I received my liquid biopsy results on Friday. A liquid biopsy is a blood test that detects cancer cells circulating in the blood. Proponents believe it is the future of early cancer detection. The idea is that a simple blood test at your annual check up could tell you if you have cells that could possibly become "cancer". Others emphasize [...]

The past two weeks have been filled with many ups and downs related to my lung cancer but the one constant has been intense and at times debilitating pain. It was the pain I was experiencing that led me to push for scans two weeks ago and that pain increased exponentially over the ensuing days. The causes were unknown—possibilities ranged [...]

I rode my bike 70 miles yesterday, to and from my doctor's appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Monmouth County, NJ. It was cold and I was carrying a heavy backpack (now that I no longer have a "bike support team"), and I didn't even know if my route was bikable. For some reason though, I felt more [...]

As with life on the road, life at home is filled with twists and turns that trigger a "wow, that's great" response or an "I can't believe this is happening" response. I think it is human nature or at least human learned behavior to want to label "what is" rather than just accept it "as is". I had two experiences [...]

We arrived home to our five children, flowering garden, unopened mail, dishes in the sink, dirty clothes on the floor, etc. etc. with an overwhelming mix of emotions reflecting the chaos around us. Our life. It is at once beautiful, uplifting, oppressive and stressful. It is good to be home. I was summoned mid day to the kitchen, expecting to [...]

We road another 100+ miles today from Hanover, VA, crossing into Maryland at the Potomac River in Morgan Town, crossing back into VA at Alexandrea, and back over the Potomac again to end at Capitol Hill in Washington DC. A beautiful end to the first chapter of the BikeBreatheBelieve advocacy campaign for lung cancer awareness. David and I said good [...]

We biked 105 miles today crossing from North Carolina into Virginia through Richmond to Ashland. It was a long, hard day complicated by wind, rain and traffic with very little time to experience a moving meditation or contemplate anything other than moving forward and staying alive. Some days are like that. Road weary, I will keep this simple with a [...]

We biked 110 rainy miles today from Raleigh, NC to Roanoke Rapids, and the highlight of the day was seeing my cousin Charles for the first time in many years. Seeing him brought back so many childhood memories and led me to reflect on my family growing up and the family David and I have created. Family can be a [...]

We biked 120 miles through North Carolina today, leaving the eastern coast behind and moving inland on rural roads towards Raleigh-Durham. We passed miles and miles of beautifully cultivated fields: hay, soybeans, but mainly tobacco. North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the US and tobacco is the state's leading cash crop. Great for the North Carolina economy, [...]

We biked 115 miles today, leaving the beautiful historic city of Charleston and cycling north along the Eastern Seaboard to the North Carolina border in Little River. The most striking aspect of the ride was how much history is rooted in this seaside corridor, so I'd like to share some of the more interesting facts. In 1776, Charleston was the [...]

We biked 109 miles today from Savannah into South Carolina, ending in Charleston. The highlight of the day was visiting the Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island, a southern live oak considered to be one of the oldest trees in America. Some estimate it to be 400-500 years old and others 1500 years old. Either way, it's been around for [...]

Sometimes in life there are coincidences that reconfirm that the universe is unfolding as it should and today we had one of those experiences. We biked about 85 miles to Savannah, through more marshy landscapes filled with gigantic southern live oaks and remnants of American's colonial roots and revolutionary war history. We passed hundreds of commemorative plaques along the way [...]

After learning of yet another friend's death from lung cancer it is clear that while my bike across America is over, the campaign for lung cancer awareness must continue. To that end, BikeBreatheBelieve will continue to post information about lung cancer, dedications to people living with lung cancer and who have died from lung cancer (please continue to send dedications [...]

We woke this morning to torrential rain replete with thunder and lighting and promptly rolled over and went back to sleep. An hour later, the skies had cleared, the sun was out and we proceeded to bike 76 glorious miles, mainly on beautiful bike paths, to St. Augustine and finally the Atlantic Ocean. God and Mother Nature smiled on us [...]

We were thrilled to have son David join for day 40 of our ride--100 hot, humid miles from Perry to east of Gainesville, Fla, surrounded on all sides by beautiful yellow wild flowers--a floral yellow brick road. The number 40 is significant in many religious traditions. It represents a long period of time and is often associated with periods of [...]

