I first heard about Pelotonia in the fall of 2009. My wife Jess and I talked about me riding someday, but life felt too busy. We were finishing master's degrees, planning to buy a house, talking about starting a family.

A year later she was tired, in pain, not hungry. We began to visit doctors.

Jess passed away in March 2011 — 46 days after her diagnosis. She was 31.

I signed up for my first Pelotonia in 2013. I ride so that others, someday, do not need to walk the path that Jess, I, and our family and friends have had to tread.

This is my 14th year, and the list of people I carry with me on the bike has only grown. Since I started riding, my parents and a sibling have all been diagnosed with cancer — thankfully, all three are cancer-free today. Both of my grandfathers died from cancer. I've lost former teachers. Aunts and an uncle have faced diagnoses at different times. When you look around at the people in your life, cancer is everywhere.

And my why keeps evolving. I'm remarried now, and when I look at my wife Julie and her kids, I think about the future. I think about cancer risks and about wanting us to be ready to support them if they ever need it. My original reason for riding was Jess. My family today is the reason I keep riding — so that the research, the treatments, and the support systems are there for the people I love.

Every Pelotonia has been different for me. I've ridden 50-milers, single-day centuries, and 200-mile weekends. I rode through all 88 of Ohio's counties in 2020 because people from every one of them travel to The James for treatment. The past two years, I ran marathons for cancer causes alongside shorter Pelotonia rides, splitting my training and fundraising between the two.

This year, I'm bringing my full focus back to Pelotonia. No split attention. One hundred miles on Saturday.

The timing feels right. Pelotonia has raised more than $339 million for cancer research at the OSUCCC – James, with 100% of every rider-raised dollar going directly to research. Last year set a record at $29.2 million. And this year, Pelotonia launched BRIDGE — a new initiative dedicated to funding research on young adult and early onset cancers.

That one stopped me. I started riding because cancer took Jess at 31. Now, 14 years later, Pelotonia is dedicating resources specifically to understand why cancer strikes young people and how to fight it. I heard the team behind BRIDGE speak at a Pelotonia event the final week of February. After all these years, it's one of the most meaningful things I've seen this community do.

The 2026 theme is No Limits. My goal is to raise $2,500. Any amount you can give goes directly to the research that gives people more time with the people they love.

Thank you for being part of this. One Goal.