Team Hoss

I spent this past weekend in the beautiful town of Woodstock, Vermont cycling in The Prouty with some really amazing people. The Prouty is an event that raises money for cancer research at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, NH. It was the 30th year of The Prouty, and over 2.2 million dollars were raised. I was lucky enough to be a part of Team Hoss, a team of 123 members who rode in honor of Dale "Hoss" Lewis, an incredible man who lost his battle against cancer in 2005. I rode with Hoss' family and friends, and as a team we raised over $41,000 dollars in the fight against cancer.

I rode with Hoss' nephew, Kellan, his family and his girlfriend Courtney (my bestie), along with Doug, for 35 miles through the New Hampshire/Vermont countryside. I had never ridden that long, nor used a road bike before, so needless to say it wasn't easy. But, it was absolutely so much fun.

Bright and early pre-race smiles

10 miles in, still smiling (definitely had something to do with those awesome pb sandwiches)

The race was full of inspiring individuals and lots of encouragement, bananas, and laughs. Post-race was spent at the Lewis' beautiful home, enjoying good company, Long Trail beers, and copious amounts of delicious food (I could eat that trifle for daysss). Croquet was played (I still don't understand poison ball), we were serenaded by guitar, and the evening ended around a campfire under a blanket of stars. It was a treat to be part of such a special day with a wonderfully close family that just radiated love. Thank you Lewis family!

P.S. I loved seeing all the cyclists with "Survivor" badges along the ride. There were tons of them, and it was so AWESOME. It shows how far we've come today in cancer research developments, and it was a good reminder that what I'm doing as a cancer research assistant (no matter how small) truly matters.

xo
K