Kelly Miyahara and a fellow member of Team One Love at a past Tour de Pier event. Photo by Jeff Berting
By Steve Simmons – posted 4:17 p.m., Sept. 12, 2020
Like many fund-raising nonprofits, the Tour de Pier, an annual stationary bike-riding event that raises money for cancer research and support organizations, has had to change course.
Because of COVID-19, the event, which usually attracts more than 10,000 cyclists on hundreds of bikes filling the famed Manhattan Beach Pier and parking lot, is going viral.
So on Sunday, Sept. 13 starting at 9 a.m., participants are encouraged to ride from home, take a spin class, and air quality permitting, bike outdoors, go for a run or walk or choose their own alternative be it dancing, jogging around the block, hitting local trails, running on a treadmill, or even paddle boarding. Some are even doing 5K runs.
Among the many taking part “in her own way,” and who this year was looking forward to being an “honored rider” is Kelly Miyahara. A former Jeopardy Clue Crew Member, Miyahara traveled the world for the iconic quiz show from 2005-2019. Now, among other projects, she’s an interactive live game host for the world’s only live Bingo app.
“Sadly, there’s no physical event this year,” says Miyahara. As of Wednesday, she was still formulating her plans, but excited to be participating with her extended family including her parents, nephews, husband and son. Since she is 26-weeks pregnant with her second child, her doctor has ruled out stationary biking or running. “But I have to do something. The cause means a lot to me and now it’s hit home.”
Now It’s Personal
When her sister Trina Miyahara was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, and her mother Wanda Miyahara was diagnosed three months later, Miyahara decided to have a preventative double mastectomy thinking she would be a “pre-vivor.” After her surgery, she learned she was actually a breast cancer survivor. “My mom, sister and I discovered that all three of us are BRCA2+, a hereditary genetic mutation that increases risks of breast, ovarian and other cancers,” says Miyahara. “I was diagnosed breast cancer, Stage 0 (DCIS), after it was found during pathology tests post-surgery. I thought I was having surgery to decrease my chances of ever facing a cancer diagnosis. It turns out I made the right decision, in the nick of time.”
Miyahara was spared the chemotherapy and radiation sessions and “I made the same choice I would have had I been told I had cancer. I did it all backwards and it still doesn’t feel real,” Miyahara says. “I feel like I cheated and didn’t have to go through what others do. It’s hard to accept that I’m a survivor.”
Telling The Stories
So, Miyahara set out to learn stories of survivors. “We all have our own stories, and go through different pieces in our journeys, but that doesn’t make any story less worthy,” she says. “The important thing is that we use stories to empower and educate others.”
To that end, she and a filmmaker she met have been working for a year and a half on a documentary to inform patients about breast cancer risks, BRCA2+ and treatment options. “Before this happened to my family I didn’t know about these mutations or how easy it was to get a genetic test.
“A lot of the information out there is dry and hard to understand,” Miyahara says. “We want to tell human stories that let people know they’re not alone, while being sensitive to what they’re going through emotionally.”
“I was so lucky to have two people who knew what I would have to go through and understood it before I could imagine it,” says Miyahara. “As three women in the same family we really could help people prepare for their own journeys.”
She’s also been able to “take something horrible and find the positive side and a mission. “I’ve been approached by total strangers and made friends because of cancer. I’m able to talk on the phone and help people through preparations for surgery. It’s very meaningful and empowering to help others.”
A History Of Participation
Miyahara has “always believed in the cause” and has a history of fundraising beginning in 2010. She has earned more than $60,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Registration for Tour de Pier is $50 and participants, more than 600 on 151 teams for this eighth annual event, have no set goal other than the $150 suggested minimum. “It’s hard to ask for money in this climate,” says Miyahara “But I find people who just say, ‘thank you, you’re doing the hard work’ and that’s inspiring.”
Miyahara first joined Tour de Pier in 2015 on Team One Love, founded by her best friend from Seattle (she attended the University of Washington). “We recruited her sister and friends for the team.” In usual years, team members take turns riding for an hour on pre-assigned bikes, to earn pledges and donations. As a retired ironman, Miyahara’s goal is to do the entire five-hour ride on one bike.
Pivoting to the virtual realm, this year all registered participants will be emailed a link before the event for access to the TDP Live Ride Video, along with an audio-only version of the 9 a.m. class they can download for free. Led by TDP instructors, the 50-minute class will offer a music-accompanied workout.
Last year, Miyahara couldn’t take part in the May Tour de Pier Manhattan Beach event. It was two weeks after reconstructive surgery and her doctor advised against it. But she was able to see the “bikes upon bikes lined up on the pier and in the parking lot and the tons of people and hear the music,” as an observer at her first outing after surgery.
She was able to reunite with Seattle friends at the inaugural Tour de Pier Seattle in September. “I was able to participate, so it was special, and now I have a two-part Tour de Tour family.”
The fundraiser will benefit three nonprofits: The Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research; Uncle Kory Foundation for Brain Cancer Research and the Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach, where Miyahara and her sister and mom attended workshops and took yoga classes.
Riding For A Cause
As an active participant, Miyahara has had the chance to meet the organization’s founders Jon Hirshberg and Heath Gregory. “They are stand-up human beings who care about people,” says Miyahara. “They respond to our stories and that makes it easy to help.”
Hirshberg, who started the first LA Cancer Challenge after the loss of his father Ron in 1997, came across the idea of doing a spin bike fundraiser after learning about an event that raised more than $3 million in one day at cycling studios across the country. Hirshberg approached his friend and long-time cycling enthusiast Gregory about the idea of putting on a one-day event in their hometown of Manhattan Beach. Coincidentally, Heath had participated in a similar event in Barcelona during the 2009 Tour de France. With the Foundation on board to produce the event and a team of board members eager to participate, planning for the Tour de Pier began.
After months of preparation, the Inaugural Tour de Pier was held in May 2013 at the Manhattan Beach Pier and raised more than $339,000. By the fourth year, the goal was $1 million and surpassed that milestone. Last year the event raised more than $1.5 million. Since 2013, Tour de Pier has raised more than $7.3 million for cancer charities.
For more information or to register, visit tourdepier.com.
