James Dean and Celine Gannon went to Jasper last week, taking in the beautiful scenery of the mountains, getting some fresh air, and enjoying a relaxing vacation.
And then they spent a day on a 100-kilometre bike ride with world-renowned seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, as they all took part in a charity tour through the Rockies. Before they could strap on their helmets, however, they each had to raise $25,000 to benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation through the bicycle legend’s charity event called LinkPink.
Dean and Gannon are avid athletes themselves, having participated in the 100-km Tour de l’Alberta earlier this summer. They learned of the adventure only a few months ago but somehow managed to muster the financial resources of enough friends to fulfil their obligation. It was, as Dean explained, an opportunity that they couldn’t refuse.
“I saw an advertisement that Lance was coming to town to do a luncheon. I knew that associated with those typically he had done a ride. I just did some digging on the Internet.”
The marketing company gave him the details about the foundation and that’s when he and Gannon had to make a big decision to ride with Armstrong.
“My wife and I are both huge fans and I told her I think it would be really cool for one of us to do this. She said, ‘Well, both of us can’t just watch the other person do it.’
“We both basically decided on a whim. Within half an hour we called my parents to see if they would watch the kids.”
Dean dedicated his ride to his grandmother who succumbed to breast cancer. He said he’s read Armstrong’s book and wasn’t sure what to expect of the man in person.
“I was totally surprised to find a fairly easy-going guy, willing to talk about pretty much anything. I asked him about cycling and how he changed his technique over the years. I’m a triathlete myself so I asked him if he was going to sign up for the Hawaii Ironman. He said he was gonna do it next year.”
“The ride was beautiful going through Jasper National Park. What better place to do it, I thought,” he said. “We had a fantastic time. It was a great experience to ride right beside Lance and even cooler to draft off of him for some of the ride. It was a very memorable experience, one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
The next event to support the foundation is the CIBC Run for the Cure taking place in Edmonton on Oct. 3. It is billed as the country’s largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, education and awareness programs. Visit www.cbcf.org for more information.
