The Cancer Journeys Foundation Announces Details on Their 2020 Gran Fondo Prostate Cancer Awareness Event

The Cancer Journeys Foundation has just announced the details on their 2020 Alpine Loop Gran Fondo. This is a bicycling event that is now held every year by the foundation in order to bring much-needed attention to Prostate Cancer awareness and prevention. It was announced that this year’s event will be done virtually as each rider will participate in a solo manner near where they live. The overall goal of the 2020 virtual Alpine Loop Gran Fondo is for the participants collectively to ride 33,000 miles; a mile for every man who will succumb to prostate cancer in 2020. The official website for the event can be seen here at https://alpineloopgranfondo.com/2020/07/31/mygranfondo-challenge/.

This event is particularly close to the heart of Cancer Journeys Foundation CEO, Robert Hess, who says, "I am a 17-year accidental prostate cancer survivor. I'm here today because a friend convinced me to take a PSA blood test. Since my treatment in 2003, it's been my mission to share my story with as many men as possible. We created a simple online tool - ProstateTracker.org - that lets men find their prostate cancer early while it's treatable."

Hess went on to add that every year almost 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and of those, some 33,000 will lose their lives to the disease. He says that sadly Prostate Cancer deaths actually increased 7% in 2019 and due to this alarming trend, it makes it very important for men to know about their prostate cancer risk by taking the simple PSA blood test beginning at age 35. The foundation’s CEO emphasized once again that Prostrate Cancer is very treatable if it’s caught in its early stages.

The Cancer Journeys Foundation CEO said that this year’s event will be held from Tuesday, Sep 1 - Sunday, Sep 27, 2020. Hess added, "This is the 10th anniversary of the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo and I am honored to have been a partner with pro mountain bike cyclist and coach Jeremiah Bishop and his wife Erin in creating this event." He said that Bishop even hosts an Alpine Loop Gran Fondo group on Strava.com. Those who are part of Bishop’s Strava group can also take advantage of the special training program he is providing to those riders who have signed up to participate in the 2020 Alpine Loop Gran Fondo event. Information on that Strava group can be found here at https://www.strava.com/clubs/ALPINELOOPGRANFONDO.

Said Hess, "The annual Alpine Loop Gran Fondo is a very special event with many riders who have ridden and competed for our King and Queen of the Mountain jerseys - and just for the sheer fun and comradery - for nine years. We can't ride in person this year, but we will be taking photos and videos from the participants to create a collective video record. I can't wait to see the result." The event is broken down into 5 different challenge categories for riders. Hess says that was purposely done so that people of all ages and fitness levels can participate in the event. These include the 33-mile Inspired Challenge, the 62.5-mile Metric Century Challenge, the 100-mile Century Challenge, the 78-mile Adventure Challenge, and the signature 110-mile Alpine Loop Inspired Challenge. He says the entire event is propelled by the Cancer Journeys Foundation motto ‘NeverGiveUp’. The Alpine Loop Gran Fondo community is taking on this huge late-season goal to motivate and inspire while at the same time staying connected and enjoying the camaraderie of shared adventure in support of a meaningful cause. Hess stated that each 2020 Alpine Loop Gran Fondo Challenge invites a rider to share their inspiration, set a big goal for themselves, and participate in the event in a way that it makes the challenge their very own.

The Cancer Journeys Foundation CEO went on to say that additional information on the upcoming 2020 Alpine Loop Gran Fondo can also be found on the Cancer Journeys Foundation website and by referring to http://www.bikereg.com/GranFondo.