The Bike Whisperer

If you recall the star-studded hours spent watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon, you would've loved the program that aired on last Friday night called Stand up to Cancer. It featured an incredible array of Hollywood actors, comedians and music performers all helping to raise money for cancer research.

Luckily, we have local heroes helping to raise money for cancer as well. Jeff Lipshultz, a 1985 Stevenson high school alumnus, is riding for a cause. An avid cyclist, Jeff, and a team of eight others, are bike riding across the country for the Livestrong Foundation. Livestrong is an organization created by seven time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

This morning, Jeff started in Santa Barbara, Calif., by dipping the rear wheel of his bike into the Pacific Ocean and began his trek across the country. His goal is to travel through eleven states in 40 days, ending in Charleston, NC.  Once there, he plans to dip his front wheel into the Atlantic Ocean to finalize his journey.

Jeff rides with a personal mission in mind. In the mid seventies, his dad was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 42. He was lucky enough to beat the cancer with both radiation and chemotherapy. Sadly though, the treatments left scar tissue around his heart, which then led to two heart attacks; the last of which was fatal.

Now Jeff, who calls himself the Bike Whisperer, is 42 years old and he's raising money to fight back. If you'd like to support his ride across the country or follow his blog while he rides, please visit http://bikewhisperer.wordpress.com/.

I'm hoping many cancer survivors and loved ones left behind will hear his whispers as he whooshes by.

As always, email me with any news, topics or ideas. Remember, I'd like to be the first to know! I can be reached at laurenbgpatch@aol.com.