About Me

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Why I Ride

I ride for a distant uncle. I didn’t get to know him well because of geographic distance but he was bright and full of life whenever I did get the chance to meet him. Unfortunately, he passed away from lung cancer in between my trips to visit family and the devastation upon his wife and children when we visited was palpable. They were kind and big hearted as always but he eventually came up in the conversation and it was like watching a mask crumble. To this day, I don’t think I can fully fathom the deepness of their sadness and their loss. But that’s the reality faced by millions of families. I used to shy away from sadness and fear innate in diseases such as cancer. It drops the ground from under your feet to put yourself in that situation. And I think that’s why we expect people to move on after a set grieving period, to put on masks like they did. But the aftereffects remain, the trajectory has changed, and I now ride to acknowledge/understand that.

I ride to honor and commemorate their strength and perseverance. And I ride for the memory of my uncle and the many lives he touched. I ride for hope, that no family has to go through what they went through in the future.

I also ride for knowledge. One of my older relatives used to be an avid smoker before I was born. It was a habit stemming from a period when cigarettes were so normalized that they even made their way into the hands of children. I want to ride to bring awareness to potentially carcinogenic substances and to advocate for preventative measures such as sunscreen usage. I also ride for cancer research. What drew me to Texas 4000 was the potential it gives to be a part of the fight against cancer. By riding, I would be helping raise funds for people making strides in cancer prevention research and that’s something I really want to be a part of, as an aspiring healthcare professional and as someone who witnessed its insidious effects just as many of us have.

If there is anyone in your life who has been affected by cancer that you would like me to ride for please let me know. I would be honored to ride for them. Thank you in advance for supporting Texas4000 and this journey.

To Alaska and Back,
Mahima