College Grads Pedaled Across The U.S. To Raise Awareness And Funds For Lupus

Main Category: Lupus
Article Date: 24 Sep 2007 - 15:00 PDT

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Dylan Trakas of Spartanburg, South Carolina and James Mason of Houston, Texas, two recent college graduates, ended their 15 week journey on Saturday, September 15, after biking nearly 4,000 miles from Bellingham, Washington to Charleston, South Carolina.

Their goal was to raise awareness of lupus, a debilitating and life-threatening disease which causes the immune system to attack the body's own cells and tissue. Dylan and James also solicited donations and raised $20,000 for the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) for research, education and support services. The ride is particularly and personally meaningful to the two bikers because Dylan's mother suffers from lupus.

Dylan and James began their journey, which they named "Across the lupUS," on June 3. They created a website, http://www.AcrossthelupUS.com, so family and friends were able to track their progress and make donations as they traveled across the country. Their website includes photos of their adventure and a journal to chronicle the people, places and events they experienced while on the road.

The pair held a finish line celebration surrounded by family and friends and many beach goers at Folly Beach, near Charleston, South Carolina. Dylan and James began their journey with the rear tires of their bicycles in the Pacific Ocean and ended the ride by placing their front tires into the Atlantic Ocean. A representative of the Lupus Foundation of America was on hand to welcome them and to accept a check representing the proceeds from their ride.

What Dylan and James accomplished is quite heroic. They not only increased awareness of lupus through the lives they touched and the media interviews they granted along the way, but Dylan and James also raised a tremendous sum of money to support LFA research that will help find the causes and cure for lupus. The LFA joins millions of people from across the U.S. who have been touched by lupus in one way to express gratitude to Dylan and James for their extraordinary effort. We all are very proud of them.

http://www.lupus.org