VeloNews and VeloSwap.com are sponsoring a party benefiting the Davis Phinney Foundation at Tir na Nog, Irish Bar and Grill from 8:00pm until closing on Sunday, June 5, 2005, after the Wachovia USPRO Championship. Tir na Nog is located at 1600 Arch Street in Philadelphia, near the corner of 16th Street, Arch Street, and the Benjamin Frankin Parkway.
The party will feature live music, drink specials (like 20-ounce Stella Artois and Hoegaarden for $4.00) and a live auction of unique cycling items including team jerseys from the Wachovia Cycling Series and elsewhere as well as some Graham Watson prints and other suprises.
I had the good fortune to sit down with Davis Phinney himself at a media event for the Wachovia USPRO Championship earlier today, and ask him about his organization and how it’s doing. He said that he founded his organization with the hope that he can bring additional resources to the search for a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. He was diagnosed with an early-onset form of this disease in 2000.
When he saw I had my LiveStrong wristband on, he pointed his out to me. I asked him how involved he was in supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation and he said that he had ridden the Ride for the Roses several times, and had raised quite a bit of money for the LAF himself.
I asked him if he felt that there was any commonality between his organization and the Lance Armstrong Founation. He said there were two big similarities. Both organizations draw major support from the cycling community. Both also look to help people who are living with their diseases to carry on with their lives as normally as possible.
I think that in many respects this is more difficult for the average person affected by Parkinson’s Disease than by cancer at this time, because there is no cure and less is known about how to treat Parkinson’s than most cancers.
We all have to decide how to allocate the resources that we pledge to charity, but if you get the opportunity to meet Davis I’m sure you will be inspired by the experience. I know that I will find a way to support the Davis Phinney Foundation in the near future, and I hope you will too.
Davis Phinney is here watching the Wachovia Cycling Series. I saw him at the Wachovia Cycing Series- Trenton Race (there’s a good photo of Davis at the race on CyclingNews.com). He was very willing to talk to fans who approached him. I’m sure he will do the same at the Wachovia USPRO Championship. Look for him on Sunday, try to shake his hand and wish him well.
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