Published: May 15, 2008 08:03 pm            

Taylor's survivors ride again on Saturday

Somerset — In the battle against cancer, sometimes the best solution is — let it ride.

That’s what the Faye Taylor Survivors Relay for Life team will be doing this Saturday for the seventh straight year, hosting a motorcycle run through Pulaski County to benefit the efforts of the American Cancer Society.

This is the first time Taylor, herself a cancer survivor, has handed over the reins to someone else. Jimmy Wilson is functioning at the Relay for Life team’s captain, with Beverly Randolph as co-captain.

However, “I didn’t completely hand (the reins) over,” laughed Taylor. “I thought I was (going to), but I’m still very involved.”

It’s only fitting. The team — which has actually been conducting fundraising efforts for eight years now — has rumbled on despite feeling the effects of the disease in a very personal way. Since starting the motorcycle ride event, Taylor said, four of those who have hopped on the hog for a good cause have passed away — Kathy Bubnick, Allen Butler, and Relay for Life team members Peggy Haste and Darrell Wilson.

Last year’s ride was the first since Haste died, and the event was held in her memory. This year, the festivities will honor each of those four.

“There’s a bond among cancer survivors involved in something together,” said Taylor. “You don’t have a hard time remembering them.”

So what’s the attraction? Besides motorcycle enthusiasts getting a good excuse to head out on the open road and commune with other like-minded folks, there are draws even for those who don’t know a Harley from a Vespa. Buy yourself a “chance” and you might just win half of the collected 50-50 “Pot of Gold” — if $1,000 is taken in, for example, you’ll get $500. There’s plenty of other prizes available via raffle tickets, too — over $2,000 worth total.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Pulaski County Park off Ky. 80 — it’s only $10 to ride your bike with the group. Departure is at 11 a.m. The route will take the riders up U.S. 27, across Ky. 150, back down Ky. 39, onto U.S. 27 and Ky. 80 again and ending up at the park.

All that ripping up the road should work up an appetite, so those involved can enjoy a meal featuring barbecue, baked beans and cole slaw.

Taylor said everyone on the team has been touched in some way by the scourge of cancer — “Some have lost children, some have lost parents, and some are cancer survivors” — and raising money for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society is one way to fight back.

This year’s Relay for Life event will be Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14 at Somerset Community College.

        

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