Ready to Ride Again: Her Road to Recovery from Breast Cancer
29. Oct, 2009 
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Gretchen is seeing things in rosy pink as she rides her Electra on the road to health!
By Tara R. McKee
I was lucky to meet Gretchen Fegel, one of those delightful women who is a complete stranger one minute and a new friend the next. We started out talking about bicycles, but the conversation soon turned to less about the bike and more about life. I was surprised to hear that she was recovering from a recent bout with breast cancer. She was cheerful and confident with an infectious smile and willing to share her story as a way of helping others.
Gretchen has always been athletic, and has adapted her athletic pursuits to the various cities she has lived in, enjoying road biking, mountain biking, roller blading, water skiing and running. It was after running a marathon that she discovered an ankle problem which turned out to be complex: a benign tumor that had to be removed. The ankle still gave her trouble and a foot/ankle reconstruction was scheduled, but in the days before her ankle surgery was scheduled, she found a lump in her breast.
A mammogram and biopsy showed she indeed had breast cancer. Last October she underwent a double mastectomy. Because it had started to spread to the lymph nodes, she also had chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which she finally finished in May 2009.
While she was recovering from her surgery last October, she had this vision of herself riding on a pink bicycle through the countryside in a ride that was similar in focus to the Race for the Cure series she participated in as a runner. She focused on this goal as she went through the suffering of the chemotherapy and she knew she wanted to get healthy enough to be able to do a long road bike ride again. It would be something special—something in commemoration of her bout with breast cancer and something that could help other young women who would have their own fight with breast cancer.
She found that special ride with Hershey’s Tour de Pink which benefits the Young Survival Coalition, an international organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women with breast cancer. The Tour de Pink is a 200+ mile ride of the course of several days that stretches from Hersey, PA. to New York City.* It is a non-competitive ride, not a race, but it is still a major goal for this young cancer survivor. Gretchen still needs to get a road bike and if it is pink, it would be a bonus!
For now, she takes her little dog, Polly, a schnauzer-poodle mix, with her on a ten mile round trip along a bicycle trail on her sunshine-yellow Electra Amsterdam. Polly is up to running about half of the ride and then is scooped up to cozily ride home in Gretchen’s shoulder bag. The rides are uplifting for her spirit and body as she continues the road to a complete recovery. People along the trail compliment her on the beauty of her bicycle, the cuteness of her little dog, and even on the musical tone of her bicycle’s bell. I’m sure too, people are drawn to her beautiful smile which is an outward sign of the optimism and sunny outlook on life that pervades Gretchen’s personality and helped her fight for her life against what is the leading cause of cancer death in young women.
*Hershey’s Tour de Pink benefits Young Survival Coalition (YSC), the premier international organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women and breast cancer. YSC works with survivors, caregivers and the medical, research, advocacy and legislative communities to increase the quality and quantity of life for women diagnosed with breast cancer ages 40 and under.
I love that story! Such an inspiration! Hope you get your pink bike! Best Wishes and Good Luck!!
Gretchen
I came across your blog on a google alert I have set up. I am a 3 time Tour de Pink cyclist and a cancer exercise specialist that works with the YSC. Giant for Women is a big sponsor of the event and in the last year they have given 20 bikes away to survivors.
Email or call me and I will hook you up with the right people to apply if you haven’t already!
Sami
913-205-5812
Hi! Like Sami I am with the YSC. I rode the Tour de Pink for the first time this year with my husband to celebrate ten years since my original diagnosis at age 31. The ride was fantastic and more than I could have dreamed of. We are definitely signing up to do it again in 2010, so I’ll be looking for you! If you want you can email me at yscduluth@youngsurvival.org . I’d love to hear how your recovery and training is going. Also, you can check out my Tour de Pink blog at http://dreamingontwowheels.blogspot.com
thanks for this inspiring story!
Gretchen, this article was emailed to me. Just wanted to say hi and wish you the best. Hope you and your dad make another trip up to see us again.
great story!!!