Join us for a leisurely ride, during which you'll learn all about the BCC and the programs we offer. As an added bonus, you'll be able to get answers to your equipment, technique and other questions you may have about the sport with an experienced ride leader. Veteran riders are welcome to join new and prospective members. The ride starts at the same place and time as the regular club ride. See the event calendar for upcoming dates. Please contact ride leader (s)  Alan Kelly, or Darrin Hargrave with any questions. The distance we ride will be decided upon by the group of riders who are doing the ride. Please join us and check us out.   

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January 28. 2008 11:35AM

78-year-old cancer survivor inspires fellow cyclists
by NAOMI KING - Staff Writer

THIBODAUX -- Inside a closet-size room in the back of his Thibodaux home, Harry Landry trains on a stationary bike, but that’s only if the weather is miserable.

Otherwise, the 78-year-old cancer survivor rides through the streets on trips anywhere from 15 to 50 miles long.

When people are astounded by this feat of strength and endurance, Landry simply shrugs and smiles with his light greenish-blue eyes. For him, cycling is just a way to stay healthy and relaxed.

"Sometimes, I do bike alone. I get down, thinking about nothing, just relaxed," Landry said, leaning over as if he’s biking down the road.

Among his favorite biking gear is a shirt with the Marines logo on the front, a present from his niece Tess Talbot. When he wore it to a race, the colorful top earned him the nickname "jarhead" from the other cyclists.

Landry stumbled into cycling in around 1995 after hip-replacement surgery rendered him unable to run for exercise.

"I realized it wasn’t as hard as running," he said, referring to the amount of pressure put on his legs when he runs.

While riding one day from Raceland to Thibodaux, Landry passed another cyclist, David Tabor, coming from the opposite direction. Tabor flagged him down and told him about a local cycling club.

Landry’s now a highly active member of the Bayou Country Cyclists, a club with members from Houma, Thibodaux, Raceland and Luling.

"The bike club, we get along so good. I find it helps me out a lot," Landry said.

In turn, the other members tease him, asking when he’s going to give up, Landry said.

Matt Trahan, a 37-year-old cyclist with the club, said Landry is especially inspiring because of everything he’s experienced and survived.

"I don’t think I’ve met anyone who’s ever been through what he has," Trahan said. "He's the type of guy, when he’s out biking with the club, he puts a lot of the younger guys to shame. Cycling keeps you young, and you can definitely see that."

The Korean War veteran and former Marine, who served for five years, has experienced a lot, growing up as a sugar-cane farmer’s son. He worked as a crane operator in the oilfield for more than 50 years working for major companies like McDermott and Gulf Island, where he retired in 1995.

Another challenge came in December 2004, when Landry discovered a lump on his jaw that doctors diagnosed as cancer on the left side of his tongue.

After 35 radiation treatments in about seven weeks, Landry became a cancer survivor. He credits Thibodaux General Medical Center for having excellent service and physicians.

"When I got to the last one, I said, ëThank God," Landry said, mimicking a sigh of relief.

Though he paced himself, having lost weight, Landry quickly got back on the bike and is now training nearly every day.

On Saturdays, he bikes 30, 40 or 50 miles. He takes it easy on Sundays, he said, biking about 20 to 30 miles. During the week, he starts off lighter, starting with 15-mile trips and building up to the weekend trips, which he often does with the cycling club.

Having gone to the state and national Senior Olympic Games the past two years, Landry’s already well known in the cycling world and is one of the oldest athletes to compete in the summer games.

In 2006, he earned second place in a 40K road race and third place in a 5K race, according to the Louisiana Cycling Foundation. And that was four weeks after a hernia operation, Landry added.

That was a qualifying year, so he went on to the national Senior Olympic Games in Louisville, Ky., in 2007, said Craig Stephens, the 46-year-old president of the Bayou Country Cyclists. He didn't get to compete, however, because both races he was entered in were rained out.

At last years Louisiana Senior Olympic Games, Landry placed second in the 5K event.

Though he competes against men and women closer to his age, Landry's cycling club consists of mostly younger guys in their 40s and 50s, who say they’re all inspired by his boundless energy.

"It’s just his internal drive that keeps him motivated and cycling allows him to express that," Stephens said. "We always tell him, ëMr. Harry, when we’re your age, we’d like to have the same drive.’ "

Besides being an example for others, Landry is also respectful and helpful toward others, Stephens said.

One time while the club was riding, Landry was having difficulty because he hadn’t trained in a while, he said. So the group pulled together and helped him finish by riding in front of him to break the wind, a maneuver that allows for smoother riding.

"He's done the same for other people," Stephens said

THE HOUMA COURIER  

Club History-Purpose

Bayou Country Cyclists, Inc. (BCC) is a non-profit corporation that was founded in December 1993 as an affiliate of the League of American Bicyclists (LAB).
The Club’s purpose is to provide weekly bicycling activities for its members, to educate them in the rules of safe bicycling, to educate the public to the legal rights of bicyclists (Louisiana Traffic Laws, R.S. 32:191) and to advance bicycling as a recreational and sports activity as well as an alternative mode of transportation. In addition, BCC tries to make contributions to local charities or non-profit organizations where its members live, work and ride their bikes in an effort to help promote cyclists as good citizens of the community.