Now that he’s out of college, Michael Grant has his sights set on traveling. And he’ll get a crash course next summer — when he bikes cross-country to promote cancer education.
Grant, 22, will be among two-dozen other young adults who will spend the summer pedaling from Maryland to California, as part of the 4K for Cancer program of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. The trip, which began in 2001, enlists college-age students to help spread the word about cancer awareness and prevention, and to raise funds to combat cancer, especially in young-adult populations.
The group will be visiting with cancer patients along the journey, hosting education programs in a number of cities and will have opportunities to share their own stories of how their lives were touched by cancer.
Grant will be riding in memory of his mother, who died of cancer at age 54.
Grant, a native of New York, remembered his mom for her penchant for organizing fun family gatherings, especially for him and his two older brothers.
“She was the center of our family,” he said. “She would always throw big family parties, birthday parties that were over the top — one time they brought in a huge boa constrictor for one of the parties. She’d make our Halloween costumes every year. She’d organize the holidays. She was just a big part of our family.”
Grant was in seventh grade when his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. He came out to his family around the same time, and said that experience was overshadowed by his mom’s illness.
She fought the disease for about five years but passed away in 2009, on Grant’s first day of classes at Temple University.
“She went in and out of remission,” Grant said. “They’d do surgeries, chemotherapy and it’d disappear but then about half-a-year later she found out she had another tumor on the other side. It was a back-and-forth five-year fight.”
After two weeks with family in New York, Grant returned to Temple to begin his college education, going on to earn his bachelor’s degree in theater, with an acting concentration, this past spring.
Before turning his attention to future theater work, Grant is working in a restaurant and saving up to travel. And, now that he’s done school, he said the time felt right to pay tribute to his mom.
“She passed away right when I was going to college and it was just such a transition period for me that it was hard to grasp anything,” he said. “Now that I’m out of college and have a little more free time and am on my own, I felt like this was a great time to honor my mom and do something for her.”
A coworker participated in the 4K for Cancer last year, and Grant said he was immediately intrigued by the program’s mission.
“When she got back, I was just obsessed about it and couldn’t stop asking questions,” he said. “I did an application and a phone interview and studied up about the program and I was eventually accepted.”
Five separate 4K for Cancer teams will set off June 1 — one from Seattle to Baltimore, and four leaving from Baltimore and heading to Seattle, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco, the latter of which Grant will take part.
The riders will bike from 50-130 miles per day and will be responsible for organizing food donations for their meals and finding volunteers to provide them shelter on their stops.
Each rider has been asked to raise $4,500 for the cause, and Grant has pledged to raise $6,000.
To do so, he’s launched a blog and is spreading the word about the ride on social-media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
While Grant will personally dedicate the ride to his mother, he also plans to honor a new cancer victim or survivor each day, and document his ride, on his blog.
“I’m hoping my story, this trip and the cause will reach someone who’s also been affected by cancer and will be inspired to join the ride and donate to my cause.”
He’s also starting to gear up for the physical demands of the 70-day ride, and began cycling earlier this fall.
“It’s funny, I know how to bike ride but I don’t even own a bike,” he said. “But that’s the great thing about it; they’re open to anyone as long as they fall within the age limit and they live an active lifestyle. I’ve done a Tough Mudder, I run a lot and I love to be active. But as far as cycling is concerned, I’m fairly new to it, so my friend who introduced me to the ride in the past month or two started going on bike rides with me.”
While the ride is meant to empower the riders to have an impact on others, Grant also expects it to have a very enduring effect on his own life.
“I don’t quite know what I’m getting myself into, but I know at the end of this trip, I’m going to be a completely different person,” he said. “Aside from the physical challenge, I think it’s going to be a mental, emotional and spiritual challenge, and that’s what I’m most looking forward to. Waking up every morning and biking 50-130 miles a day over and over again and finding it in myself to keep going … I’m going to be reminding myself it’s for my mom and all the other people I’ve known affected by cancer.”
To donate to Grant’s ride, visit http://4kforcancer.org/profiles/michael-grant/. To view his blog, visit http://yomichaelgrant.wordpress.com/.
