Pedal power for cancer awareness

After riding their bikes 1,027 miles in eight days, Keith Weitze and David Clark arrived in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 8. The motivation for their massive bike ride was to raise funds for 22-year-old Brett Fafard, diagnosed with advanced stage III testicular cancer in June.

Weitze, a student at Brigham Young University, and his friend Clark, of Weber State, rode to support Fafard, another BYU student.

Fafard is uninsured—his income is too high for Medicaid, but too low to afford private health insurance. In his case, a medical emergency is a particularly frightening experience.

Originally, Weitze and Clark had planned to ditch their car in Seattle and ride their bikes back home to Utah, but when a mutual friend, 21-year-old Laura Vincent, alerted Weitze to Fafard’s situation, they were inspired to ride for a cure.

“Keith invited me to join his awareness group and, when they announced the bike ride, I told them I had a friend who was recently diagnosed [who] could use the funds if they wanted to turn it into a charity ride,” Vincent said.
Weitze and Clark’s overall goal is to raise $10,000. The ride alone raised over $2,000.

Vincent attended BYU with both Weitze and Fafard, so Vincent’s connection to both of them was fortunate.
Following his diagnosis, Fafard was forced to quit school and his job at a plasma lab. The work became too difficult, as the cancer had spread through his liver, abdomen, chest, lungs and neck.

“Brett has had two surgeries and has undergone chemotherapy. He appears to be doing much better,” Vincent said. “His parents are doing all they can to keep him out of the financial-struggle part of it.”

Facing the prospect of nearly $100,000 in medical bills for his treatment, Fafard’s family is asking friends and family for additional donations through their Web site called “Save Brett.”

Weitze and Clark mapped their route well in advance, finished up their summer jobs in Seattle and hit the road Aug. 31.

Starting from Renton, Wash., they rode approximately 128 miles per day, stopping in small towns like La Grande, where Weitze said “some of the nicest people” live.

One gentleman they met at a restaurant was so impressed he offered the boys a place to stay for the night—a welcome luxury after sleeping in parks and church parking lots.

Pedaling on through eastern Oregon and Idaho, Weitze said, “A few times I couldn’t find a place to sleep because the towns were so small.”

Weitze found the bike he rode from Washington to Utah—a 1970s Centurion Accordo—on Craigslist. It lugged 68 pounds of gear and offered Weitze countless opportunities to change its flat tires.

Impressively, neither Weitze nor Clark are avid cyclists, and the experience of having “prehistoric” bike seats wedged between their legs for over 1,000 miles inspired no plans for future rides, but Weitze said he would do it again should the opportunity present itself.

“Cancer is a very real thing and it could happen to any of your friends or family members. The bike ride was a good way to raise funds as well as awareness of the disease,” Vincent said.

Photos, travel itinerary, stories and a donation page can be found on Keith Weitze’s Web site at www.ontheroadforacure.webs.com.