By Caryn Altman
Gabe Brando will appreciate cars and planes a lot more by the end of the summer.
“When you start training for a bike ride as long as the one I’m about to take part in, any second in a moving vehicle becomes a luxury,” Brando said.
Brando, who is a senior computer science major at Towson University, will be riding his bike across the country this summer, fulfilling a goal he set for himself three years ago to take part in the 4k for cancer program.
4K for cancer, which is run by the Ullman Cancer Center, is a 4,000-mile charity bike trip across the United States to raise money and awareness for cancer. The trip, which lasts 70 days, requires all riders to raise $4,500 to participate.
“I kept telling myself year after year that I was going to take a summer to bike across the country,” Brando said. “That summer I had an internship and the next summer it didn’t work out and before I knew it, I had reached the last point in my life where I would be able to take 70 days to bike across the country. That’s when I knew that it was now or never.”
Brando, who will be traveling from Baltimore to San Francisco, said his motivation stems from a lot of different things, including supporting a good cause and taking a summer adventure.
“I am really fortunate that I have never been impacted by cancer, but I know people that have and I have seen how it turned their lives upside down,” Brando said. “I have always been a very adventurous person, so I figure that it would be a great idea to embrace my adventurous side while raising money for a great cause. I want to be able to say that I was able to make the difference in the lives of others even if it was just while riding my bike.”
Brando is not the only Towson student who is involved with 4K for cancer.
Last summer, Towson senior Taylor Mulkerin embarked on the 4,000-mile journey from Baltimore to Portland, Oregon. Mulkerin originally heard about the program from a friend who had done it the previous summer.
“I have had to deal with the death of three friends before and that was extremely hard,” Mulkerin said. “When I heard about 4K for cancer I knew that it would be a great way for me to give back to a population that needed it but also to help make myself feel better about the experiences that I’ve had to deal with.”
Although Mulkerin found it to be a difficult experience, he said it was the support and positive attitude of his 30 team members that helped him make it to the end.
“I was lucky that I had a really supportive team to ride with,” Mulkerin said. “Even when things got tough, they were always there to help me every step of the way.”
Mulkerin admits that even though he would never do it again, the trip left a lasting impact on him.
“Before last summer I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” Mulkerin said. “The trip really helped define me as a person and it is turning into a career for me in a way. I have an internship next year with Johns Hopkins comprehensive cancer center and had I not done 4K for cancer, that probably never would have happened.”
Mulkerin’s positive and uplifting experience is what led his former roommate, Towson senior Will Weise, to sign up as well.
Weise’s father, who is a cancer survivor himself, was more than enough incentive for him to give back to the community that helped his own father.
“My dad is a cancer survivor and he had a brain tumor when he was younger,” Weise said. “So I figured that this would be a good way to give back. Other than Relay for Life, I never really had found a way to give back and this is the best possible thing that I can do.”
Weise will be traveling from Baltimore to Seattle and even though he admits that the thought of biking 80 miles per day is intimidating he is still excited about the process.
“I don’t really know what to expect and that’s what I like about it,” Weise said. “I really like to step out of my comfort zone so I think that’s why I am drawn to it a lot. I am drawn to things that I don’t know much about.”
As Brando and Weise continue their fundraising efforts through restaurant nights, Facebook posts and sending personalized letters to major businesses to reach their $4,500 goal, Mulkerin offered some advice for anyone who plans to do 4K for Cancer.
“For anyone that wants to do this, the best thing that I would say is to be as positive as you can,”Mulkerin said. “No one wants someone negative biking across the country. There are so many obstacles in front of you that being a difficult person and not being positive is just going to make it that much harder. You need to be willing to meet new people and step out of your comfort zone if you are going to make it through those 70 days.”