Texas 4000: Ride for a Reason

By Ava Motes in Alcalde Online on May 23, 2023 at 10:56 am | No Comments

It seemed like just yesterday that Selle James, a third-year journalism major, walked into her first Monday night meeting for Texas 4000 for Cancer, where the posted countdown to her Summer 2023 ride read over 500 days. But as Day Zero drew nearer, James says she could see the passage of time—not in the months she spent preparing for departure, but in her immense growth as a biker, leader, and cancer advocate since she became an official Texas 4000 rider in December 2021.

Texas 4000 for Cancer is a UT-based organization supporting cancer research and prevention through a 4000-mile summer bike ride from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska. As the longest charity bike ride in the world, Texas 4000 raises thousands of dollars each year, which is then distributed to cancer research initiatives and other local cancer support services. The organization’s 51 riders each raised at least $4,500 to participate in the 2023 trip, according to The Daily Texan.

This summer’s 70-day ride began with Day Zero on May 19, where families and friends joined to send off the cyclists. Half of the team is riding through the Rockies and the other half is riding through the Ozarks, camping and staying with supportive host families and Texas Exes along the way. The trip takes months of planning and training, but James says it is worth it to riders, who all hold the cause very close to their hearts.

Although James first joined Texas 4000 after losing her godmother to brain cancer, she says her ride is now also motivated by the relationships she has developed through her time in the program—both with fellow riders and complete strangers she met while training.

“I’ll be wearing a Texas 4000 sweatshirt in public and people will just stop and hand me cash. And it’s just moving to see that people are so supportive of this cause,” James says. “I definitely applied because of one person, but now I ride for so many people.”

James says Texas 4000 riders are united by both the experience of training for such a physically strenuous trip and their deep commitment to creating a cancer-free future. The Alcalde sat down with a few of the Summer 2023 riders to share the stories of why they ride and how they have grown in the program.

Daria Locha, BS ’22

Route: Rockies

Why did you join Texas 4000?

I joined Texas 4000 because it was a triple threat: a powerful mission, a way to make friends, and an incredible physical challenge. I saw it as a way to give back to the communities that raised me. Both my parents have had some form of cancer, but luckily it was caught early on and my parents happen to both be very proactive and educated. I was drawn to the knowledge pillar of Texas 4000 because of their many lessons. Through a summer camp for individuals with disabilities and many years of caregiving for disabled individuals, I was also brought up by this community. I wanted to use Texas 4000 as a way to advocate for accessible health care, specifically cancer prevention and detection, for people who are nonspeaking, neurodivergent, or may have physical or behavioral challenges that limit their access to healthcare. I leaned on our pillar of hope as a way to look to the future and hope that the people I care for will be just as protected as I am against cancer, no matter their abilities. While my own personal mission within Texas 4000 has remained the same, I don’t think I ever realized how many more reasons to ride would be added to my heart. The importance of what we are doing has grown heavier and I think this close to the ride it is proving to be the perfect catapult for a summer of fighting cancer.

How do you feel you have grown in this organization?

I think Texas 4000 has allowed me to believe in myself. I used to walk around almost waiting to mess up and belittling my accomplishments without rhyme or reason. Going through the Texas 4000 program allowed me to see myself as the leader, the friend, and the cyclist I’ve become. It’s provided an assurance that just like I can make it up a ridiculously steep and long hill in front of me, I can navigate whatever challenges lie ahead of me in the future.

What is on your mind before departure?

As much as I am trying to focus on saying bye to friends and family and packing, it’s hard not to think about the people I am not getting the chance to say bye to and the experiences I am missing out on this summer. I’ve definitely had a bittersweet taste lingering the last few weeks as the days go by. I’ve been thinking a lot about the cities we are visiting, which for the Rockies route includes Denver, Glacier, Yellowstone, and Banff just to name a few. I’m thinking a lot about the hosts I’ve spoken over the phone with for the last few months and I finally get to see them in person. I keep trying to think what Day Zero and Day 70 will be like; to finally embark and finish a goal that was a year-and-a-half in the making. I am mostly just excited and satisfied with the proposition that, even with all the uncertainties, I get to bike alongside 45 of my best friends! And that we will get to experience the reciprocity of hope and knowledge between ourselves and the people we meet this summer.

Elice Shin, BS ’23

Route: Ozarks

Why did you first join Texas 4000?

Texas 4000 was always in the back of my head when I applied to UT, but I could never muster up the courage to actually apply. During the middle of the pandemic, however, cancer began to make its way into my community. Multiple mothers in my community—friends, relatives, and my own mother—were impacted in some way. I joined Texas 4000 because I wanted to channel all the anger, frustration, and burden that the disease brought into something that no amount of journaling and conversing could do. Now, as I’m days away from the ride, I realize that me being here is so much more than an outlet for those feelings. It’s about developing as a human with empathy, patience, and compassion, as well as developing as a leader – by increasing confidence, integrity, and resiliency. It’s about joining a community that extends beyond time and place, and contributing all that you have physically, mentally, and emotionally to bring hope, knowledge, and charity to those in need of it. And most importantly, it means so much more because of the people I’ve met. I not only ride for my mom & the mothers in my community, but for the fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends, and all those I’ve had the privilege of hearing about or getting to know. That is a testament to the growth and impact this organization has on an individual.

