Donald Lang bike mission for cancer: update

Don Lang backs his bike, loaded own with gear, into the Pacific Ocean. He officially dipped his wheels in the ocean the morning he set out for his cross-country ride to raise money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

He’s off and pedaling back home to Dunkirk!

Donald Lang, retired director of the Fredonia Chamber Singers, rolled out of San Diego last Wednesday on the first leg of a cross-country bike excursion, propelled by a tide of wishes of good luck and growing list of friends and colleagues backing Lang’s mission to raise money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Lang’s legion of supporters back home -- who each chipped in $30 towards a goal of $6,000 for Roswell -- were treated to an email dispatch and early-morning photograph of  Lang dipping the rear wheel of his 24-speed bicycle into the Pacific Ocean. And they’ll continue receiving exclusive updates on Lang’s Facebook page.

Before embarking on the 3,000-mile trek, Lang was treated royally by his San Diego hosts, who prepared a homemade Mexican dinner and offered a night’s lodging. He also spoke to the Rotary Club there, as one of his hosts was a member and an avid cyclist, in much the same fashion as Lang described his trip to Rotarians in Fredonia and Dunkirk in the weeks leading up to the trip.

And if he netted a few pledges from those sun-drenched Rotarians, that’s all the better for Roswell.

Lang’s first day on the road began with a most challenging climb, from sea level to 4,000 feet. “Uphill virtually all the way … pretty tough,” he reported.

Lang initially pedaled alongside the San Diego River and then passed Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers football team, before beginning the gradual 49-mile ascent to Pine Valley. “With four bags of stuff, riding uphill is a true test of will,” he wrote. The following day offered the prospect of a few modest declines followed by mostly flat terrain.

The response to “Donald Lang’s Bike Ride” – in the form of letters and pledges -- has been so phenomenal that it threatens to eclipse the excitement of actually riding a two-wheeler some 3,000 miles.

“It’s been a remarkable experience, I can’t say enough about it. It’s almost as if this is more exciting than the ride itself – how generous and kind people have been, not just with money, but support. I can’t express how great this experience has been,” he said. Lang began the trip with the equivalent of 154 sponsors.

“To me, when I said I would do this, it was never a big deal; it was just what I was going to do. But it’s become a big deal because of the response I got. And now I feel a deep obligation to send back something of interest to the people, writing about all the things that I see, about the people that I meet and all the stuff that is exciting,” said Lang, who vows to seek out truly interesting people along the way.

“I want people to tell me stories about where I am. I want my sponsors to get that.”

His unwavering desire to experience the country, mile-by-mile, reflects Lang’s robust belief that travel is “the most powerful educator of all.” For 30 years, Lang guided the Fredonia Chamber Singers on annual spring tours and a handful of excursions to Europe, where everyone stayed in private homes and was able to experience local culture and traditions.

Lang is due back in Dunkirk in late May.