Robert Hess is looking for a few good men — 8 to be exact — who have had prostate cancer and have the strength and stamina to ride their bicycles across the US at a torrid pace.
Hess, founder of the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project, wants to draw attention to the disease that strikes one out of six men by putting a relay cycling team in the 2012 Race Across America.
RAAM, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2011, is the world's most demanding endurance bike race. It is known for those sleep-deprived solo cyclists who spin more than 3,000 miles from coast to coast in one continuous ride. Their only break is the occasional roadside nap in a support vehicle.
Teams
In recent years, RAAM has expanded to include two-, four- and eight-person teams who ride relay style. Because the others relax while one rider is out on the road, the fastest teams can finish the ride in a week. Now many of those teams use their participation in RAAM to call attention to their cause.
Hess says he plans to have a media event as the team passes through every town on the route, day or night.
Hess says that in spite of its prevalence in the male population, prostate cancer does not get the attention it deserves.
“The 29000 Men team that will ride the 2012 Race Across America will create a compelling media message that finally will bring the prostate cancer epidemic into our national consciousness.”
Prostate cancer survivors
I contacted Hess to confirm that he was shooting for the 2012 RAAM. He is, as there's a lot of preparation that goes into forming a team, finding a sponsor, and putting it on the road.
He also says that he'd like the team composed entirely of prostate cancer survivors, if he can find seven other guys to do the ride.
Screening
That would be a great message to other men who might be reluctant about undergoing screening. It would show that if you catch prostate cancer early enough, your chances of succesful treatment are high and you can continue on with a healthy life.
Doctors caught my prostate cancer when I was 57, I had minimally invasive surgery with a robotically controlled device and was back on my bicycle, gingerly, within weeks. The following year I rode 4,000 miles.
Participation
What will it take to participate? Hess says:
“To be part of this unique, first-ever, once-in-a-lifetime event, you simply need to be able to ride for at least 70 miles each day for eight consecutive days, sleep in a moving vehicle, be ready to tell your story at every media event along the 2,900 mile route, and take part in the team’s fundraising program.”
If you'd like to be a member of the 29000 Men RAAM team, or if your company might be a potential sponsor, contact Hess at Robert dot Hess @ 29000Men dot org, or leave a comment at his website.
Also see the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project, Black Tire Affairs and the 29000Men Team press release.
If you want to learn more about prostate cancer, check out the National Cancer Institute or the Prostate Cancer Center at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
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