This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Two UMBC Students Biked Four Thousand Miles Over the Summer to Fight Cancer

Two UMBC students biked from Baltimore to San Francisco this summer with 4k For Cancer.

Now that summer is coming to an end, most of us are reminiscing about lazy afternoons at the pool or our favorite vacation spot. But students Omar Bukhari and Adam Gerber are reflecting on their amazing 70-day journey, biking 4,000 miles from Baltimore to San Francisco to help support the fight against cancer with an organization called 4k for Cancer

Bukhari and Gerber, along with 26 fellow riders, traveled across America raising money for cancer research. Together, Bukhari and Gerber raised almost $10,000 and exceeded their of $4,000 each. Sponsors helped fund different aspects of the ride like donating meals and in, some cases, hotel rooms.

As the bikers trekked down highways and roads, curious onlookers even gave a few dollars here and there as they learned about the group's cause. "Sometimes they would pull over to ask us what we were doing and then hand us a $50 bill," Gerber said.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The riders not only raised a great amount of funds for cancer research, they also gained life-changing experiences like biking up Trail Ridge Road in Colorado.

“It was insane that we had biked up this huge mountain after seeing it from 7,000 ft below as a speck in the distance,” Bukhari said.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But the ride was not always easy and they encountered terrains and temperatures of every kind. They even hit a patch of painful hail while riding through the Rocky Mountains.

The daily journey was about 100 miles a day, requiring the riders to adopt a high caloric and high protein diet. This was not easy for Bukhari, who said he had a hard time getting used to eating such large quantities.

“One time we had a donation of McDonald's, and I ate at least two Big Macs in around 10 minutes,” said Bukhari. Every 20 miles, the riders stopped for water and snack break and always ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a staple in their diets over the 70-day journey. 

Three different rides took place this summer, all leaving from Baltimore, to San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Each of the teams had riders of all ages and backgrounds including other students. Two of the riders on the Baltimore to San Francisco team were lymphoma survivors.

"They inspired me and pushed me to keep going," Gerber said. 

Both Bukhari and Gerber still plan to attend medical school upon graduating from in 2013.

“Part of life is growing as a person and this experience helped me do that,” Gerber said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?