Lauren Greenfield has never lacked passion in whatever she has endeavored to pursue. Whether it was being a four-year letterman and captain of the Temple High swimming team as a senior in 2020 to running, scuba diving, cooking, singing and politics, Greenfield dived in with her whole heart. So it is also with cycling for cancer awareness by the University of Texas junior.
Greenfield is, along with fellow 2020 Temple alum Andrew Posey, among 76 cyclists traversing the roads and mountains from Texas to Anchorage as part of the Texas 4000 — an 18-month cycling program for Longhorn students as a cancer fundraiser. The groups are split between routes through the Rockies, the Sierra Mountains and the Ozarks with the same destination. The first stop on the 70-day Rockies tour, which Greenfield’s team is a part of, was in Gatesville on May 25.
“Summiting Pikes Peak has been the biggest highlight,” said Greenfield, who is currently biking through the Yukon, Canada, with just over a week left before reaching Anchorage on Aug. 2. “I biked up with the rest of my team, which was such an awesome feeling.
I was nervous that I wouldn’t make it to the top with the elevation and my knee issues.” Indeed, Greenfield’s trip almost didn’t happen as she hurt her knee in April and spent over a month in a brace before furiously rehabbing in time to make the journey. The cyclists received their bikes last October, making the training period a relatively brief one for such an expedition.
The Rockies route primarily goes through wilderness rather than populated cities. Cell service is a luxury. Each cyclist typically rides in honor of someone who has been impacted or has lost their life to cancer.
Greenfield initially rode for long-time Temple High teacher Mary Adams, who succumbed to cancer in 2021 and whom her former student called “a force to reckon with.” But during the course of the ride, the honorary rider took on a more personal note when Greenfield lost her grandmother, Vera. “On Day 7 of the ride, I lost my grandmother, and I have dedicated a large part of this ride to her,” said Greenfield, who is studying government and international relations.
“She was strong and dedicated her life to serving others. This ride has taught me to do the same. I hope to carry her legacy to the finish line.
” Undoubtedly, Greenfield won’t soon forget this monumental trek to the self-proclaimed “Last Frontier.” “This trip has taught me patience, flexibility and strength on the bike,” she said. “The biggest lesson I will take on this trip, though, is how to work with others off of the bike.
Living with 25 teammates has shown me how to work with all types of personalities in close quarters.” Different route Posey has taken a different route to the same location, journeying through the Ozark Mountains to ultimately reach Alaska’s capital. Posey, an avid soccer and tennis player, also a junior at Texas, had initial stops in Fayetteville, Texas, and Houston en route to New Orleans and Mississippi before going through the Ozark National Forest before hitting urban landmarks in Memphis, St.
Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee prior to crossing into Canada. Like Greenfield, he is currently in the Canadian Yukon. The Science and Technology Management major is riding in honor of his grandfather, Dr.
Del Posey, a long-time dermatologist at Baylor Scott & White, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2013 just days before Andrew’s 12th birthday. “When I was younger I was compared to my grandfather due to my quiet demeanor and analytical personality,” Posey wrote on the Texas 4000 website. “I appreciated the comparison because I wanted to be just like him.
“Cancer hurts everyone. By spreading awareness and teaching others about the best ways to not only prevent common types of cancer, but ways to get screened so that if someone gets cancer they will have a better outlook,” Posey wrote. “I have always wanted to help others and live a life like my grandfather’s.
I do not want my grandfather’s story to be anyone else’s.”.
