every stop, even if you don’t feel hungry, to avoid dehydration.”

This is Blubaugh’s second time riding in the Hopkins 4K. In 2006, she decided to ride for a close family friend who was fighting breast cancer. This year, she’s riding for the people she met along the way the first time.

“That was one of the best experiences ever,” Blubaugh said. “I learned so much about myself, my peers and the people I met along the way. I saw such a wonderful side of people.”

Ingram’s motivation came from his grandfather who died of leukemia when Ingram was 12.

“I heard about [the bike ride] from a girl in my class wearing her Hopkins 4K hoodie, and right away I was super interested,” he said. “It was my last summer to do something spontaneous, so I went for it.

“It’s hard, but I just think about [my grandfather,] the person I am riding for, and I keep pushing.”

Blubaugh said the hardest part for her, and many of the other cyclists, is the first week.

“We start with the Appalachian Mountains, and even those who have been training will find that difficult, especially because we’re just starting out,” she said. “They can be very daunting.”

The 9-week-long journey from Baltimore to San Francisco kicked off Sunday, as the 25 riders ceremoniously dipped their back tires in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and will end July 26 at the Golden Gate Bridge, where they will dip their front tires into the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Each student is required to raise $4,000, although Ingram said almost all of them have gone above and beyond that amount. So far this year, the 25 riders have raised more than $100,000, most of which will be given to organizations working on the fight against cancer. In its seven years, the Hopkins 4K has raised more than $500,000 in the name of cancer research and awareness.

Blubaugh recalled her most touching memory during a stop in Greensburg, Pa., a few days ago, when a woman came over and asked what they were doing. After they explained who they were, the woman went over to an ATM close by and returned with money.

“She handed us the money, and said, ‘I know it’s not much, but I want to tell you my story,’” she said. “She told us that she’d recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she thought what we were doing was amazing. I think she only gave about $5, but it didn’t matter.”

Ingram said for him the best part is being able to understand why the journey is so important.

“All of us have a personal reason for doing this. For me it’s my grandfather, and if I didn’t have that I would have a hard time because I wouldn’t understand the reason behind it,” he said.
“We fight every day to keep going, just like the cancer patients.”

efranco@vindy.com