One of my fascinations with this event is the personalization of this somewhat abstract cause. "Fighting cancer" is hard for me to grasp at times. How many different forms of cancer are there? How does a $25.oo or $50.00 or $250.oo donation contribute to this battle? What can we really do to make a difference?
And then I see all these shirts... 
and people with ribbons and photos and signs and messages. And all of them, ALL of them are just doing what they can - banding together, eating together, riding together... its really difficult for me to describe what I feel when I'm in this event: watching survivors pedaling along (one rider with one leg blew by me at 21 mph!), being helped by twelve year olds at rest stops, overhearing conversations about sisters lost (one was lost just 4 months ago), being pulled aside by families for heartfelt thank yous (one such family spoke to me at the lunch stop and introduced me to their son, survivor of brain cancer for 7 years so far!). I feel so inadequate and powerful at the same time...
and people with ribbons and photos and signs and messages. And all of them, ALL of them are just doing what they can - banding together, eating together, riding together... its really difficult for me to describe what I feel when I'm in this event: watching survivors pedaling along (one rider with one leg blew by me at 21 mph!), being helped by twelve year olds at rest stops, overhearing conversations about sisters lost (one was lost just 4 months ago), being pulled aside by families for heartfelt thank yous (one such family spoke to me at the lunch stop and introduced me to their son, survivor of brain cancer for 7 years so far!). I feel so inadequate and powerful at the same time...One more blog to finish it all up...
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