Sheila McGuirk, Wisconsin’s Tour of Hope RiderNovember 29, 2004
Q: What is the Tour of Hope and what does Lance hope to accomplish with it? How long is the tour? A: The Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Tour of Hope is an 8-day journey across America by a team of 20 cyclists who have been touched by cancer and who are committed to inform the public about the importance of cancer clinical trials. In partnership with Lance Armstrong, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Tour of Hope team shared their personal cancer stories in hopes of motivating the communities along the ride route to learn more about the benefits of cancer research. Clinical cancer research trials bring us the hope for a cancer cure and therapies that result in a better quality of life for cancer patients undergoing treatment. The team of 20 riders was divided into 4 smaller teams of 5 riders. Each team rode 4 to 5 hour stages and then relayed to the next team, providing 12 to 15 hours between rides for teams to eat, sleep and be transported to the next transition. The almost 3,600 mile route was completed in 8 days, with a team being on the road continuously, 24 hours a day from midnight Oct 1st to Oct. 9th when all 20 members rode into Washington DC with Lance Armstrong and Peter Dolan, the CEO of BMS company. Q: Who was on your team? A: I had 4 incredible teammates - Bernie Scher, a 66 year old prostate cancer survivor and triathlete from Cocoa Beach, FL, who was the oldest member of the team. John Fee, the 34-year old son of a cancer survivor and part of the oncology sales and training group at BMS was a competitive cyclist as a junior and hails from NJ. Brian Highhouse, a 38-year old oncology nurse from NH is an incredible cyclist with mountain biking and road riding experience. Ted Yang is a 41 year old doctor, a radiation oncologist, who has worked hard to bring cancer trials to smaller communities, and is a competitive cyclist from Houston, TX. And then there was me, a cyclist, who competed for the first time as a mountain biker in 1997 and began road racing in 2000. Now, at 52 years of age, I survived colon cancer 8 years ago. Q: As a cancer survivor, what did this tour do for you, personally? A: Having worked hard to put cancer behind me and lay to rest those recurring fears that the illness would return or that I would not live to see my children grow up, my involvement in the ToH brought all of those memories back. Surrounded by people touched by cancer in much the same way, however, we found mutual strength in retelling our stories and bonding together in a commitment to make life better for current and future cancer patients by spreading the word about the importance of clinical cancer trials. With an opportunity to frame my survivorship into such a constructive and hopeful mission, the experience was extremely rewarding. For me, it has resulted in a renewed appreciation for my family, friends and the good health I have been given. The opportunity to be a member of the ToH team has changed my life! Q: Tell us more about clinical trials and how the Tour raises awareness of them. A: Advances in cancer treatment are the result of research that ultimately leads to clinical trials, the final step before a new therapy is approved for use in patients. More than 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year and 6% will survive more than 5 years after treatment. The Tour represents the hope that the cure rate will climb and that cancer treatment will provide a better quality of life. But less than 5% of adults participate in clinical trials when they have been diagnosed. The low participation rate reflects a lack of knowledge and understanding about clinical trials. Our goal as ToH members was to spread the word about being informed and about dispelling any myths about involvement in clinical trials. Q: What would you tell someone who has recently been diagnosed with cancer? Be informed. Bookmark the Tour of Hope website (www.tourofhope.org) and find numerous links that include information on available cancer trials, other links to innovative therapies, care, professional support. counseling and education. You have to be your own best advocate. Arm yourself with knowledge and always ask questions. Q: What is behind the statement: “the cure to cancer will be in a lab..." A: From my cancer experience and the Tour of Hope journey, three lessons seem clear to me: 1) It is definitely about the journey! This was so clear during the Tour - we climbed mountains and descending into valleys; there was rain, wind and the darkness of night. But then there was sun and the commitment to make good on the hope for a cure. 2) Act on your doctor's advice when it comes to cancer screening tests - mammograms, blood tests for prostate cancer or colonoscopies. Your greatest chance of successful treatment is with an early diagnosis. And 3) Be informed. As discussed above, it is knowledge that is empowering and together with a positive attitude, you may be the one or the family member or friend that brings the hope for a cancer cure to reality. Nominations for WCA Board OpenNovember 29, 2004 Interested in serving on the board of WCA? The WCA board is in the process of updating the nomination forms which will be posted on the website in early December. In the meantime if you’d like to know more about serving on the board please contact Rebecca@tds.net. Masters Age Categories 2005: Join the E-group DiscussionNovember 29, 2004 Would you like to participate in an e-group discussion about WCA masters categories? If so, please contact WCA’s Technical Director at wcatech@earthlink.net. WCA reviews its race categories periodically to make sure we are best serving the riders. Do we have the right mix of age groupings for the current and future group of riders? Your thoughts are needed and ideas welcome. Wisconsin Cyclocross State Championships This Weekend!November 8, 2004 The
Course for the Wisconsin State CX Champs will be open for preview
from 12:30 to 2:30 PM on Saturday (11/13). Race organizers also
noted that there is plenty of pre-ride time between races on Sunday
if you can’t make it out to the course on Saturday. Bob Roll Wows Crowd at WCANovember 8, 2004 WCA’s annual awards dinner was upbeat with a filled-to-capacity crowd. The venue of the private Milwaukee Athletic Club, the silent auction and Bob Roll’s entertaining monologue all added to a memorable night for WCA members and guests.
