Full speed ahead against cancer

It’s called the Pancreatic Victory Tour because cyclist Eric McIntyre knows his wife Liz will prevail in her battle against pancreatic cancer.

McIntyre breezed through town last week on a 7,200-mile cross-country cycling journey to raise awareness for the disease. He reached Sonoma on June 12, the halfway point of his 110-day ride that began and ends in New Orleans. McIntyre says he’s looking forward to returning home.

“Liz received her diagnosis two-and-a-half years ago,” he said. “She’s just started a clinical trial, and now that she has an attendant, I wanted to do something to raise awareness for her condition. I teamed up with (the Lazarex Cancer Foundation) and left home 55 days ago.”

The Lazarex Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on providing assistance to cancer patients through community outreach and identifying FDA clinical trials that patients can participate in. The Pancreatic Victory Tour will ultimately encompass 18 states as McIntyre rides through Sonoma and heads north through Washington on the way back. McIntyre rides about 70 miles a day to meet his distance goal.

McIntyre, a native Californian, was born in Burbank and raised in Santa Rosa. “Liz is a native New Orleander, and we hit it off. We got married, and we’re living there now,” he said. “We started the tour April 19 and yesterday, when we headed through Danville, the mayor and a lot of other cyclists came out and rode with me when I left town. It’s been a really great trip so far.”

During the journey, McIntyre is accompanied by a lead car, which paves the way for the cyclist. Both car and rider wear the colors and logos of Lazarex and their affiliated sponsors. “The way this ride works is to raise awareness,” McIntyre said. “When I ride through towns, hopefully people will see the Lazarex name and throw a donation their way. To date, I believe we’ve raised around $30,000.”

McIntyre didn’t stay in Sonoma overnight, instead pedaling to Rohnert Park to meet his brother-in-law for dinner and lodging before heading to Oregon. The Pancreatic Victory Tour home page asks people along the route to offer anything they can to help him on the road, whether it be a place to stay, cheers of support, or even fellow cyclists to share the route with him.

“The support I’ve gotten from this tour is phenomenal,” McIntyre said. “And I’m so happy I can do something about raising awareness for pancreatic cancer. The Lazarex Foundation is the only nonprofit I know that provides this level of service for me and my wife. Without them, she never would’ve received her clinical trial and I wouldn’t be able to raise awareness by doing something I love very much. I’ve missed Sonoma, and it’s good to drop by and feel at home with all the friendly people here. It’s definitely much nicer than Burbank.”