2/2026: Wheels 2026: Celebrating Survivors!
Hi Subscriber First Name,
Who’s into Winter biking? May not matter much this year as Winter keeps getting delayed! I’m praying for snow as skiing is my winter activity.
2026 is all about celebrating our survivors and changing up the WOJ leadership! Please refer to Amber’s 12/27/2025 newsletter for more information 12/27/2025 Calling All Survivors — Wheels of Justice - Courage Classic.
We are collecting survivor stories and will include them in future newsletters. Please send your stories to me, Amy Goodner, by replying to this email!
Our first 2 stories are at the end of this newsletter.
Quick summary of Amber’s Christmas newsletter:
If you are a survivor or riding in support of a survivor, please reply with your story so we can honor you.
Our Wheels 2026 kit will be designed with survivors in mind and celebrating all the joy and lives saved by those illustrious caregivers that make up the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Amber and family are stepping away for their leadership position (at least they are trying to). They will still be active team members but we hope to establish more of a leadership board and spread some of the work. If you are interested in getting more involved, please reach out. Click Here to learn about volunteering for Wheels.
Courage Classic 2026 will be held July 18 - 19 at Copper! Registration is opening in March,2026! We will let you know when it opens. Also, here is the website so you can request an email from Courage Classic when registration opens: Courage Classic Bicycle Tour for Children's Hospital Colorado
In the meantime, recruit some friends, neighbors, and relatives to ride with us this year.
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday Apr 22, 5-7 pm:
Wheels Kick-off Party at Children’s Hospital, We need volunteers to help with set-up, coordinating during the event, and clean-up. Please reach out if you are interested.
This is a fun event that will get us excited for the Courage Classic and remind us of why we ride and raise $.
Sunday, April 26, 12 - 5pm: Flamingo Decorating Party for Children's Hospital | Facebook
This is a fundraiser put on by partner team, Kick Cancer’s Ass.
July 18-19, 2026 Copper Mountain, Colorado: Courage Classic 2026
Survivor Stories:
Natalie:
In 2004, Natalie was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis or LCH at the age of 4 years old. This is a very rare blood disorder where it happens in every 1 out of 200,000 children where the white blood cells attack and eat away where they are. She had it in her spine. We discovered this while visiting family in Syracuse, NY while she was playing with her cousins and she got hurt and would not stop crying. We took her to the hospital and ended up spending several days there while she was diagnosed.
The hospital there gave us a couple of hospital choices in Denver ,and we chose Children’s Hospital and that is where we met Dr. Smith and his team. They were awesome. She received the best care and we developed a close relationship with Dr. Tom Smith.
Natalie went through 6+ months of chemotherapy and was cured. During this, I asked Dr. Smith if there was any way that I could give back and he said “well, we have this ride called the Courage Classic and if you wanted to ride and raise money, we would love to have you on our team.” I consequently borrowed a bike that needed brakes and I started riding. After Tom joked about my bike, I went and bought a new bike.
Our family has since then supported Children’s hospital for 18 years and we are approaching $100,000 in donations this year and are so thankful for this charity and everyone who supports Children’s Hospital.
Tyler:
I ride each year in the Courage Classic as a survivor of childhood Cancer. Like many others, I was recruited by Tom Smith with my first ride in 2012 (I have ridden each year since, except the "COVID years"). My diagnosis was in 2002 (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) when Dr. Smith was working with a small office called Childhood Hematology and Oncology Associates (CHOA), located at Pres St. Luke’s hospital. While I was never officially "treated" at Children's, Tom's office was acquired by children's in the years after my treatment, so I did a few follow-up appointments at their early office at Littleton Hospital, then eventually the CCBD office at the South Campus. I decided it was probably time for me to stop visiting Tom when I would have Maddi (my daughter) with me and they would ask why she was there to be seen. They weren't really expecting the 28 year old to be the one visiting Tom!
As a further testament to the incredible impact you and this team have on so many, I am thrilled to say that Maddi's current career goal is to be a pediatric oncology nurse, working with CCBD at the south campus.