The presentation of the WCA Cup awards had a few mentionable moments. The “In-Motion” award was presented to Jeff Rose (UW) for his work on bringing collegiate nationals to Wisconsin and to Mark Meier (Baraboo Sharks) for bringing a dozen kids into cycling. A remarkable thing happened when recognition was given to Matt Wittig (Nova/IS Corp), who is recovering from a bad spill last spring. Matt inspired WCA by his determination to ride again and his acceptance of the award brought the crowd to its feet for a long, standing ovation. Ride on, Matt!
Saris Parking Systems/CycleOps Hosts Event for Bicycle Federation of WisconsinOctober 22, 2004 Join Floyd Landis and friends at this event to benefit BFW. The event is Monday, November 15, 2004 at the Saris/CycleOps Factory, 5253 Verona Road Madison. For more information, please check www.bfw.org or click here to view the flyer. Nicole Reinhart Memorial Fund Inc. Announces Grant Opportunity for ClubsSeptember 9, 2004 Cycling clubs that are introducing and/or nurturing riders in the sport (men, women, juniors) are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $2,000 to expand or improve their programs. For more information and an application go to www.nicolefund.org. All Cyclists, Friends, and Family Welcome at WCA’s Annual Dinner with Bob RollSeptember 30, 2004 Click here for the invitation. Please fill out and return your reservation form by October 29. The event is already half sold so don’t wait or you’ll miss out. The event is scheduled for November 6 at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Attire is “business casual” or in other words, sportswear will do (no need to wear a suit unless you feel like it). Awards might be given for:
Questions about the event or what to wear? Email avasimon@execpc.com. BOB ROLL at WCA’s annual awards dinner. Really!September 9, 2004 Save the Date! November 6, 2004…Bobke visits WCA to tell us about his life as a roadie and as a commentator for OLN. Details to follow on location so stay tuned to the website for more information. Questions? Want to reserve seats in advance? Send an email to: avasimon@execpc.com.
WCA Dinner…Bob Roll… Sprecher… and a Silent Auction!October 22, 2004 It keeps getting better! The free beer is being supplied by Sprecher (thanks to the Stone Creek Team!) and the wine is from Stone’s Throw Vineyard (thanks, Larry!) Bob Roll will be on hand and Schwartz Books is bringing copies of Bob’s latest books (Bobke and The Tour de France Companion, Victory Edition) so you can purchase a copy and have it signed too (or, bring your own copy to have Bob sign). In addition to awarding the Wisconsin State Championship winners, Every year at the dinner we give away lots of great schwag, donated by our friends at Trek, Graber, Pacific, Planet Bike and more. Thanks to Wheel & Sprocket we have some really cool items to auction this year and proceeds will benefit WCA. So bring your checkbook and don’t wait too long to sign up! Only 40 seats left and can’t sell tickets the day of the event so click here to download and print the reservation form. Tickets are $30 each, $15 for kids 16 and under.
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Last
month Sheila McGuirk (Capitol Velo) of Madison, Wisconsin rode in
the Tour of Hope, a ride sponsored by Bristol Meyers Squibb and
Lance Armstrong Foundation. Sheila is herself a cancer survivor
and was chosen from among 1200 applicants to be one of 20 participants
in the Tour of Hope. 
There
were many notable moments during the evening, starting with the
Sprecher Octoberfest beer, donated by the Stone Creek team. A certain
WCA board member had promised Bob Roll some of the “best beer
in America.” Too bad Bob didn’t get there until 5:30
as the first barrel of beer was already gone. Thanks to Larry Kilduff
(Nova/IS Corp) a second barrel of Leinie’s Red appeared and
Bob did get some of that beer. The silent auction was a new feature
of the WCA dinner and thanks to Pacific cycles and Stone’s
Throw vineyards the auction’s top items were a Sting Ray bike
and some very nice wine. Paul Kaufman (PCW) rode away with the Sting
Ray-literally, but not before Bob Roll took a seat on the bike for
a photo opportunity. Funds raised from the auction will help cover
WCA program costs. As always there was plenty of schwag door prizes,
donated by WCA’s long time friends Phil Godkin, Wheel &
Sprocket, Pacific Cycle, and Planet Bike. The famous “Schwag
Toss” was postponed this year for fear of hitting a chandelier
(of which there were many) so extra schwag will show up at the last
Cyclocross race of the year. The new venue and great speaker helped
draw riders from all over Wisconsin for the best turnout ever for
the annual dinner. Mike Hanley, our USCF representative, drove up
from Indianapolis to make the dinner. Also on hand were returning
Olympian Eric DeGolier (Nova/IS Corp), newly minted US Elite Crit
Champion Frank Pipp (Endeavour).
The
Wisconsin Cup Trophy presentation had a standout moment. When Rachel
Eichers was on the podium to accept her Wisconsin Cup Trophy, Bob
Roll himself handed her the cup and gave her the “podium kisses”
that we see so often during the grand races. Eichers took it all
in stride and enjoyed the presentation that had been sneakily pre-arranged
by her teammates. 
At
8pm Bob Roll took the podium and for the next half hour had the
crowd laughing along with his tales of life on the road as a Tour
de France commentator. Bob regaled in telling how the “Tour
DAY France” came about, his life as a Motorola rider with
Tom (aka “Plow”) Schuler, Chris Carmichael (“that
guy never trained—and now look what he’s doing!”)
and others. Roll mentioned that emails to OLN politely but firmly
requesting his return to the announcer’s booth would prevent
him from having to return to his former job as a short order cook.
So WCA riders, you know what to do. Get on OLN’s website and
do your part to preserve Bob’s position. He’d appreciate
it and no doubt riders in America who follow the “Tour day
France” will as well.
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