Profile

About: I was born in Dallas, Texas, where I spent the first five years of my life. My family then relocated to Jacksonville, a small town in east Texas. It was in the piney woods surrounding Jacksonville that I developed my love for the outdoors. My father gets credit for my constant pursuit of outdoor activities as he always encouraged me to go outside and explore, and took our family on canoeing, fishing, cycling, and hiking trips in Texas and the surrounding states at least once a month. After graduating high school, I attended the University of Tennessee for one year, where I developed a love for rock climbing- an activity I still participate in 3 to 4 times per week. I then moved to Austin to attend UT, from which I graduated in May 2007 with a degree in anthropology. I have no plans to leave Austin; I consider it my home and, at least for me, one of the best places in Texas to live. Around town, I like to ride my bike, hang out with friends, play and listen to music, climb, go to Barton Springs, and generally enjoy the city. I have met some of my best friends in Austin, and the city has basically everything I enjoy and value. I consider myself a simplistic person, and believe that riding a bike, whether across town or across the country, allows one to take in and enjoy so much more than when flying by in a car. Pedalling from Austin to Anchorage, especially for a cause that has touched me personally and that I wish to share with all those who will listen, is one of the most worthwhile endeavours I have ever undertaken.

Why I Ride

For the Texas 4000 participants, no matter how long the ride, at some point it will come to an end. There is a finish line, a moment when we can stop pedalling and relax. Cancer patients do not get the luxury of finishing their fight. Once diagnosed with cancer, it is a lifelong battle, whether through chemotherapy, radiation, or the ever-present possibility that the cancer may return, they do not get to simply step off the bike. Riding to Alaska is not as difficult as fighting cancer, not by a long shot. But if we are able to experience a little of that fight, the ups and downs, the uncertainty, the drive to keep going, we will be in a much better position to help educate people about cancer and relate to those with the disease. Even if it is just a bit, we will better understand the enormous amounts of effort and courage that these people put towards survival. The fund raising efforts that go along with this endeavour will help bring us one step closer to a cure that will come one day, a day that will be a victory for those with cancer, their loved ones, and those that have fallen victim to the disease. By educating people as we ride, that day will come even sooner. That will be a day when so many will get to finish their fight, but until then we must remember that every pedal stroke we take is for those that do not get to step off the bike.