Hornstra to bike for cancer awareness

By Matt Wah
Staff Writer

After graduation, many people stay in town and celebrate. However, Mira Costa senior Ryan Hornstra is going against the trend and will be biking across the country with his father for cancer awareness.

After losing his grandfather to lung cancer and having a cousin diagnosed with testicular cancer, Hornstra has resolved to bike across eight states with his father, Rick Hornstra, in order to raise funds for a foundation for cancer research in the Los Angeles area. Hornstra and his father decided to name the ride Pedal 4 Hope.

“My father and I are funding the ride, but we have supporters who are helping us with donations and supplies for the journey,” Hornstra said.

For Hornstra, organizing the trip has been difficult. The two will start at the Manhattan Beach pier and end in Orlando, Florida roughly two months later. They plan to ride 75 miles each day, equating to about 7 hours of riding per day and roughly 3,000 miles total.

“The past two summers, my dad and I pedaled through Iowa at the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa,” Hornstra said. “The ride was only a week long, and we traveled about 60 miles a day. Although it is nothing compared to riding cross country, the experience will help [during this summer’s ride].”

Hornstra’s father, who has ridden cross-country twice already, played a large role in his son’s desire to bike this long ride.

“Ryan and I talked about the trip two or three years ago,” Rick Hornstra said. “We mentioned it to a handful of other people, but it turned out to be just the two of us who committed. We both have the ability, but what we are looking for is a mental challenge as much as a physical challenge.”

With Hornstra and his father’s departure approaching, the two hope to raise more donations and pledges and possibly recruit more riders through the Pedal 4 Hope website, www.ryanhornstra.com.

“[The process] is very overwhelming as the days go by, but at the same time I’m excited,” Hornstra said. “It is definitely going to be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it and I know that it will be one of the best experiences of my life.”