INSPIRATION
"I want to die at a hundred years old after screaming
down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 75 miles per hour. I don't do anything
slow, not even breathe. I do everything at a fast cadence: eat fast, sleep
fast."
At twenty four, Lance Armstrong was already well on his way to becoming a sporting legend. Then, in October 1996, he was diagnosed with stage four testicular cancer. When lesions appeared on his brain and in his lungs, doctors gave him a 40 percent chance of survival. On that day Armstrong's life changed forever and in typical fashion he met the challenge head on - this was one fight he was determined not to lose. As he battled against the cancer invading his body and the chemotherapy that threatened to sap his soul, a tremendous sense of commitment emerged, to his training and to the people around him who never gave up on him. Just sixteen months after he was discharged from hospital, Armstrong entered the Tour de France, a race famed for its gruelling intensity, and won, in the fastest ever time. Just a few months after that, he became a father.
Lance has since gone on to win the Tour de France a further six times
in a row - a record. He has also founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation
which funds research into cancer and helps support those who have encountered
the disease. His LiveStrong bracelets alone have raised more than $50
million dollars.
In my eyes, Lance is a man without equal. A truly gifted athlete, his
awe-inspiring tale of immense courage and will have been great motivation
for me and countless others. His example, his drive, his determination,
his desire, is what pushes me on.
Lance, from the bottom of my heart - thankyou. I owe you so much!
Read his story in the hugely inspiring It’s
Not About the Bike and find more information at www.lancearmstrong.com,
www.laf.org and www.thepaceline.com.
[Be Inspired - See Lance Ride]
5th September, 2006
The funds are slowly coming in and the balance is creeping up. Still a long way to go to reach the £10,000 target. Please encourage all of your friends, family, neighbours and their friends to support a very worthwhile cause. Don't all the peiple of South Wales deserve the cutting edge technology a 3D scanner would give?