Joining Suzi Tobias will be Dave Toutant, of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan who along with Tobias will be riding bikes 300 miles from Port Huron, to Mackinac Island, Michigan during the famed Port Huron-Mackinac sailboat race. The bike ride is part of the Less Cancer Challenge 300. Tobias and Toutant start their ride July 20th from Port Huron Michigan.
Toutant is a 44 year old husband, father of 3 teenagers, life long cyclist and runner. The cyclist says “for as long as I can remember I have spent hours almost everyday riding, running or walking and I love to share these activities with my wife, kids and friends.”
Toutant continued, “an active lifestyle was instilled in me by my grandmother Alice who would take me on walks to the bakery, grocery store, or freinds houses around her Detroit neighborhood. I feel that staying active is important to maintaining a person’s health and love the idea of promoting activity through challenges like the 300 mile challenge. I’m thrilled to be helping my friend Suzi complete her challenge.”
Recently Tobias’ ride caught the attention of the Intent blog (of Deepak Chopra fame) by Alison Rose Levy. Suzanne Tobias’ intent is to ride her bicycle three hundred miles to help prevent cancer.
Tobias set her intent in memory of her best friend, Aileen O’Brien Graf, who passed away from cancer at the age of forty-seven. A mother of two daughters, Aileen loved life and had everything to live for, says Tobias, who had never before been close to anyone who suffered from cancer.
“It was devastating,” Tobias recalls. “Aileen and I used to ride our bikes together as kids. I am doing the bike ride both to remember her and to draw attention to the need to prevent cancer, through constructive health and policy approaches.”
Today Tobias landed in Detroit, Metro Airport from her home state of Texas after training the last few weeks in the Netherlands.
People over the month of July have been and still can participate in any local and do any single or combination of activities, measuring by minutes, miles, or meters. The event both gets people moving, (a good way to help prevent this disease), and it’s also a way to contribute to the cause. People can go to Less Cancer’s web page to donate here.
Hi, congrats and good luck ! Hey, – by any chance is this the same Dave Toutant that lived in Sterling Hgts – Plumbrook in the mid 80s? If so, my brother Chris and I used to ride around with you, and we were just talking about you and that whole group over July 4. Anyway, great cause and again good luck