CBS Kicks off Cycle 2010

Go! New York: Cycle For Survival

Participants Ride Exercise Bikes To Raise Awareness Of Rare Cancers

Reporting
Kate Sullivan

NEW YORK (CBS) ―

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For many people, working out is a chance to mentally work out many problems that are going on in their lives. But one woman decided that her workout could be a chance to really help others, and in turn help herself with a life threatening disease.

You never know who is sitting right next to you in a spin class. It might be Jennifer Goodman-Linn, who is currently battling a rare and deadly form of cancer, MFH sarcoma.

"I used to exercise all the time and it was my hour a day to battle the disease," Goodman-Linn said.

It was during this stress relief hour that she came up with a life changing idea..and shared it with her instructors.

"One day we got together and said 'What happens if we put our passion for cycling together with raising money for rare cancers which don't get the attention they deserve, like the one I have? And lo and behold: Cycle for Survival," she said. "Cycle for Survival is really a relay where we get people to create teams, either in honor of a loved one, or in memory of a loved one who's been dealing with cancer, and you form teams of family and friends and you share a bike for four hours."

It's designed to give attention to "orphan cancers," rare cancers that have less than 200,000 people a year diagnosed and therefore get very little funding or exposure.

There is no other event like it, and it was one that spinning instructor Gregg Cook was eager to join. "It's incredibly empowering. It leaves me feeling great that I can give back on couple different levels at the same time. At the end of a class, you can see the exhilarated, maybe exhausted but there is also the sense of being more alive and exhilarated and just happy," he said.

"It's the smile. It's the constant smile and it's the fight and it's the infectious personality," a friend of Goodman-Linn said.

Friends of Jennifer were quick to sign up, especially when they knew they could do something to help. And everyone can help, even with no athletic ability.

"My grandmother does it with me. She only gets on the bike for about five minutes but we need her on our team," said Goodman-Linn.

Cycle for Survival has grown to 1,500 people, 200 teams, and has raised $1.2 million.

"It was very, very difficult to see, but then it's actually the person's reaction and their attitude, and she galvanized this moment. And she said 'I may have cancer but cancer doesn't have me," Goodman-Linn's friend said.

For Jennifer, it's a chance to not only do everything she can to beat her own disease but to help others do the same.

"Everybody who comes says 'I'm going to be there next year," she said.

Jennifer is currently in remission and is looking forward to this year's cycle for survival event. "In some ways I look and I say 'I can't believe I created this'," Goodman-Linn said.