The very hill that riders of the CT Challenge are going to pass over this year, may have in fact saved my life on a ride two years ago.

It was after a bike ride with my wife and children in Greenfield Hill that I noticed I was unusually winded and unable to keep up with my family. This was the impetus that prompted me to get a physical, the very one that diagnosed me ultimately with colon cancer. At the time I was 38, had two children ages 2 and 4 and a beautiful wife. I was busy building my career, my family and my life. I didn’t have time to feel tired or sick, but who wasn’t tired with all of those responsibilities. It wasn’t until I couldn’t physically pedal up Bronson Road that I decided to investigate.

Since that ride it has been a long road for me; a diagnosis of colon cancer, surgery, a week in a coma, 6 months of chemotherapy. Since ending my treatment it has been a year and currently I am without any trace of cancer.

This year I will ride in the CT Challenge because I can!  I will ride to raise money for a very noble cause, The Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center, I will ride for my mother, a cancer survivor.  I will ride for my friends that have been diagnosed with cancer.  I will ride for the support of all of my friends and family who helped me in my battle and for everyone who has been touched by this horrible disease.  I will ride to create awareness and to create solidarity for the cancer survivor community.  Cancer, for the first time ever, has declined for the second year in a row.  I will ride to keep that statistic going!

But mostly I will ride for the future.  I will ride for the promise of better cures, better treatment, better awareness and for someday I hope, a cure.

This year when I ride up the hill on Bronson Road as the captain of Team Noble Cause, along with the hundreds of riders in the CT Challenge, I will remember my ride two years ago.  This time I will know that the road AND the ride are going to make a difference!

Tags: cancer survivor, charity bike ride, colon cancer survivor, connecticut challenge, ct challenge, ct challenge bike ride, ct challenge survivorship clinic, diana cutler, peter cutler, yale cancer center