How do you feel you have grown in this organization?

I’ve really developed both personally and professionally. Before this organization, I grew up in a predominantly Korean/Asian community, and hadn’t interacted with many different cultures, religions, and beliefs. Through Texas 4000, I’ve learned to collapse those walls and [connect with] individuals of all backgrounds through a unifying cause. It’s shaped me immensely and has caused me to check my own biases and presumptions about people, and really grow in my capacity to learn from, hear from, and love all people. Additionally, Texas 4000 has helped instill confidence in me to meet new people, share about a cause, and build relationships. Prior to this organization, I would hate being approached or approaching others in a public sphere, but now, I have the confidence and desire to do so about causes I am passionate about.

What is on your mind before departure?

A lot of things are going through my head: What will happen during the ride? I hope I don’t get injured. What will life look like for me after the ride? Am I really going to make it to Alaska? A lot of anxieties, doubts, and insecurities exist given the nature of what we’re doing. But above it all, there’s an excitement and anticipation of beginning something so transformative. I can’t wait to meet all the hosts I’ve had the privilege and opportunity of securing for our team. I’m excited to meet the very people my teammates ride and joined Texas 4000 for in different cities. And lastly, all I can think about is my team and how far we’ve come. Words can’t express how thrilled I am to be doing this alongside 45 others I’ve gotten to know so deeply, be moved and shaped by immensely, and loved by and on so endearingly. I wouldn’t want to champion this cause with anyone else, and I’m excited for the people we get to meet because I get to do it with my team, and in many ways, second family.

Chinmay Pingale, BA ’23 

Route: Rockies  

Why did you first join Texas 4000? 

I had friends who’ve done the program. They spoke very highly of it and convinced me to join. A bike ride to Alaska isn’t easy, but there is a possibility that I can provide cancer patients and people who are adjacent to the disease with true hope that other people are fighting for them. That goes beyond just monetary donations, in my opinion.  

How do you feel you have grown in this organization? 

As far as how I’ve grown, there’s been a lot of growth when you have 50 people doing something that’s so close and tight-knit arguments and disagreements naturally occur. But I’ve seen myself and the entire organization grow in the sense that we can work through it. And we all have an understanding that other people are working for each other’s best intentions. Being out on the road, we’re in groups of three to six [and] it’s a very challenging thing to do. There are a lot of dangers, but trusting each other to make the right calls and be attentive is a huge way we have grown, but also, we’ve bonded through that. 

What is on your mind before departure? 

Safety is something that becomes scarier and scarier as you get closer because you realize it’s actually happening. So obviously, that but then also I’m excited to spend a night in Yellowstone National Park and take a walk and see whatever beautiful thing nature has to offer me that day. I’m sad, obviously, that I’m leaving my family but it is a lot of emotions and I don’t think there’s one that could summarize it. I think that’s what everyone’s going through.    

Olivia Flaming, Third-Year Finance Major

Route: Ozarks

Why did you first join Texas 4000?

I first heard about it through a 2022 rider who was training when I met her. I grew up riding bikes with my dad, not necessarily cycling, but going on bike rides. And my little sister Tatum had cancer from ages three to six, when we were young. She’s in remission now and turning 2017 on the 18th of May [the day before Day Zero]. And so it’s a perfect combination of those two passions. It felt almost like it was meant for me. When you join, you’re in this huge group of people, you go to Monday night meetings, you don’t know everyone, and then slowly you start to train together, and you’re volunteering together. And so now it’s become just as much of a social organization as it is a philanthropic organization. You find family there and I’ve become really close with my teammates. We’re a smaller team, so we all know each other pretty well. We know each other’s stories and know why each person rides for their individual reasons as much as we know our own.

How do you feel you have grown in this organization?

I was a little bit lost freshman year, as many people are, but have just grown to feel so at home in the T4K space more than anything. I joined leadership roles, and I was a recruitment chair. And then I’m a program chair now. And so, learning to lead teammates that are my age was not exactly a challenge, but it was just something to learn about. And then pushing my own self. I hadn’t done intense sports in high school, middle school, everything and so learning to just get up big giant hills and finish 100-mile bike rides and make myself not give up—that has been a huge growing process

What is on your mind before departure?

[It’s] just insane. You’re in the program for so long that you think and talk about it for forever. And then now it’s time to actually do it. I’m so excited to just meet people, hear their stories, and make them not strangers anymore. I’m excited about getting to know my teammates better of course. We know each other well, but there’s nothing like being together for 70 days in a row. I’m definitely going to miss just the ease of past summers. Whether it’s a rest day or a bike day, it’s a challenge no matter what. And so, I think feeling like I’m on all summer will be an adjustment, but there’s nothing I’d rather do, and I’m so honored to be a part of it.

These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.