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October 22, 2009

Mom would be proud of Tour de Pink riders

By Monica Pryts

With so many charity events for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, it’s hard for some people to pick an event that will best honor a survivor or a loved one lost to the disease.

That was not the case for Brian and Kristin Diegan.

The Hermitage father and daughter set out Oct. 1 on a four-day, 227-mile bicycle ride from Hershey, Pa., to New York City to celebrate the life of mother and grandmother, Nancy Diegan, who passed away July 20, 2008, of breast cancer at the age of 68.

Sponsored by The Hershey Co. with money raised by the riders going to the Young Survival Coalition, Diegan rode in the Tour de Pink in 2007 while his mother was being treated.



“I can’t explain it,” he said of how the ride made him feel.



Kristin, 16, was the youngest person to complete the ride, which had about 180 participants this year. She and her father knew riding in the Tour de Pink together would be a great way to remember Mrs. Diegan, especially since they enjoy physical activity.

“It was very challenging and fun at the same time,” said Kristin, a junior at Hickory High School, Hermitage.

One of Diegan’s other children, Michelle, 18, wanted to ride but couldn’t fit it into her college schedule.

The Diegans raised about $6,000 by the beginning of October, adding to the nearly $800,000 collected for the Young Survival Coalition, which raises awareness for breast cancer among young women.

“It’s still coming in,” Kristin said of the donations.

When the Diegans arrived in Hershey, their bicycles were inspected and they took a cycling class from two professionals.

The first day of the trek was tough, riding about 90 miles in eight hours in some rain, but looking around at the sea of pink shirts kept them motivated, they said.

Diegan met up with some of the same people from the 2007 ride, and they made new friends along the way. Some were breast cancer supporters while other riders were survivors or currently being treated.

“You couldn’t help but tear up a little bit,” Diegan said of hearing their stories.

They traveled on highways and back roads through King of Prussia, Pa., Philadelphia, and Trenton and Bridgewater in New Jersey, surrounded by a small fleet of motorcyclists and vans keeping an eye on the traffic.

Kristin had a little spill on the second day somewhere in New Jersey when her brakes locked up while going downhill. She landed on her hands and knees, suffering some cuts and bruises, but continued on after being treated by a doctor traveling with the group, she said.

The Diegans ended their journey Oct. 4 in New York City with the group making an appearance Oct. 5 on “Fox & Friends,” a morning news show.

The father and daughter feel even closer now and Diegan said he knows his mother would be proud, especially since she told him before she died to have more fun.

“Mom would be very pleased,” he said, choking up a little.

Because of the ride, the Diegan family talks more about breast cancer, something they hope the event inspired in others, Diegan said. His mother’s great-grandmother and aunt had it, but they never spoke of it.

“It could happen to me, too,” Kristin said.

Diegan e-mailed updates each night from their hotel to event organizers, with the last message saying it was an unforgettable four days with his daughter.

“Mom told me before she passed that if she could do it all over again, she would spend less time cleaning and more time doing things she thought she could do later,” he said in that message.

Diegan is vice president of network services for First National Bank, Hermitage. He and his wife Sherri have two other children, Jon, 21, and Nicole, 9. His father George Diegan lives in Hermitage.

Michelle hopes to ride in the 2010 Tour de Pink with her father and Kristin.

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