MOUNT VERNON — The 2012 Pelotonia bike tour made a memorable impression in Knox County. The fourth year of the event brought riders to Kenyon College for the first time and it created a local awareness of Pelotonia. Their goal to raise funding for cancer research was personal for many of the participants, including Jim Streby.
Streby has been an avid bike rider and has ridden thousands of miles over the years. In 2006, for example, he rode from Seattle, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine.
Streby rode, in part, because he loves bicycling. He also rode to raise money for cancer research, and he did that because he is a cancer survivor. He certainly did not ride to draw attention to himself but his wife, Joanne, offered to tell his story.
At age 55, Streby was on a bike trip in California with a group from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. On the trip he was having trouble breathing. Ensuing doctor visits revealed that he had multiple myeloma, a cancer that began in the blood cells of his bone marrow.
In June 2010, he had a bone marrow transplant at The James Cancer Center in Columbus. He was then put on a chemotherapy maintenance program.
When Streby learned that Pelotonia was coming to Kenyon College, he decided to ride. For the route he selected, Pelotonia required that he raise $1,800 in donations for the cause, and Joanne helped out.
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