| 7/24/2007 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| CROSS-COUNTRY JOURNEY: Adam Rady, 22, of Seville, Ohio, rides his bike on Hanover-Saluda Road on Monday. Rady is traveling across the country from Noank, Conn., to San Francisco, Calif., as a fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which helps those affected by cancer. (Staff photos by Ken Ritchie) |
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Pedaling a Message
Cyclist raising cancer awareness
Emily Taylor
Courier Staff Writer
Cars, trucks and even a trailer hauling hay sped past Adam Rady as he rode his bicycle up and down the rolling hills of Hanover-Saluda Road on Monday afternoon, reminding him of the dangers he faces every day.
Rady, a native of Seville, Ohio, is riding his bike across the country to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, an organization that provides support to cancer patients. Rady is calling his journey Coast to Coast for a Cure.
His trip began in Noank, Conn., on June 21. He logs about 60 miles a day and will travel about 3,500 miles before reaching his final destination of San Francisco, Calif.
The idea for riding across the country came after Rady's aunt lost her battle with cancer.
"As a family member you just feel helpless," he said. "This is my way of doing something about that."
Rady knew he wanted to raise money, but he wasn't sure how to do it. He decided that riding his bicycle across the country would be something different enough to draw attention to a disease that has affected his family so profoundly. He chose the Lance Armstrong Foundation because it assists cancer patients and their families.
"It helps everyone that's affected, and that's what drew me," he said.
He was originally going to make the trip with a friend, but that plan fell through at the last minute when the friend decided not to make the trip. Rady felt he had made a commitment that he was going to honor - even if that meant going alone.
"There was no doubt in my mind I was going to do it," he said.
Instead of the 22-year-old riding across the country alone, his father volunteered to go with him.
Al Rady has been driving a minivan along his son's route, something he says is pretty nerve-racking. Adam is the youngest of seven children.
"It's extremely stressful for me," Al Rady said, quickly noting that he supports his son's endeavors even when they're potentially dangerous. "He's a great kid and is really committed to this."
Adam Rady and his dad talk to people in the cities and towns they pass through, often staying in the houses of strangers kind enough to take them in.
But the trip is not without its difficulties.
Rady has to take a day off from bicycling about once a week due to tendinitis in his knees. Yet he keeps pedaling, gaining only a little sympathy from his father.
"Lots of people are in worse shape than he is," Al Rady said.
The bicycle has already been through six spokes and one change of tires.
"We're quickly becoming more educated mechanics," Adam Rady said.
Rady's route has taken him everywhere from rural areas like Hanover to cities like Youngstown, Ohio. Cities are a challenge and he tries to avoid them as much as possible.
"I'm a person that likes to be in relative nowhere," he said, gesturing to the hills around him.
The Radys have set up a Web site for people to track their journey at www.c2c4acure.com. Donations can be sent to "Coast to Coast for a Cure," 3555 Good Road, Seville, Ohio, 44281. All donations will be sent to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
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