We rode 80 hot, humid and occasionally stormy miles today through Tallahassee to Perry, FL and though we are feeling the miles we are also experiencing a second wind. Second wind is a phenomenon in endurance sports whereby an athlete who is too tired to continue finds the strength to press on. It also accounts for extreme intellectual and creative [...]

We rode another 100 miles today leaving the beach behind and heading inland towards Tallahassee to cross into the eastern time zone at the Apalachicola River. The pavement was smooth, the scenery green punctuated with white magnolia blossoms, and the wind quiet. I wore two jerseys today, my BikeBreatheBelieve and John Matthews’ Ride Hard Breathe Easy jersey. John created the [...]

We rode 84 miles today into a very heavy headwind, crossing into Florida this morning southwest of Pensacola on Perdido Key. We ended the day in Miramar Beach and somewhere in the middle we became separated from our support vehicle. I’m not riding with a bike computer, my phone or any other technology, so I’m never quite sure where I [...]

We rode about 90 miles today, crossing into Alabama at Pascagoula and crossing the mouth of Mobile Bay via the Mobile Ferry from Daphin Island. A beautiful, flat, windy ride with seagulls and pelicans leading the way. Actually, David led the way, and for the first half of the ride I rode frenetically to keep up with him. Maybe he’s [...]

A few days ago a friend asked me if I had made my peace with the wind that has plagued our journey since day 1. We rode 124 miles today from New Roads to Bogalusa with the wind very aggressively moving us either sideways or backwards so I had plenty of time to contemplate that question and my relationship with [...]

The weather forecast for today was for rain, hail, tornadoes and damaging winds, but by late afternoon all had subsided and we were able to ride about 30 miles with only a ridiculously strong headwind to contend with. The bulk of our day was actually spent more pleasantly celebrating Easter, the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church. [...]

We biked a glorious 100 miles today continuing our journey east through Acadiana, that part of Louisiana consisting of 22 parishes that was historically home to the state’s Francophone population, les Acadiens or Cajuns. And so today’s blog pays tribute to one of the most unique cultures in the United States—Cajun culture. Cajun refers to the French people who settled [...]

No matter what your age, or how many years you have self-identified as a parent, when you are with your parents, in their home - the home you grew up in - you find yourself on the other end of the parent-child dynamic. My parents were, of course, very excited that my bike trip brought me home, but throughout this [...]

As I rest and recover in my parents’ home in Crowley, Louisiana I am surrounded by indicators that Easter is right around the corner and reminded that Christians all over the world are currently experiencing Lent, a special 40 day period of reflection, fasting and penance in preparation for Easter. Today I would like to offer a special practice for [...]

Today was the most special day of our ride so far! My sister Elise and her husband Kohlie joined us as we cycled 92 miles through Southwest Louisiana on country roads towards my home town of Crowley. It was a very emotional experience for me, as coming home always is. Though I’ve spent more of my life outside of Louisiana [...]

We biked 85 miles today, right out of the great state of Texas where we spent the past 16 days—more days than it took us to cross California, Arizona and New Mexico combined. When David was briefing the team on our route early on he said we would take a week to get from San Diego to Phoenix and another [...]

The best word to describe today’s ride is bumpy. Yes it was flat, mostly dry and pleasant, but overwhelmingly bumpy. Imagine riding 60+ miles on a rumble strip and you’ll have a good sense of 3/4s of our day. I found myself looking across to the other side of the road, and down cross roads and imaging that if we [...]

This line, from a song made famous in 1959 by Dinah Washington, Queen of the Blues, ran constantly through my head today. The first stanza describes perfectly our day as compared to yesterday: “What a difference a day made, Twenty-four little hours, Brought the sun and the flowers, Where there used to be rain.” Yes, it was cloudy but to [...]

Today’s ride was a moving ice bath. It poured cold rain non stop the entire way, I’m even sure it hailed at one point. Air temps were low 40s. Truly an exercise in expanding one’s comfort zone. So, a few words about the benefits of ice baths and expanding your comfort zone. Ice baths are thought to constrict blood vessels, [...]

Today I’m taking a much needed rest day and, as has been the case my entire life, rest days are harder for me than strenuous days. I’ve spent my entire life stupidly resisting “days off” both as an athlete and business professional, living by the motto made famous in Jane Fonda’s original aerobics videos: “no pain, no gain”. I’ve finally [...]