GAMBIER — Pelotonia presented bike rides all over the state to raise money for cancer research and several legs of those rides ended at Kenyon College on Saturday. Each participant had very specific reasons for riding, some of whom had extensive biking experience and some didn’t. All of the riders - and the hundreds of volunteers - were there for one reason: To raise money for cancer research at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.
Many of the riders who went down the finishing chute in Gambier went either 55 miles or 100 miles on Saturday morning. Some of the first finishers were professional or retired pro riders and bike veterans who trained or had experience riding bikes long distances.
Many of the riders, whether they took three hours or went all day, had personal reasons to do the ride. Cancer has seemingly affected everyone in some way or anyone. Pelotonia just supplies an outlet and then raises money for The James to help everyone.
“The general reason (for the ride) is, there are amazing stories here. I’m humbled, even with my story, when I hear the tragedy that they had gone through with their family or themselves, and they recovered. I’m humbled to be part of this group,” Billman said.
Billman, like many riders, does the Pelotonia because something personal sparked it.
“A very good friend of mine, my mentor, my boss for almost 20 years, got pancreatic cancer about 11 years ago. He lasted two years, which is longer than most. He was in (101st) Airborne, he was in Vietnam, he was a strong man and I saw him as a frail body on a couch and it just hit me. I hope that doesn’t happen to anyone in my family, my friends - or anyone - and if one more ride, one more dollar, gets to that cure, that I’m gonna keep doing it. I have a feeling that I’m gonna be doing it for a while.”
Dan Lebson flew all the way from California just to participate in the event. He works in the bicycle industry and is a veteran rider himself, and rode in the event the first time - five years ago - because a parent had gotten ill.
“About five years ago, my mother got sick and she was being treated at The James. She never asked for anything during the time she was ill. Except for this one thing and said ‘hey, I’d really like you to come out (to Ohio) and ride this bike thing in Columbus’ and I said ‘sure’ I was going to ride my bike anyway. I got on a plane and got here and saw it and saw just what it was. And it just changed my perspective.”
The Pelotonia ride is not a race, but both Billman and Lebson initially approached it like it was and then figured it out.
“The first year I came out here, I did the 180 and I straight up raced it,” said Lebson said. “I was probably a top-five finisher on both days and then the second year, I just rode it and it was a completely different experience. The power of seeing the people on the side of the road with signs saying “my wife’s alive because of you” and thanking my grandchildren. It just completely changed my view of what this was. This isn’t a bike race. It’s a group of people who get together for an incredible cause. I’ll do this forever.”
Tony Fraij, of Erie, Colorado was another riding veteran who finished among the first 20 and who also traveled to Ohio just for the ride.
“This is my eighth year doing it. My father-in-law, who passed away, was diagnosed with a really rare cancer in his bile duct and because of our connections with the team we rode with, we got connected with an expert at The James and he was in the hospital in two days. Then we got maybe three more years with him than we would have. For our family, Pelotonia gave us three more years with him. My kids don’t mind driving 18 hours from Colorado to here.”
