About 4K for Cancer
The 4K for Cancer website is www.4kforcancer.org. Information about each rider, and blogs that are updated daily, can be found at the "follow us" link. To read about one biker’s day in Great Bend, go to "follow us" and the "Baltimore to Francisco" link. Donations in the name of each biker can be made online at the website, or mailed to 4K for Cancer, P.O. Box 4730, Baltimore, MD 21211. Donors are asked to include their e-mail address and the name of the rider to whom they are making the donation.
As the temperature shot up to 100 degrees Saturday, a group bicycling from Baltimore, Md., to San Franciso, Calif., pedaled toward Great Bend. Their first stop was the First Presbyterian Church, where they planned to spend the night. But they couldn’t resist an offer to cool off at the Wetlands Aquatic Center.
"It’s fun trying to swim," said Zach Turner, a University of Florida graduate student who has raised $4,500 in pledges for cancer support on this trip. "The arms worked OK, but the legs — not that much."
Turner’s group of 27 cyclists is riding for 4K for Cancer, which describes itself as a non-profit organization dedicated to uniting communities across the country in the fight against cancer. About halfway to their goal, the bikers said finding a water park in Great Bend, Kan., was a pleasant surprise.
Participants are all people whose lives have somehow been touched by cancer, including some who are battling cancer themselves. Turner was 13 when his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She was given only three months to live, but survived for three years before passing away in 2003.
"Her will-power inspired me to join the 4K in 2009," Turner said. This year his journey is dedicated to his grandmother and to other team members he has ridden with.
Riding up to 100 miles a day, the bikers plan to arrive at their destination on Aug. 6, having started in on May 29. Two other 4K for Cancer groups started the same day in Baltimore, with destinations of Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore.
"This journey not only supports individuals on a cancer journey," sponsors said, "but it also reinforces the spirit and generosity of our American people." Turner agrees, and said the smaller cities such as Great Bend have been the most generous.
In Great Bend, bikers were hosted by First Presbyterian Church, treated to a chicken fried steak dinner at Montana Mikes, and had breakfast early Sunday at the Assembly of God church. They also got to use the showers at Club One, and were admitted to the Wetlands Aquatic Center at no charge. Other support came from Long John Silvers and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Great Bend Recreation Commission, Howard and Phyllis Bosley, Grace Community Church and Lynn Hogg with the local Relay for Life.
"They were a good bunch of (college age) kids," said the Rev. Scott Solether at First Presbyterian Church, where bikers bedded down Saturday night. "We enjoyed visiting with them."
Riders traveled to Great Bend from Salina and proceeded to Hays on Sunday. They rested for a day, and by Monday afternoon one team member blogged, "We’re not in Kansas any more."
