Miles to Maine

Every mile is a message.

This September, I’ll be riding with a team of other cyclists from Greenville, South Carolina to Lewiston, Maine for seven consecutive days (my current record is two days in a row, so this already sounds like a great idea).  We’ll cover over 1100 miles, including lots of hills, climbs, and leg cramps.  

As a ER nurse, it's not uncommon to care for  cancer patients at every stage of their journey.  I can start IVs, give medication, and ask the doctor to update the families.  However, no amount of medical experience can prepare you for what it’s like when cancer becomes personal. My father was diagnosed in 2004, and for nearly twenty years, he faced every stage—from remission to recurrence to hospice care—before he passed at home Christmas 2023. In the last 3 years of his life, my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer and endured surgery and a difficult ICU stay to remove the tumor. 

This disease hasn’t stopped with my parents. Friends, coworkers, and loved ones have faced their own diagnoses and heartbreaking losses. Some survived but at great cost—surgery, infertility, or the constant fear of recurrence. Cancer knows no boundaries, and its reach is devastating.

After my mom’s diagnosis, her oncologist recommended that my siblings and I undergo genetic testing to determine if we carried any inherited cancer genes. Through that process, I learned that I carry one of the breast cancer genes. Since turning 35, I’ve undergone a mammogram or MRI every six months, monitoring for any nodules, changes, or other warning signs.  

That’s why I chose to do the C3 Ride to Maine. I ride for the parent I have left, the parent I lost, for my friends, for my family, and for myself. I ride to fuel the research that gives families more time, better treatments, and a chance at a cure. 

I know the ride to Maine won't be easy-physically or mentally- seven days of climbing hills, cold mornings, and tired legs, but it's nothing compared to those who've been diagnosed with cancer and what they go through.

Cancer research saves lives—but more than that, this ride shows those impacted by cancer, enduring the weight of treatments, chemotherapy, doctor’s visits, and hospital stays, that they are not alone and that they are not forgotten.

Thank you for supporting my ride and believing in the power of hope, science, and community.