Alpe d'Huez, the Mecca of World Cycling!!!

Today's 19th Stage of the Le Tour will be the legendary Alpe d'Huez stage. Twenty-one hair pin turns highlight the last 9 miles going up an 11% grade. It is hard to believe it has been 10 years since Lance Armstrong through down the gauntlet to rival Jan Ulrich.

In 2004, Armstrong passes Ivan "The Terrible" Basso in the time trial!!!!

Here is some video of Lance Armstrong's ride in 2001 and 2004:

Lance Armstrong Cycles into the Sunset

It was announced today by Armstrong's Foundation Livestrong that Lance Armstrong will retire from competitive cycling and focus on raising his five children and devoting his time to the foundation.

From the press release:

"Today, I am announcing my retirement from professional cycling in order to devote myself full-time to my family, to the fight against cancer and to leading the foundation I established before I won my first Tour de France. "

Back in 2005, I raised money for the fight against cancer being a colon cancer survivor.  Everything went great until that October weekend when it rained 6 inches and the bike ride was cancelled.  Click here to look at the 2005 Tour of Hope.

My hope was to meet George Hincapie that day.

This Story for Lance May Get Worse

A story is starting to brew out of the cycling world of the recent news of Floyd Landis coming clean about using performance enhancing drugs. Reports are that investigation of fraud and conspiracy against cancer survivor Lance Armstrong could now be underway with Armstrong's ex-wife Kristen cooperating with federal investigators.



Armstrong is scheduled to race in the 2010 Tour de France for Team Radioshack and is probably the world's most recognizable cancer survivor.

Livestrong Summit Delegate

Hi Readers,

I was selected as a delegate for the Livestrong Summit to be held in Columbus, Ohio July 24-27. Although it is a great honor to be selected, I do have to fund this myself. I am looking for donations to help me defray 16 hours of driving and 3 days in a hotel. I am figuring this trip will cost $500 including a $125 registration. I am including the round figure costs of hotel's listed below.

I am looking for small donations to help defray the cost. My goal is to get halfway to $500. If I could get $500 or more excess money will be split evenly between the Colon Club and the American Cancer Society.

A secure donation could be made by clicking on the button on the left under the heading of Livestrong Summit.

Sincerely,

Edward

LIVESTRONG.org
Dear Edward,

Thank you for your application to participate in the Lance Armstrong Foundation's 2008 LIVESTRONG Summit. We are pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted and we would like to invite you to join us as a LIVESTRONG Summit delegate!


The LIVESTRONG Summit will take place on July 24-27, in Columbus, OH on the OSU campus. If you plan to attend, you must confirm by registering no later than June 13, 2008. Delegates who do not register by this date will risk forfeiting their delegate spot. You may register by following these steps:
Follow this link to access the registration form (Please note: the registration fee is $125. It is non-refundable and not tax deductible):

Login using your username and password provided below. (Once you log in, you can change your password.)

Once registered, please book your travel as soon as possible!

Below you will find helpful information for booking your travel. To find more details about traveling to Columbus and the Summit weekend, log on to my.livestrong.org. Please logon often to find up-to-date information.

If you choose to not attend the LIVESTRONG Summit, simply reply to this email with 'Decline to Attend' in the subject line. In the body of the email, include your first and last name. Please send a response by June 13.

Hotels

Hotel

Contact
Price (per night)
Hyatt on Capitol Square
614-228-1234
$149

Hyatt Regency
614-463-1234
$145

The Columbus, A Renaissance Hotel
614-228-5050
$129

Hilton Garden Inn
614-263-7200
$119

Baymont Inn OSU
614-267-4646
$79

Red Roof Inn
614-267-9941
$68

When booking your accommodations, please mention you are part of the Lance Armstrong Foundation's LIVESTRONG Summit to receive the rate listed above. You will be required to pay for your first night’s stay upon making your reservation.

