Cancer affects so many people and has completely changed my life. Last October, after a hard fought 3 year battle, we lost my Mom to Colon Cancer. While watching/supporting my mother through this battle I saw how much support, strength, optimism, and luck one needs while battling this dieses. This experience has shaped me into who I am today. Through time, I have to continue to move forward with my life not dwelling in the past as it cannot be changed. As an avenue to cope with the loss, I continue to look to exercise and sports. I was always encouraged to try new things while growing up in Northern Michigan. This led me to alpine skiing, Mountain Biking, Cycling and my new awesome idea! My idea is to take my passion for cycling and use it as an avenue to raise money for cancer patients in West Michigan. Exercise is a very important part of a cancer patient’s path to recovery both during and after Chemo treatments. Lacks Cancer Center has an exercise program called Cancer Well-fit, which encourages patients to take an active role in their recovery. The program however does have an out-of-pocket expense for patients to join. This is where R4AC (Race for a Cure) Cycling Project comes in. The Cycling team will be active in fundraising by selecting three main endurance events(to be determined). We will be looking to raise at least $100 for each event that will be used to help support cancer patients in Grand Rapids. Another fundraising event the team will do is the “Race for a Reason” campaign. With this campaign we are looking for $50 donations from individuals to have loved ones initials placed on our jerseys for the year. We are already having a lot of interest with this idea. 100% of the money raised by this campaign will go to paying for Cancer Well-fit memberships for patients at Lacks Cancer Center. The Team will also plan other various fundraising activities through-out the year to provide additional funds for this cause. We are comprised of four members with a variety cycling abilities from Cat 3 and 4 for road, expert/sport for Mountain Biking. Along with fundraising our plan is to also promote cycling in West Michigan which has continued to grow over the past 10 years. Grand Rapids and the surrounding area offers close to 30 events, a majority of which R4AC plans to attend. Thank you for your time and together we can support individuals with cancer as well as grow cycling in West Michigan.