Cancer survivor bikes across country
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

PHOTO/SUBMITTED Howard Davidson dips his back tire into the Pacific Ocean before starting his ride across the country.

Hudson - Cancer survivor Howard Davidson of Hudson returned July 24 after a 4,000-mile bike ride across the United States, just in time to join the "Pan-Mass Challenge" (PMC) bike ride.

According to Davidson, approximately 1,000 people a year bike across the country and that it was a goal he set for himself several years ago. After dipping his back tire into the Pacific Ocean, he and other 25 riders set off for a 52-day bike ride from San Francisco to Portsmouth, N.H.

They were lucky to have only five days of bad weather along the trip, he said.

"One hundred and ten degrees and 10 percent humidity were not bad," Davidson said.

In their wake, he said, they left brush fires in California, floods in Colorado, rainstorms in Texas and wind storms in Kansas. Fortunately, they did not encounter any tornadoes that might have forced them into storm drains along the miles of desolate roads.

The Monarch Path that took bikers through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado was the most challenging stretch of bike riding that Davidson encountered, he said.

"I'll stop and rest, but I will not walk," Davidson said.

The climb began at 8,000 feet and proceeded at a 7 percent grade for nine miles. It was hard to breathe, he said, because the air was thin at that altitude and the roads were covered with ice.

"The views were amazing," Davidson said. "Here we were in the middle of June with snow-capped mountains. It was unbelievable."

The bikers averaged 80 to 100 miles a day, although road construction or a wrong turn could result in a 10-mile detour. Davidson admitted that he did not use a gel seat.

"There were days that my butt hurt," he said.

Two support vehicles followed the riders to lend aid when needed.

Davidson was not impressed with the Kansas stockyards.

"Imagine cows as far as you can see being fattened up for slaughter," Davidson said. "What an awful stench it was."

Davidson enjoyed the trip, but also appreciated its end.

"I enjoyed coming back into New England," he said. "It felt like home."

Davidson, a nine-time PMC participant, admitted that this year's ride, a two-day 192-mile across Massachusetts was an absolute breeze.

On both of Davidson's recent rides, he carried a list of 100 names of friends and family members who have been afflicted by cancer. This year he hopes his rides will raise $17,000 to donate to the Jimmy Fund at Dana Farber Hospital in Boston.

Davidson first got into biking to get back in shape after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 12 years ago. After having five small-cell tumors removed and radiation, he was once again hit with cancer - this time a large-cell tumor in his stomach. He was treated with chemotherapy and surgery to remove it.

Davidson has been cancerfree for three years and is optimistic about the future. He is looking forward to planning a bike ride from the north to the south of the United States, continuing to raise money for cancer research.