Livestrong™ Lance Armstrong Foundation

Unite and Fight - Livestrong Blog

  •  
Aug 26

TweetUp Ride in Dublin

by Chris Brewer (LAF Staff)

This is the simple story of a guy who just wanted to go out and ride his bike around a park with some friends. But when that guy is a 7-time Tour de France winner and an icon of the cancer community, and he just happens to invite 1.8 million people to tag along, the story becomes a bit more complex.

Lance Armstrong likes to ride his bike.

“Oh, really?” I’m sure some of you are saying, eyebrows arched just a little. Yes, really. But you see, it’s this basic principle that has set him on this amazing path and has allowed him to achieve so very much. Think about it. How many people do you know who don’t like the job that they do? And yet they toil away, year after year, mired in the bog as they would say over here in Ireland.

Lance told me years ago that the #1 thing that allowed him to succeed over his rival Jan Ullrich was that he loved his job. To be able to get out of bed and look forward to a day of training and not ever consider it a burden made the difference between being on the top of the podium versus second place or less.

And years later, it still is sometime about the bike. As I am sure you know by now, Lance likes Twitter. It’s a fast, succinct way to get your message out across a broad spectrum and LA is a pioneer in this new form of mass communication. About a two weeks ago he got an idea on the way to Scotland to use Twitter to see if anyone would like to go for bike ride.

“Hey Glasgow – group ride starts at Ashtree House Hotel. 9 Orr Square. Paisley, Scotland. See you there at noon!”

In the pouring rain approximately 300 riders answered the call

A few days ago, as we prepared for the Tour of Ireland, Lance told me he was going to need a little help in Dublin – he wanted to go on another ride, and wondered where would be best to do it. As we discussed the pros and cons of various routes, I had to ask him: why are you doing this?

He paused for a moment, smiled, and said, “Because it brings people together. For years I’ve trained and raced with other professionals and there was this image that sure, we can all ride bikes but we’d never actually get the chance to ride together. I want to change that because at the end of the day I’m just a cyclist, a guy who likes to ride his bike, and I want to ride with other people who are passionate about it as well. And by using something like Twitter we can get together as a community, ride our bikes, and keep building this grassroots movement. When we ride together we’re like this unstoppable army, and I plan to keep on doing this as long as there are people who’d like to go for a ride.”

Yesterday morning, Lance grabbed his blackberry and entered:

“Good morning Dublin. Who wants to ride this afternoon? I do. 5:30 pm @ the roundabout of Fountain Rd and Chesterfield Ave. See you there.”

And in the glorious Irish sunshine, over 1200 riders answered the call.

The movement continues – LIVESTRONG! – Chris…

Lance's Tweetup Ride in Dublin-Photo by Liz Kreutz Photography

Lance’s Tweetup Ride in Dublin-Photo by Liz Kreutz Photography



13 Responses to “TweetUp Ride in Dublin”

  1. noel says:
    August 26, 2009 at 6:22 am

    Hi All
    Followed the tour around Ireland.Was a Livestrong Volunter in the RDS and the Guinness Hop store and managed to make the ride in the park.What a wonderful 6 days and what a difference one man on his bike can make.
    Lets go from here and change the worlds attitude to the Big C with a view to making it a very small and eventually extinct c
    Rgds
    N
    Dublin

  2. Sharon M says:
    August 26, 2009 at 8:35 am

    I would have loved to have been there. Great Job!!! Canada was a bit far to get there on time.

  3. Kristian says:
    August 26, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Even Holland was to far to get there on time :( Lance, I invite you to come to the Netherlands and take a ride here.. Mi Cusa, su Casa

  4. Dr.David Stewart says:
    August 26, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    What a ride in Phoenix Park Dublin.Five of us travelled down from Ulster and all had a cycle ride which we will never forget and talk about for the rest of our lives. Lance also signed my Camino Jersey which I wore on the final stage of a 900km cycle across Spain in 2006 when we raised $100,000 dollars for the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre.

  5. jay r says:
    August 26, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    Lance is a legend. It was great to have him in Ireland. How can I get a copy of the above photo?

  6. Lisa Hayden says:
    August 26, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    Go my little brother (in the white t-shirt and checkerd shorts) cycling with Lance on a mountain bike!! Thanks for making his day/life Lance :)

  7. Sarah says:
    August 26, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    Deadly! I made it onto the livestrong blog!!

    Cheers for the ride Lance! Twas great fun! :)

  8. Laura says:
    August 27, 2009 at 1:49 am

    No words. This man is far ahead.

  9. pat nolan says:
    August 27, 2009 at 9:14 am

    LANCE WE MISS YOU HERE IN DUBLIN!!!!

    YOU ARE AN INSPIRING, LEGENDERY AND ALL ROUND DECENT GUY. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

  10. Ezi says:
    August 27, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    Thank you Lance for doing this! I really appreciate it however I only read about!

    pip Ezi
    Slovenia

  11. Mike says:
    August 28, 2009 at 7:36 pm

    Shows the power of social media when mixed with a common sense guy. Pretty cool and genuine thy it came right from the man @inspector911

  12. James says:
    August 30, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Lance it was an honour to ride with you but was a bit nervous when I was beside you as the million things I wanted to say just didn’t come out!!!!!!

    Thank you again!

  13. Initiating Spontaneous Mass Gatherings with Social Media Tools | News | PIO Social Media Training says:
    September 1, 2009 at 12:16 am

    [...] than 1,400 people came out for that ride. Read the story about the ride at the Livestrong Blog. View photos of the ride at [...]

Leave a Reply

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation welcomes reader comments. We hope comments will add — not detract — from conversations important to the cancer community, people interested in health and wellness, cycling fans and others who benefit from Lance Armstrong or the Lance Armstrong Foundation's work. Keep in mind that we have a very diverse audience, which includes children. Please avoid profanity, publishing the personal information of others, libelous statements and pornography. All blog comments are published at the moderator's discretion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments as we feel necessary.

CANCER SUPPORT

We help people affected by cancer by giving them the tools they need to live life on their own terms. Learn More.

TEAM LIVESTRONG

Walk, run, ride or tri in the fight against cancer. You can make a difference. Join us.

TAKE ACTION

Join us in the fight against cancer around the globe, nationally and in your own neighborhood. Act Now.

POSTS BY DATE

August 2009
M T W T F S S
« Jul   Sep »
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  

Categories

Recent Comments

  • Renee Rocks! R squared. What I really admire about you is you know how to suck it up, your... Renee
  • Mary you are amazing…praying for you, David and your family! K. Jones
  • Will be sold on www.teamradioshack.com the first or second week of... Brooke McMillan (LAF Staff)
  • Renee — Hope you are doing well after the procedure yesterday! In Charlotte,... Don Pomeroy
  • Thanks for sharing! God bless you and your life! Irina

Upcoming Events

On Tour
With Lance

You Tube

Share your videos with us by tagging them “livestrong”. We'll look at them and add our favorites to our YouTube stream.

Livestrong Videos

mary

Supporter Videos

Giving a painting to Livestrong in Paris

Twitter

LIVESTRONG Twitter

#Livestrong Twitter

Flickr

Tag your photos “livestrong” and we’ll add them to the LIVESTRONG photo stream.

  • Parting Ways
  • RAGBRAI 027
  • RAGBRAI 028
  • livestrong

    • Related Links