The Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ Rides Through Houston
October 3, 2005
Get Ready to Wear Yellow and Line the Streets of the TMC

Lance Armstrong and the 2005 Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team will put the pedal to the metal this fall as they ride from coast to coast - and stop in at the Texas Medical Center - to inform and inspire the public about the importance of cancer research and participating in clinical trials.

Those working in the TMC are asked to wear a yellow shirt and line the streets to cheer when the bike riders pedal through the area. As part of this extraordinary event, M. D. Anderson is sponsoring a ceremonial bike ride through the Texas Medical Center, which will end with a survivors rally on the front steps of its Ambulatory Clinical Building on Holcombe Boulevard.

During the ride, Lance Armstrong and members of the Tour of Hope Team will be flanked by M. D. Anderson cyclists at the front and cyclists representing other Texas Medical Center institutions at the rear.

The public is invited to participate in the day’s events, which will kick off at noon with the bike ride. The cyclists will take off from The Richard and Annette Bloch Survivors’ Plaza and make their way to the rally site on Holcombe Boulevard.

After cheering the riders on, spectators are invited to gather on the south side of Holcombe Boulevard for a survivors rally. The Sisters Morales will entertain the crowd as the cyclists approach. Armstrong, Tour of Hope Team members and representatives from M. D. Anderson and Bristol-Myers Squibb will address the crowd.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope is a national initiative to increase public knowledge of cancer research. Led by cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, the Tour of Hope Team will set out from San Diego on September 29, 2005, and will reach Washington, D.C. on October 8. En route to Washington, D.C., Tour of Hope team members will stop in Houston and other cities along the way to share their personal experiences in the battle against cancer.

As Armstrong explains it, this event is “not about the bike,” but about letting people know that participating in clinical trials may help save lives in the future.

The Tour of Hope events at M. D. Anderson are sponsored by the institution’s Anderson Network and the Department of Volunteer Services.