About Me

Profile

About: I grew up in Garland, Texas, a fairly large city about twenty minutes northeast of Dallas, with my adorable parents and sister. Whether it is true or not, my parents joke that they had me so my sister would have somebody to play with (and would stop getting on their nerves so much). Of course, as her new playmate, my sister took full advantage of me because I could not yet read and I eventually grew so frustrated playing with her that my parents chose to get me into baseball so that I would learn to accept losing. That idea backfired–the team I was on practically won every game.

Fortunately for everybody, I never became a sore loser, but that is really neither here nor there.

My childhood was pretty typical. In addition to baseball, I played football, golf, and basketball, joined Cub Scouts, built Pinewood Derby cars, went on fishing and camping trips, and skipped school nearly every year to go see the Texas Rangers play on Opening Day with my dad. I do not think I could have asked for anything more.

I am currently in my third year at the University of Texas and earning a degree in Sport Management with a Business Foundations Certificate through the McCombs School of Business. After I graduate, I plan on attending law school, perhaps at Vanderbilt. Surely they would cut me some kind of deal, right? As with anybody who has watched Jerry Maguire or Entourage, I am toying with the idea of becoming an agent for athletes and celebrities. I have always found sports and arguing fun activities, but if I could put the two together…I think I would be onto something. I could also see myself working in the front office for the Dallas Stars. I am a diehard Stars fan. Whatever I decide to do, I want to be involved in sports.

For the past twenty years, I have been blessed to have such a supportive family and group of friends. They are genuinely awesome and I would not trade them for anything–like that is even possible. The truth is I would not be where I am now and I definitely would not have the courage or strength to ride a bike to Alaska in the fight against cancer if it were not for them. I am forever grateful.

If you would like to know more about me, feel free to check out my blog: http://austin2alaska.tumblr.com/

Why I Ride

I ride for my grandfather and namesake–my Pa–who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about four years ago. Without question, he has been one of the most influential people in my life and I admire everything about him. When I was younger and would go camping with him and my dad, I remember he was the one person I wanted to sleep next to. “Let’s go to bed, Pa,” I would say every night at exactly 8:00PM. As far as I was concerned, snuggled up to him was the only place I wanted to be because that was the safest place in the world. And now that his condition is progressing, I find myself missing these things more than ever. I would love for him to be there when I ride into Anchorage. He, my dad, and I have been talking about taking a fishing trip to Canada or Alaska for a long time and it would just seem fitting.

I think I took life too much for granted up until four years ago, but now I am aware that life’s tragedies are beginning to impact my life and I realize what doesn’t affect you today might affect you tomorrow. I can relate to the hardships that those affected by cancer are going through and I want them to know that there are people who are willing to go head over heels to help them in any way possible.

I have the honor of riding 4,500 miles from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to inspire hope for a better day for those who are living with cancer, kindle optimism for a future rid of cancer, share my story with others who have been similarly affected, and raise money for researchers to advance their search for a cure. An endeavor of this enormity is too big for one person to tackle alone, so join me and together we’ll bring an end to cancer.