Profile

About: Hey there, my name is Dana (“dah-nah”) and you are awesome for learning more about our mission. You can catch me admiring health foods, paddling a river with Stream Team, training for a triathlon (an addicting hobby… thanks endorphins), working at the Outdoor Center, salvaging wood palettes and bike parts for new creations, or conversing with people that live at my co-op. I want to give a shout-out to my three older brothers, who have taught me what it means to be tough, my amazing parents for inspiring me to challenge myself from a young age, and the Earth for the curiosity it has instilled in me.

Why I Ride

Cancer does not distinguish between the people it targets. It has a lasting impact on many lives and the community formed as a result of it is very strong. Knowledge about preventative measures and treatments is a powerful element that can grow within the cancer community and spread to surrounding areas, especially to people living in smaller regions that don’t have the resources for an education or live too far away from a school.

My father has fair skin and has had a lot of sun exposure over the years. He is informed about the implications of cancer and routinely goes to the dermatologist to check for pre-cancerous marks on his body, a habit that he takes very seriously as a result of the personal impact of seeing his father’s one mole develop into deadly melanoma. This spread of knowledge is what I am most passionate in developing, so that the education that I have come to value immensely can help prevent the impact of this disease.

I ride for my saba (grandfather in Hebrew), David, who passed away from skin cancer when my father was 18 years old. I think about how this is a common occurrence and that people have to cope with losing loved ones that provide support to their lives. I never got to meet David and make connections with him, but what if he had gotten that mole checked in time before the cancer spread to the rest of his body? No one deserves to have to lose someone special to cancer.

I ride for Uri, my other saba who lost his battle to lung cancer when I was 3 years old. My mother sometimes tells me about how much he suffered during his last few months of life. However, despite the pain, my saba always lit up whenever he got to hold me or one of my siblings. Losing both of my grandfathers to cancer fuels my desire to educate others about prevention and to take action within the resilient cancer community.

I ride for all of those who can’t because I appreciate that my body is healthy. I am grateful for things that I occasionally take for granted, such as my ability to move, breathe, and feel on my own, which will allow me to bike 4000 miles to Alaska. I ride to expand knowledge, honor cancer patients, give them hope, and to one day overpower the disease that has affected so many, one pedal stroke at a time.

Please send rider dedications to [email protected] and I will be sure to include them in my journey.