Dear Editor,
Hello Gilroy! My name is Michael Mathiasen, my family and I have been 20-year residents of Gilroy. I would like to share a summer adventure with my friends in Gilroy.
Three years ago, I rode my bicycle with three friends (The Biking Vikings) across the United States from Southern California to Georgia. That trip was to celebrate my retirement from the Santa Clara County Probation Department.
Since that time, my wife Kathleen was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was in treatment for two years and we were thrilled and relieved when the doctor announced that she had a positive response to the treatment and had a remission. That’s the good news. The bad news is you can’t beat Lymphoma. It will be back. We don’t know when or how hard hitting it will be. We want to be ready for the fight when it returns.
Everyone of us has been effected by cancer through friends, family or a personal battle. It is deadly and insidious, reaching out for us in so many forms. Money for research is one of the main sources of hope for our family and friends who have been diagnosed with cancer. It is difficult to detect and the treatment is usually a difficult and life changing experience as well. The medical research folks are making great strides in their search treatments and someday a cure, but there is still much work to do. Kathy and I hope they have discovered a successful treatment plan when her Lymphoma returns.
This summer my lifelong friend, Bill Pritchard and I are riding our bicycles across the United States again (The Biking Vikings Ride Again). This time we are riding from the furthest point west, Cape Blanco, Oregon to the furthest point east, Quaddy Head, Maine. The distance is somewhere around 4,000 miles, give or take a couple hundred miles. We would like to share our ride with a Web site. We will update the site every week or so. It will also have links to cancer information sources and links to make donations for cancer research directly to the American Cancer Society or the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
We have printed up 500 business cards with our Web site address and will pass them out as we travel slowly through rural America. Bill is a rather outgoing and gregarious guy and gives a great interview to local reporters who are curious about our activities. The last ride they found us, this time we will try to track them down as we ride through small town America.
The Web site was the creation of Abby Duerr, my 14-year-old niece. Her first attempt at being a Web Mistress. She is doing a great job. The site is a work in progress, but it will allow friends, family and interested parties to follow as two “old” out-of-shape guys ride slowly across America.
Join us for the fun and adventure at www.bikingvikingsforacure.com. The site is active and we’re on the road now. The first actual road updates will be somewhere the first part of August. Join us.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks. Peace to all.
Mike Mathiasen, Gilroy
