I've had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia for almost a decade now.

And to celebrate my 10 year anniversary, I'm racing across America.

Over 3200 miles from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, Maryland, the Race Across America (RAAM) has been called one of the toughest tests of endurance in the world. I've teamed up with seven other cyclists and four crew members to race around the clock, over the Rockies, and across the wind swept plains to do something never done before--find a cure for blood cancers.

If I had been diagnosed a few years earlier, this race wouldn't have been across the country--it would have been against the clock. Before 2001, the prognosis for newly diagnosed CML patients was grim: 3 to 5 years. But via research and development funded by organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training, new therapies have emerged which have literally changed the face of cancer treatment.

Thanks to people I've never met, I've been able to meet many of my life's goals: start a family; write a book; win an Ironman. And now my goal is to raise $50,000 as a step toward finding a cure for the diseases which strike thousands each year. And I can do it. But I need your help.

Just as a group of cyclists can move faster than any one could alone, we move better as a team. So take a strong pull with a big donation. Or give a small amount. What matters most is that we all contribute--that's what makes for a successful paceline. And by taking your turn at the front with a simple pledge, you give me and countless others a chance to enjoy the ride.