By SALVATORE DEROSE JR
Published: August 7, 2009
On August 23rd, one of Trigon's employees, Andrew Neumann, will be participating in the Livestrong Challenge along side of his wife and 5,000 other cyclists. They will be trekking 100 miles through the Philadelphia area in order to raise money for the Lance Armstrong foundation. The participants, which come in all shapes and sizes and from all different backgrounds, have a common goal - they will be pushing themselves in order to show support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and its mission to fight cancer. Lance Armstrong is a professional cyclist who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. Since 1997, when Lance began his foundation, over $250 million dollars have been raised to help fight cancer.
Here is a little bit of what Andrew had to say about his riding career and his reasons for taking part in the Challenge:
"I can't honestly remember when I started cycling as a youngster. About the only thing that I do remember about bike riding when I was younger was my older brother flying down our street thinking that he knew what he was doing, but not being able to find the brakes in time and crashing full on into my neighbors mailbox! Riding is just something that I have always done and will always do until the day I die. There is a feeling of freedom that I have always associated with riding my bike and I think, to this day, this is the main reason why I am still riding. I do not have the winning heart of a champion. If push came to shove in a race situation, I would err on the side of caution rather than push a bad position just so that I would live another day to ride my bike and not be spending months in traction recovering for a moments indiscretion. Occasionally, I still throw my hat in the mix with a training race now and again but as I am getting older, I am finding that my enjoyment in the sport of cycling lies solely in my love for just riding.
I met my wife about 8 years ago through a mutual friend on the racing scene. In my wildest dreams I would have never thought that I could find someone as equally enthralled with riding their bike as I. Love at first sight would be an understatement! Jill (my wife), decided to do the Livestrong Challenge last year, on her own for no other reason than she wanted to make a difference. She easily completed the 100 mile course and said that she was most overwhelmed with the feelings and signs of support she witnessed as she road along the route. I am riding alongside her this year because it is an opportunity for us to spend some quality time together (as sick as that sounds) and, at the same time, contribute a small amount of time and effort for a greater good, this provides a great amount of satisfaction to me.
In the simplest words, I live to ride my bike and am thankful that I am able to realize this joy each day I go out."
To help support Andrew and to fight cancer, visit his site below and make a donation:
http://philly09.livestrong.org/andyspage
The Livestrong Challenge is the LAF's signature event, and is a part of Lance Armstrong's efforts to raise money that will not only help find a cure for cancer, but also help survivors get back on their feet and live their lives to the fullest. This year the Livestrong Challenge will visit Seattle, WA, San Jose, CA, Philadelphia, PA, and end in Austin, TX. This will also be the fourth consecutive year that the event is being held in Philadelphia. Due to Lance's return to professional cycling, he will not be participating in the Seattle, San Jose, and Philadelphia events. However, he is scheduled to be at the two day Austin, TX event in October.
In addition to the 100 mile ride, there will also be 10, 20, 45, and 70 mile rides as well as a 5K walk/run taking place on the 23rd. All events will begin at 7:30 am and there is a post-event party scheduled to start at 9:00 am and go until 5:00 pm. For more information on the events, please visit:
http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/site/c.frKPI1PAIoE/b.3935395/
To read more from Andrew, check out his blog:
http://www.trigonit.com/blog/bid/24417/Racing-for-Life-Think-about-it