About Me

Profile

About: Hello, my name is John Flynn and I am a senior here at UT. I am currently double-majoring in English and History. A few things about me: I love Sci-Fi, reading and writing, and the great outdoors. I like to spend my time camping, hiking, kayaking, and canoeing. I also really enjoy biking, and I love fixing and working on bikes. I have even built my own road bike to commute to school.
I plan on attending graduate school at UT for a Master's in journalism. I would like to pursue a career in conflict journalism, before returning to school to obtain my PhD. Above all, my passion is writing and would love to work writing into my career in some way. My dream would be to write for National Geographic or do some sort of travel writing.

Why I Ride

I ride for everyone whose life has been affected by cancer.

I started out in this organization riding for my mother. While I was a freshman in college she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. This came as a total shock to my family and me. My mom never smoked and was seemingly healthy. After having a troublesome cough and some pains, she went in to get checked out. The doctors came back saying they found thousands of tumors in her lungs and she had, at best, a couple weeks - at worst, a couple days. She didn't start any treatment, the doctors said there was no point. All we could do, they said, was make her comfortable and enjoy what time we had left. But my mom is a fighter, and she pulled through. She went from what we thought was her deathbed in the ICU to a wheelchair, and soon enough the wheelchair was gone too. I'll never know exactly what happened, I still wonder how she managed to survive. The only conclusion I can draw is that she just wasn't ready to go. So for over two years I watched my mom put up the toughest fight I've ever seen. Sometimes I would almost forget she had cancer, the way she carried herself with such strength and dignity. She never let it stop her from living her life, and being there for her family. Her strength inspired me to take on this challenge. I wanted to show her she wasn't alone in her fight. When I told her that I was riding my bike to Alaska to fight cancer, she cried and told me she would be so proud to meet me in Anchorage.
Unfortunately, she passed away May of this year. Now I ride in honor of her. Texas 4000 means more to me now than ever before. Every day I train, every mile I ride I will be thinking of her, still carrying on the inspiration she left me with. She was the strongest person I knew, and I know she would be so proud to see me complete this journey, and to know that I did it for her.

I ride for Timothy Kyler. He was my friend from childhood. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in elementary school, he fought his cancer for 5 years. There was never a day he wasn’t in high spirits, he always had the best attitude. Whenever I would go visit him, he would never be down. It is only now looking back that I realize what strength he had, that he was battling a horrible disease and yet never let it break him. He was honestly one of the best people I ever knew, and there is not a day that goes by I don’t think of him. He passed away in 2007. He inspired me to try and be the best person I can be, everyday, no matter what. And now I have a chance to make an impact in the fight against cancer, so I ride for him.

I ride for Ray Garcia, who is battling stomach cancer.

I ride for my grandfather, who passed from pancreatic cancer.

I ride for my Uncle John, who passed from lung cancer.

I ride for my Aunt Kathy, who is battling breast cancer.

I ride for my Uncle Jim, who passed from liver cancer.