Cyclist Goes Distance So Others Can

Kathy Betz realized her lifelong dream of bicycling across the United States when she arrived Monday in Newport Beach after a 30-day, 3,000-mile journey that raised thousands of dollars for breast cancer research, treatment and education programs.

Weary but smiling, the Baltimore native was greeted by about 40 cheering supporters at Hoag Cancer Center, a sponsor of the upcoming Race for the Cure. One aim of Betz’s trip was to promote similar fund-raising races organized annually by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“I feel kind of numb,” Betz said after stepping off one of the bicycles she used for the trip. “I still can’t believe I’m here--and that I rode here.”

Betz, 28, kept up a grueling pace of about 100 miles a day, crossing steep mountains in Utah and scorching deserts in Nevada. She covered 60 miles on the slowest day and 147 on the fastest, she said.

“This has always been a dream for me,” she said. “So it wasn’t as hard as some people might imagine.”

Betz’s mother, Lois Hinman, accompanied her daughter by van on the trip, which she described as “a truly wonderful experience.”

“I never doubted for a moment that she could do it,” Hinman said. “She always felt she was destined to do this. She’s always been a caring person and a great athlete.”

Betz chose to dedicate her journey to raising money for breast cancer research, Hinman said, after conducting extensive research into charities. The funds she has raised have not been tabulated but are estimated at about $50,000, Hinman said.

Betz chose the Komen Foundation, a national organization based in her home state of Maryland, to distribute the money. The foundation, according to its officials, has raised nearly $40 million since 1982. “She was impressed with the fact that [the foundation] is volunteer driven,” Hinman said.

The journey through 11 states gave Betz, an Air Force veteran who served in the Gulf War, an opportunity to see the nation in a new way, she said.

“Because I was off the [main highways], I really got a chance to see a real America--the rich, the poor, the mountains and deserts, everything. I have to say, America’s pretty cool.”

Betz said her spirits were high through most of the trip, except for a “couple days that were emotionally tough,” she said.

“I woke up hating my bike and cycling,” the lifelong bicycle enthusiast said. “But somehow we made it through.”

The fifth Race for the Cure will be Sept. 22 at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. The event will feature two 5K races and two 1-mile races. Proceeds will go for breast cancer education, screening community outreach, treatment and research.

According to Komen Foundation officials, more than 184,300 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. In just the 30 days of Betz’s trip, they said, more than 15,000 women across the nation were diagnosed with the disease.