Air Travel

Please coordinate travel according to the following schedule:

Arrival - Thursday, July 24, 200812:00 pm – 6 pm - Registration (if you arrive after registration ends, you will be able to register Friday morning)4:30 pm – 6:00 pm –Reception
Departure - Sunday, July 27, 20081:00 pm – Summit Ends (if possible, please plan your departure after 3 pm)

If you have questions, concerns or troubles registering, please email Tara at summit@livestrong.org.

Thank you for supporting the LAF's goal to make cancer a national priority. We look forward to seeing you in Ohio at the 2008 LIVESTRONG Summit!

LIVESTRONGLance Armstrong Foundationhttp://www.livestrong.org/
© Lance Armstrong Foundation :: P.O. Box 161150 :: Austin, TX 78716-

10/2 - Eleven years for Lance Armstrong

Just on a slow Tuesday with baseball taking a break between a fantastic finish and the start of the postseason, it has been 11 years since cyclist Lance Armstrong has been diagnosed with cancer. Armstrong went on to win the Tour de France seven times in a row.

After retiring from the sport at the conclusion of the 2005, Armstrong has made cancer survivorship his number one priority through his foundation. Armstrong's foundation has raised over 181 million dollars toward survivorship and research since its inception.

This past August, Armstrong had the star power to draw the presidential candidates to debate how they would handle cancer as a national priority in the future if elected.

Read the story of Randy Pausch from Carnegie-Mellon University delivering his last lecture to 400 people taken from Lance's blog.

As a championship cyclist and the world's most recognizable cancer survivor, Armstrong's story continues to inspire all those people including myself when you hear the words, "You got cancer."

Presidential Debates and Colon Cancer in PA

With healthcare being a huge issue in the next election, the power of the Lance Armstrong Foundation was able to flex it's muscle for a debate on cancer. It also goes a long way to where most candidates may stand on the issue of general healthcare in America.

The LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum was held August 27 for Democratic presidential candidates and August 28th for Republicans, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event was moderated by Lance Armstrong and MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews.

Democratic presidential candidates Senator Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Governor Bill Richardson and Republican candidates Senator Sam Brownback and Governor Mike Huckabee all participated.

Lance Armstrong was a guest on Meet the Press and here are some of the things he is advocated from the beginning from the transcript:

- Restore funding to the NCI to 6 billion a year
- Cancer take 1500 lives, a 9/11 every other day.
- 10 million dollars a year for colon screening will save 50,000 lives annually.
- under the current administration funding for research projects has dropped from 5 out of 10 to 1 out of 10. People are leaving research.

Edwards, Clinton and Kucinich offered up comprehensive plans, while Huckabee had some great out of the box ideas. Brownback was probably the most disappointing offering a BRAC-like commission to look into the war on cancer.

This Legislative session in Pennsylvania offers up to colon cancer screening bills with SB146 and HB972. Both bills are sitting on Senator's Don White's desk waiting for the Banking and Insurance Committee votes to move to a full Senate vote. HB 972 has already passed the PA State House.

With many of Pennsylvania's Blues sponsoring sports, building medical schools, and children's hospitals to gain more customers, screening would not break the bank. The legislation will be tough to pass. PA had two houses pass smoking bills.....neither got sent to the governor.

At the top of the blog, is Erika Kratzer cover model of the 2008 Colondar. Erika, who grew up in Snyder County (PA), has been featured on the Colondar since it's debut in 2005 and is Stage 4 colon cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at age 22 and is currently a doctoral candidate in biology. You can read her inspirational story here. Currently, the Coal Region Voice and Erika's mother, Janet Bilger, head the Central Susquehanna Colon Cancer Task Force. For more information about the Colonclub, click on my link on the left under Colon Cancer Links.

This country and state need to move forward and decide to save lives for the public good. Consider the following. It now cost 3 billion dollars a week to keep troops in Iraq. The LAF is basically asking for two weeks of this funding.

LIVESTRONG DAY

Today is Livestrong Day throughout the country. If you haven't already, wear yellow. Help raise awareness in you area. Call on Congress for funding for research. Just do it!!!!!!!!! Lance won the most grueling sporting event 7X after being diagnosed. What can you do?