Four of the 4K for Cancer cyclists who called Albany and the Wellness Center an overnight home last Friday night, leave the Center Saturday, headed for Glasgow, the next stop on the tour for the group.

Above, a close-up look at one of the riding shirts each cyclist wears, showing cross-country route.

Friday afternoon, many citizens of Albany and Clinton County welcomed a group of young adults from the Baltimore, Maryland area who were traveling through Albany on their way to San Diego, California.

The group is riding for cancer patients, and, according to one spokesperson for the group, Kevin Courtney, almost everyone in the group of riders has a connection to cancer and the devastation it has brought to their lives.

The 4K For Cancer group is a smaller unit which is apart of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

“Our mission is to provide support between the ages of 15-39,” Courtney said. “Those people don’t quite fall in the younger person category. We are one of four teams who started on May 31 in Baltimore, Maryland. We are going to San Diego, and we have one team going to Portland, one going to San Fransisco and one going to Seattle.”

According to Courtney, there are also a couple of groups leaving from the west coast and running to Baltimore.

“Basically we are just raising awareness and support for those in the cancer community. It’s one of those things that is awesome to everyone who is apart of it and everyone who is around it because everyone knows someone who has or had cancer. I just graduated from college and two of my friends, one had cancer before college and one was diagnosed while they were in college. That really brings it home for me.”

The group as a whole has raised more than a million dollars for cancer patients. With the group being on day 13 of their 70 day journey, there is still a lot of road left to travel.

“Not only are we supporting an awesome cause that we have a personal stake in, we are also there to support each other and the communities we stay in,” Courtney said. “We basically run off donations, so tonight we are staying in the Wellness Center.”

The 4K For Cancer group came into town with an Albany Fire Department escort. The group then rested before being transported to Hunter’s Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que for supper.

According to host Tim Armstrong, there were several other businesses who chipped in to make the group’s stay in Albany a success.

“They are a good group of young adults,” Armstrong said. “They first contacted me and wanted to stay at one of the schools, but I felt like the Wellness Center was a better fit. They would all have showers and a pool to relax in while they were here.”

Armstrong said, in addition to Friday night’s barbeque meal and ice cream from Sonic afterwards, several other businesses in Albany and Byrdstown, Tennessee chipped in for support.

Those businesses are: McDonald’s, Subway of Byrdstown, Pepsi Bottling Company, Penny’s Garden Spot, Advanced Auto Parts and the Wellness Center.

The group sets out on their journey and relies solely on donations, including housing, food, repairs and other things that come up on the trip.

“We are 13 days in now, and it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Courtney said. “We have another 57 days, and I can’t wait to see what happens. Everybody has such an awesome experience, they tell all their friends they should do it, too. It’s a life changing experience.”

Courtney told several stories about people they have encountered on their journey.

“We stopped at a Seven-11 in Virginia and it must have been 95 degrees out and one of our chains had just broken. We spent an hour outside the Seven-11 trying to fix a chain. We went inside and talked to the owner, and he was head over heals for what we were doing. He gave us ice, fountain drinks … whatever we wanted, and it’s one of those things for him, it might not have been the most monetary things he could give, but what he did was better than making a monetary donation because it meant so much more to us,” Courtney said. “We didn’t know we were staying at the Wellness Center until noon today. I don’t know what it cost to put up 25 people, but it don’t cost nowhere near what it means to us. We thought we were going to be camping tonight.”

While on the road, Courtney said it can get painful. Like the seven mile uphill climb they had in North Carolina. One thing that gets him through is knowing that it may be painful for him at the moment and he or anybody on the journey could quit, but they push through because they know the people they are riding for can’t quit.

“We have the luxury of being able to quit, but when you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you don’t get that luxury,” Courtney said. “It’s helpful to know that their inspiration is inspiring to us, and we are inspiring other people along the way.”

The route is preplanned by a group of people inside the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults organization.

According to Hannah Gutjahr, co-director of the riding group, all the cities are predetermined, but the hosts are worked out by them as a group.

“We couldn’t be more fortunate to find the Wellness Center,” Courtney said. “Tim Armstrong got us set up at the Wellness Center, had Subway there to hold us over until we could get out here for barbecue and got us Sonic after this.”

“He even got us McDonald’s for breakfast in the morning and bought us towels for us to use,” Gutjahr added.

Courtney said one reason the journey means something to everyone in his group is because the funds go to people who are in the demographic they are in.

“It’s just great to see a great group of people being supported,” Courtney said. “This is the first year in the 14 years this event has taken place, that we’ve raised more than a million dollars. It’s amazing to be a significant part of that program.”

You can follow the group on their way to San Diego on Facebook at /4kforcancer or on Twitter @4ksandiego. The group also has a web page at www.4kforcancer.org.

Just before heading out of Albany, the group posed for a photo in front of the Wellness Center Saturday morning. Below, a group of four riders started their trip to Glasgow which will consist of 56.74 miles.

A group of four riders started their trip to Glasgow which will consist of 56.74 miles. The group will have crossed into Missouri by the end of the week.

Several bikers wheeled their bikes out of the Wellness Center in order to get ready for the trip to Glasgow on Saturday. Kevin Courtney, one of the group’s co-directors, said Saturday was one of the shortest days they had on their 70 day journey. Saturday’s distance to Glasgow was 56.74 miles.

Above, the group traveling from Baltimore, Maryland to San Diego made a pit stop in Albany Friday night and had a donated meal at Hunter’s Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Q. The group, 4K For Cancer, is raising money for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

Below, several bikers wheeled their bikes out of the Wellness Center in order to get ready for the trip to Glasgow on Saturday.