If you live in Walden Lake, odds are good you’ve watched a man zoom around the lake, weaving in and out of neighborhoods each morning just as the sun begins to peek over the horizon.
James Fuller is out there like clockwork. He goes for a ride most mornings and he’ll often be out in the afternoon as well, circling the lake. Occasionally you’ll even catch a glimpse of him biking through the neighborhoods just after dinner as he attempts to clock one last ride for the day.
This past month, all of those miles have been pedaled for one inspiring cause: to raise money for children’s cancer research. He turned 80 years old last October and has steadily been biking toward and surpassing his goals.
“The reality is 38 children die every week from cancer,” James Fuller said. “When you think about cancer, usually you think about how it affects adults. It’s tragic when anyone is diagnosed, but when you start to think about the children that are affected, it’s so traumatic. They have their whole life ahead of them. They need help and research really is the first step toward finding cures.”
Approximately 11,050 children in the U.S. under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Childhood cancer rides have been on the rise for the past few decades. While treatment advances and further research has definitely heightened the survival rates, it is not yet anywhere near where it should be.
“After accidents, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14,” the American Cancer Society reported. “About 1,190 children under the age of 15 are expected to die from cancer in 2020.”
It’s a cause close to James Fuller’s heart and he said he is honored to be able to do his small part in raising money for childhood cancer research.
James Fuller began riding bikes when he was a kid and in middle school he had a paper route in Zephyrhills. When he grew up, he went into the Navy and married his wife Julia. They’ve been married for 58 years and they moved back to Florida after he retired from the newspaper business in 2000.
To stay active, they each bought a bicycle. Julia Fuller is still on her original bike, but James Fuller is now on his fourth. Though he occasionally heads to trails, the majority of his riding is done in Walden Lake. He’s done 15,000 miles since they began and the majority of that was clocked in just the last year.
He jokes that every dog in Walden Lake knows who he is as there are few neighborhoods he hasn’t biked through.
At the beginning of 2019, James Fuller decided he wanted to make an effort to get back into shape. He had a goal weight and began using bicycling as a way to exercise.
He stumbled upon the Great Cycle Challenge and realized he could start using his means of exercise for a greater cause. When his 80th birthday neared he had a new mission: he was determined to ride 80 miles, a mile for each year he was alive.
In September he did 60 miles and felt he had hit a wall. But he didn’t give up. Bob Culton, a good friend of his, reminded him of Margie Gonzalez — who is a neighbor to the Fullers — and her goal in 2017 of walking 87 miles for her 87th birthday. Gonzalez raised money for Operation Smile, a nonprofit that provides surgeries for those born with cleft lip and cleft palate.
This friend encouraged James Fuller to consider doing something similar and converting his bike ride into an outlet for raising funds for a charity. Fuller agreed and did the ride in honor of raising money for Alzheimers research.
They were out of town on his actual birthday, but when they returned he loaded up his bike and went to the Van Fleet Trail. He waved to his wife when he returned, 80 miles fully under his belt.
This fall he found the Great Cycle Challenge Riding to Fight Kids’ Cancer. Riders across the country are pledging to ride a set amount of miles and then people donate to support their journey.
The challenge is over at the end of the month and James Fuller has already ridden 686 miles and has raised nearly $2,000. He’s hoping to raise even more before the month is up. Originally his goal was to ride 500 miles, but by the middle of September he had already hit the mark. He also hoped to raise $1,000 and after surpassing that he upped the goal again.
He currently is in sixth place in his age bracket for money raised for the cause and has some of the highest milages clocked out of the group. You can see a breakdown of each ride he does on his page and watch as his routes continue to tick his total milage ever upward.
The Great Cycle Challenge website has a variety of pictures of children that have been diagnosed with cancer and shares information on each of their stories. Their parents share how the disease has impacted their families and riders and donators alike are able to get a glimpse at the reality of what childhood cancer looks like in this country.
“A lot of people in the community see me riding and probably wonder why I do this,” James Fuller said. “I’m hoping this challenge helps bring some awareness of childhood cancer to our community. It seems to be a reward that I can ride and at the same time help such a worthy cause.”
Those interested in donating to his challenge and help raise money in support of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund can do so at greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/jamesfuller3. You can donate directly to the page and get an in-depth look at his journey over the past month.