Fox Chapel cyclist, 62, training for 170-mile event to benefit cancer research

George Stewart prefers to be out cycling on the roads of Fox Chapel, Indiana Township, West Deer and Butler County. Stewart, a 62-year-old Fox Chapel resident, doesn’t want to have to worry about being tripped by the hazards that go along with mountain biking.

“When you are cycling in West Deer and Butler County, there isn’t a lot of vehicular traffic,” said Stewart, who graduated from Shady Side Academy. “You can put your head down and grind and work as hard as you have to without worrying about tree stumps and things of that nature. We’re blessed in Southwestern Pennsylvania to have challenging hills to ride. It’s gorgeous farmland we can ride through.”

All of Stewart’s training in solitude has been in preparation for the Velo Palmetto, a three-day cycling event from Oct. 24-26 in Greenville, S.C. The event benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and will cover 170 miles.

Stewart is riding in the event, which only invited 50 participants who have raised more than $20,000 for the cause, in support of his son, Bo. Stewart has raised $123,650 thus far and hoped to top $130,000 before the race.

Bo, who now lives in Los Angeles and competes in Ironman Triathlons, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in fall 2011. Bo was forced to go through four years of chemotherapy and treatment at the Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC.

The impact on Bo, who was then a student at Vanderbilt, was immense as it included fatigue, nausea and muscular atrophy.

George said that Bo was forced to take a year off school during the process.

“It was concerning not because we were ever in doubt about the outcome,” George said. “Rather, watching the physical impact of the treatment on him. It is a grueling process. It can rob people of energy and physical strength. As concerning as that piece of it was, to watch him compete in Ironman triathlons today, as my wife and I have done on several occasions, is enormously inspiring and gratifying. We have nothing but admiration for and gratitude for the health care team at the Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC who treated him.”

George said he chose to accept the invitation back in June. He was nervous about the challenge of preparing for a lengthy ride.

George said he has spent a lot of time off the bike participating in cycling-specific strength training with Kristen Carlin, who is the owner of Evoke Physio in Aspinwall. He also has stuck to his regular practice of riding through the communities surrounding his home.

“I work out with her twice a week,” George said. “We have geared those workouts toward core strength and strengthening exercises to work muscles that are most critical to cycling performance.”

George is looking forward to taking on the challenge that such a lengthy ride will provide him. Most important to him is the money being raised to help blood cancer research, which will help other families in similar situations he was once in.

“I firmly believe, and there is scientific evidence that would substantiate this,” George said, “blood cancer research is the gateway to treatment, not just of blood cancer, but other types of cancers and diseases like diabetes and the like.”