Stand Up To Cancer

The mood at the Rose Bowl was upbeat and spirits were high as we set up our Stand Up To Cancer booth at the Amgen Bike Tour of California. Ginnifer Goodwin, Greg Grunberg, Luke Wilson and SU2C cofounder Laura Ziskin were on hand to help raise awareness for SU2C.

A wide variety of people passed by the SU2C tent. There were amateur bikers, regaled in full spandex and cleats, wheeling all kinds of bikes alongside them: mountain and road bikes, two-seaters, unicycles, and dog carriers. There were couples young and old, families, gray-bearded cyclists and kids with their first training-wheels-free bikes. Lance's fans were out in droves, many wearing their Livestrong bracelets. We were inspired by the many, many visitors whose lives had been touched by cancer - some of whom were even survivors.

We had our SU2C buttons in a glass bowl on the table, and people grabbed them as they went by. Many of them also took one or two of our cards, which had promotional codes on the back allowing the person to launch a star in our constellation for free. A few people even registered on standup2cancer.org right there on the spot.

Just before the finishers began their final laps, Ginnifer, Greg, Luke and Laura spoke about why supporting cancer research was important to them. Ginnifer spoke passionately about her mom, a cancer survivor, and about the importance of supporting friends and family who've been affected by the disease.

As the racers came into the area to make their final laps around the Rose Bowl, we joined the crowds of people heading over to see the action. We stood on our tiptoes and held our cameras high over our heads to try to capture the cyclists as they sped through the finish line each lap. They were going at breathtaking speed - I heard someone say it was near 50 mph. Everybody cheered loudly when the Peleton came by with their entourage of motorcycles and support vehicles.

After the final lap, the winner was announced over the PA to much cheering and applause. The crowd began filtering back to the festival grounds, and we hustled back to our tent to hand out more fistfuls of buttons. The sky was clouding over as it neared 4:30 p.m., and many of the cyclists began to disperse to avoid the possibility of a rainy ride home. We packed up the laptops, rolled up the Stand Up To Cancer banner, and called it a day.

--Lys