2004 Tour of Hope

October 9, 2004 by Brian King

Hundreds of cancer survivors formed a yellow pathway on the Ellipse and were surrounded by more than 8,000 cheering supporters Saturday October 9th, 2004 as the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team turned off Constitution Avenue and into the Hope Path for its final lap together.

View pictures of the event.

The dramatic Tour of Hope Finale was the culmination of a 3,500-mile journey that took the 20 riders from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital in eight days, with a mission to inspire everyone they met to learn more about and to support cancer research, the pathway to new treatments for cancer.

The Team took off at midnight on October 1st from the City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles and pedaled relay style around the clock through the desert, into the Rocky Mountains, across the plains and over the Appalachian Mountains before reaching Washington, DC.

Lance Armstrong and Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Dolan led the Team onto the Ellipse, where the riders all dismounted their bikes and bounded up on to the stage to the cheers from family, friends and thousands more who came to see the inspiring group.

Nearly 1,000 people participated in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope recreational ride earlier in the day which started from Georgetown Prepatory School in North Bethesda and wound its way across to River Road and down through Glen Echo to the District.

To minimize traffic disruptions on D.C. streets, the riders were regrouped at the Irish Inn located on McArthur Boulevard in Glen Echo. It also served as a rest stop where the riders could visit with members of the U.S. Postal Pro Cycling Team. A camera crew was on hand to relay pictures back to the Ellipse where they were shown on two large screens on either side of the main stage. The riders then departed en-masse with a police escort in front and back of the pack for the final eight mile leg down McArthur Boulevard, Canal Road, the Whitehurst Freeway and through downtown D.C. to the Ellipse.

After witnessing the mob scene of 1000 riders in the tiny Irish Inn parking lot, I made my way downtown where I parked on Pennsylvania Avenue and then appropriately rode my bike the final few blocks down to the Ellipse. The setup was much like last year with many exhibits and informational booths to help get the word out on promoting cancer research. I hopped on a nice new Trek 5000 OCLV bike mounted to a stationary trainer and cranked out five miles to help raise funds for cancer research as Brystol-Myers Squibb was making a cash donation for every mile ridden on the 30 bikes they had set up. We watched a video loop of Lance and the other Tour of Hope riders as they had made their way across country during the previous eight days. The turnout at various stops along the way was impressive and was no doubt aided by Lance's historic sixth TDF win this past July.

Based on the turnout and enthusiasm of everyone involved, I would say that this year's Tour of Hope was a great success and I'd encourage anyone to join in next year as a participant, volunteer or just as a spectator to witness this inspiring event.