I’ve decided to dedicate this entry to a subject that means a lot to me for several reasons. Many of you may already be familiar with those litle yellow wristbands that you see people wearing everywhere and maybe you’ve wondered what they are for. The wristbands were created by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise money for cancer research. As you may know, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 at age 25. He fought through and survived the cancer and went on to win the Tour de France 6 consecutive times, the all time record. Last summer I got really into cycling and of course began researching more about the sport and about Lance. I became particularly interested in his story because my older Brother Scott died of cancer in April 2002. My Brother was just about Lance’s age when he was diagnosed and fought it with unbelievable strength for almost 10 years. I recently finished Lance’s autobiography, “It’s Not About the Bike. My Journey Back to Life.” In the book Lance describes the excruciating pain and difficult journey of getting through to the other side of treatment. While I read the book, it was as if I was getting a glimpse into what Scott went through and what he might have been thinking. I also couldn’t help but think to myself, where the hell was I? I mean, I was there, but I wasn’t REALLY there. I was about 21 when Scott found out he had cancer and I think in retrospect as maybe we all do, I just turned on this blocking-coping mechanism to remove myself from the pain of it all. We all find our path somehow in this world, whether intentionally or not and after Scott’s death, I felt this sense in myself and in my other Brothers and Sister, that we didn’t know where our path was. That we didn’t know what we were supposed to do next. We came face to face with the mortality or temporariness of it all. We had the wind knocked out of us. I’m not sure if we still know our paths yet. It’s a learning curve though. In Lance’s book, he describes the people who get cancer as “the lucky ones”, because only they truely know what life is, how to live it and how important it is.

So I try to ride my bike as often as I can because it gets me out into the world and forces me to experience life even if at the least for those short few hours when it’s just me and the road and the wind. When I’m on that bike, Scott is with me. He yells at me when I think I can’t make it up a long hard hill and I laugh with him when it starts to rain and I don’t care that I’m wet because I’m alive to feel it. It’s not some game I play in my head to make everythink ok, it’s just what I have.

And so I wear yellow. I bought my first pack of 10 wristbands from the Lance Armstrong Foundation this past summer and I gave them out to everyone I know. They were backordered and many places were sold out, so they were in high demand. We all have different reasons for wearing one. Some just think it goes well with their jeans. I wear a yellow wristband as a reminder for many things in my life. It reminds me that today I need to Live Strong. I may not always be good at it, but I need to try. It reminds me of how peaceful it is out riding on my bike by myself. It reminds me of my friend Chase who first got me addicted to cycling and of our 4 hour rides through the Seattle summer heat. It reminds me of all the people who have asked me about my wristband and to whom I was able to tell the story of my great Brother Scott. It reminds me of all the people I have given a wristband to, so that they would have stories of their own. And, it reminds me of Scott; of what he went through and how damn strong he was and how I need to keeping trying to find that path.

They say that today there are over 10 million people living with cancer and so it’s important that we keep up the fight both for the survivors like Lance and for those we lost like Scott. I bought another pack of wristbands and I thought instead of just handing them out, I would offer them here online. I have 7 left so they go to the first 7 people who request one. I’ve already made a contribution to the Lance Armstrong Foundation by buying them, so I thought it would be cool to raise the stakes and request that people donate again to raise even more money. All of the money received will be donated back the LAF, with the exception of shipping costs to send you the wristband. They orignally cost one dollar and so I’ve listed suggested donation amounts including shipping. If you are feeling generous, you can select a higher amount. You can also purchase these directly from the Lance Armstrong Foundation website (www.laf.org) but they are backordered for 4 to 6 weeks. All donations are accepted through Paypal.com.

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Thanks! LiveStrong…

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