I’ve been thinking about[ the passing of Susan Nelson all day, and about the countless other people who have died this year from cancer who weren’t lucky enough to have someone sharing their message.

So I’ve got an idea, and I need your help. Let’s declare Saturday (correction) Sunday August 23rd as Win For Susan day. (This happens to be the day of the Philly Livestrong Challenge, in which Team Fatty will participate.)

Wear your Fat Cyclist gear, LiveStrong bracelet or clothing, homemade signs, or other item to signify your personal fight against cancer and take a picture of yourself.

Next, upload the picture and post it on the 23rd via Twitter with the tag #win4susan

While you’re at it, go to the Livestrong foundation and make a donation in Susan’s name. A dollar. Five bucks, ten, a hundred—whatever you can spare. Even if you’ve already donated for other people.

And then let’s win the fight against cancer. Let’s bring a voice to all of those who go unspoken. Let’s make the governments of the world take action and fight to save the lives of their citizens.

And let’s win for Susan.

I never met Susan, nor did most of the thousands and thousands of people who were touched by her. Susan, wife of Elden Nelson, the blogger behind the incredible FatCyclist.com, passed away yesterday surrounded by friends and family.

Elden was kind enough, over these last years, to open up his life to strangers and to blog not just about cycling (as was his original mission) but about the struggles and trials faced by Susan and his family as they all battled an extremely aggressive form of cancer.

Susan, through Elden’s brave words, inspired thousands to take up the fight against cancer and as a result more than half-a-million dollars have been raised for the Livestrong foundation. That one person could inspire so much generosity is staggering, and it’s a legacy that will live forever. She will touch the lives of thousands more who are engaged in the fight against cancer and those who support them.

On behalf of BikeHugger and the whole cycling community, we send our thoughts and love to Elden and his family. We’re also urging readers of BikeHugger to visit FatCyclist.com and leave a comment for Elden.

Finally, a few days ago Elden announced a giveaway of an Orbea with Di2 for those who donate to his (or their own) Team Fatty team in the Livestrong challenge. Personally, if I win, I’m going to auction the bike and give the proceeds to LiveStrong in Susan’s name, but it’s a super-generous prize dedicated to a great cause. Information on donating and entering is here.

Please remember as you go out and ride over the next days, months and years that there are so many out there who have and who are fighting a battle just like Susan’s, and how much they need our support. That will be the most lasting tribute to Susan I can think of.

We’ve also dropped our memberships from $20 to $10 for renewals (in light of the historically yucky economy) so it’s a great time to renew if you were a member and let your membership lapse.

Want more information on the club? Simply visit rocklandbike.org.

But before I explain what I mean I just want to mention that because of the excellent ending of Stage 4 of the Tour de France, I’ll be live chatting Stage 5 over at hub.bikehugger.com. After that I’ll take a day off and then cover Stage 7, the first mountain stage—which is where Astana says the race leader will be decided.

Now back to the subterfuge.

When Lance said he was coming back to the Tour, he said he was going for the win. Then he said that they had to figure out who the team leader was. Then he said that they’d know by the first stage who the leader would be. Then he said that they’d know by the mountains.

I’m calling bull. After watching Johan avoiding answering direct questions about who the team leader is, I think they’re repeating the gambit they played in 2001 when Lance pretended to be in distress and then came back to crush the opposition. Writing for the Guardian, William Fortheringham wrote:

“A little grimace on Armstrong’s usually expressionless face, a little shake in his shoulders in the blue jersey, the fact that he was not riding right at the front: it all indicated that the man who had won the Tour for the previous two years by flying up the mountains was struggling.”

I think that’s what’s going on now, and I think that’s what we caught a glimpse of today. Lance’s playing the slightly aging guy who might not make it. And hey, if it turns out that Lance isn’t the strongest, then they’ve already laid the groundwork for someone else to come to the front and win it for the team.

Why is Brunyeel willing to do this? Because he’s going to join the Nike-sponsored team that hasn’t yet been announced, but will absorb the riders of Astana next year when Vino comes back.

Instead, try these great sites.

Amgen Tour Tracker Site – This site is an interactive streaming-video site for the Tour. Follow the peloton, chat with fans, check out the course profiles and more.

Road Bike Review Daily coverage from the ToC, including behind-the-scenes videos.
Bicycling’s ToC coverage. (Disclosure: I do some online contributions for them.) Daily updates, videos, articles, more goodness.