MSU alumna Julianne Pattullo scoffs at the prospect of bicycling 3,200 miles across the country with Lance Armstrong - she's faced tougher challenges before.
This Saturday in Los Angeles, Pattullo, 34, will embark on the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope, a week-long, nationwide bicycle trek to raise awareness for cancer research. Pattullo, a cancer education advocate, watched her mother battle breast cancer for 23 years and has lost 12 members of her family to various forms of cancer.
On the long road of personal loss, one thing has remained a constant source of comfort - cycling.
"I have been cycling since I was about 11. It was right around the time my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer," Pattullo said. "So for me, it was a way to cope. It gave me hope."
Teams of five or six cyclists will complete 20 to 25 miles per stage and then will be relieved by other team members, essentially creating a nationwide relay. Pattullo said Armstrong, a five-time Tour de France champion, is expected to ride with each team on at least one stage during the week.
Since applying for the Tour of Hope team, Pattullo, a district business manager at Bristol-Myers Squibb - a clinical testing firm for pharmaceuticals, including those used to treat cancer patients - has been training for 30 hours a week on her bike.
But her cross-country ride, to which she attaches so much devotion, almost was a squandered opportunity. She heard about the ride at a work meeting and scrambled to her desk to fill out an application.
"I actually found out about the Tour of Hope the last day you could apply," she said. "I have never in my life felt like l was supposed to be a part of something like I did at that very moment.
"I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, this tour is made for me,' because I'm an avid cycler, and I've spent my whole life dedicated to the cancer community and education."
The ride will take Pattullo and the team across the United States with tour stops in Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Armstrong - a survivor of testicular cancer - will see the group off in Los Angeles and frequently ride with the team along the way, finally welcoming the riders in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18.
The Tour of Hope received more than 1,000 applications from hopeful cyclists. An eight-week training regimen conducted by Armstrong's trainer, Chris Carmichael, prepared the riders for the event.
Armstrong became involved with Bristol-Myers Squibb when the company supplied him with three drugs that helped him beat his cancer, spokesman Jeff McLaughlin said.
"He's got an enormous commitment for cancer awareness," McLaughlin said. "Ever since he's made a name for himself, winning the Tour de France, he's been very, very dedicated."
Even though Pattullo is now one of Armstrong's contemporaries, she still seemed enamored at the thought of meeting one of her heroes.
"I have prepared to ride; I have prepared to talk to the media, but I am not prepared to meet Lance Armstrong," Pattullo said.
When not on the bike, Pattullo and the team will stop in at cancer treatment centers across the nation, encouraging supporters to sign a Cancer Promise, a pledge on behalf of signers to actively seek information on cancer research and prevention.
Pattullo's greatest inspiration, her mother Betty, said she'll be along the tour route in Texas to welcome and cheer her daughter on.
"I'm thrilled for her," Betty Pattullo said. "I'm a cancer patient - that's why she's doing this. She understands what it means to have a mother with cancer for 28 years."
Patrick Walters can be reached at walter88@msu.edu.
Esther Gim can be reached at gimesthe@msu.edu.
