Cycle for Survival

Saving Lives and Enjoying the Ride

The room is dark and loud. Certified disco anthem “I Will Survive” blasts out from the speakers somewhere behind you. Your calves are burning and sweat glistens on your forearms…or is that glitter? One of your teammates hands you a towel and another shakes pom poms wildly, cheering you on. Your legs are quickly turning to jelly, but you don’t stop pedaling because this is what Cycle for Survival is all about—never giving up.

Founded in 2007, Cycle for Survival is a national movement dedicated to fighting rare cancers. You may be asking, why rare cancers? Aren’t those…rare? In reality, a staggering 50% of those diagnosed with cancer have some form of a rare, incurable cancer. Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, and stomach cancers; leukemia and lymphoma; and all pediatric cancers, among others. Despite the high incidence of rare cancer in general, individually these illnesses are drastically underfunded when it comes to research. This makes for limited treatment options for those who have been diagnosed.

Cycle for Survival’s goal is to increase awareness surrounding these illnesses while also raising the money to fund new ways of diagnosing and treating them. All of the proceeds from Cycle for Survival’s events go directly to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the world’s largest and oldest private cancer center. The Center uses this money for its pioneering work in developing new diagnostic tools, experimental therapies, and clinical drug trials.

Cycle for Survival holds massive indoor cycling events all over the country, where teams ride stationary bikes relay-style for a four-hour shift. The high-energy events are led by instructors from Equinox, Cycle for Survival’s founding partner, and use a peer-to-peer fundraising model with each participating team accruing donations for the cause.

In February, the fundraiser celebrated passing the $250 million mark for total funds raised since its inception in 2007. What started as a relatively small event with 230 participants and 50 stationary bikes, has grown into a national movement with over 37,000 people riding 9,000 bikes across 17 U.S. cities, with the money raised providing invaluable funding for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s research initiatives.

Barton’s connection to Cycle for Survival began three years ago with the involvement of one of our litigation partners, Laura-Michelle Horgan. For the past three years, LauraMichelle has been participating in the annual cycling events with a team of her dedicated friends. Barton, as well as many of its employees, have enjoyed supporting LauraMichelle and donating to such a deserving cause.

Laura-Michelle’s team calls themselves “Team Rainbow Unicorns.” (And let the record show, they chose this name before unicorns became cool.) For the cycling events, Laura-Michelle and company go all out. Their uniform consists of printed shirts reading, “Unicorns Don’t Sweat, They Sparkle” and leggings covered in unicorns and shooting rainbows. To top it all off, they wear glowing unicorn horns as they ride. Laura-Michelle explains that the outfit makes the day more fun and makes her team stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Team Rainbow Unicorns had already been participating in other exercise-oriented charity events for years prior to their Cycle for Survival involvement. However, as members of the group began having increased workloads and family obligations, time-consuming fundraisers such as bike tours or marathons became less logistically feasible. So when a member of the team proposed Cycle for Survival as an alternative, the team realized that the fundraiser fit really well into their multiple busy schedules. And it was also a ton of fun.

Of her teammates, LauraMichelle says, “My friends are an eclectic group of very motivated, professional, accomplished people who are also really fun and into music. They’re always into doing creative things and Cycle for Survival is a great way to express that creativity.”

Laura-Michelle describes the actual cycling event as a cross between a workout class and a nightclub. A mixture of pop, hip-hop, and house music helps keep the atmosphere high-energy. Laura-Michelle’s teammates take shifts on the stationary bike while the others act like a NASCAR pit team. They shout encouragement, provide water, offer towels, make sure the bike is adjusted to the rider’s comfort, and will even hold up the rider’s cell phone so they can Facetime their kids mid-trek. It’s the ultimate team effort, in terms of both the cycling and the obtainment of donations. To date, Team Rainbow Unicorns has raised over $25,000 for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Between the riding sessions, there are also often guest speakers who discuss the types of research the event is helping to fund or share personal stories about how they and their families have been affected by rare cancers. Laura-Michelle notes that Cycle for Survival is refreshingly straightforward and transparent regarding the use of the money that’s raised. “It’s cool that this money allows researchers to pursue outof-the-box ideas that corporate and government funding don’t always cover,” she says. “We get to see how the money from the fundraiser is being allocated and how it’s helping to change lives.”

Although the cycling itself can be tough at times, it’s worth every second of it for Laura-Michelle and the rest of Team Rainbow Unicorns. There’s no denying that Cycle for Survival is indeed a fight. It’s a fight against the ravages of rare cancer and a fight for the lives of all those affected by these diseases. But Cycle for Survival is also a celebration, one that shines a spotlight on the strength of those grappling with these illnesses, the ingenuity of those on the forefront of finding new treatments, and the collective impact of those who come together in the name of a single cause.

So to Team Rainbow Unicorns, keep on ridin’ on. ♦

Cycle for Survival currently holds annual events in 17 cities across the country. If you’re interested in learning more, donating, or becoming a participant, please visit cycleforsurvival.org.