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Dear Alums |
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B.S., Biological Sciences, ’99 During her first bike ride through Bidwell Park, Shannon Breein stopped at the first bridge after One Mile to rest. Gasping in between the asthmatic wheezes that often plagued her, the 1999 CSU, Chico alumna says she never would have imagined she could some day cycle across America. Four years and countless spins through Bidwell Park later, Breein (pictured above, left, with riding partner Amber Scott) has spent this summer on a forty-eight-day, 3,250-mile journey from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in the third Big Ride Across America. The $7,000 she committed to raise will benefit the American Lung Association. “During my sophomore year of college, I became a counselor at Camp Super Stuff, an asthma camp for kids,” says Breein, who holds a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences. “It’s a safe environment where the disease is understood. Since I did that, I knew the Lung Association was a quality organization.” An asthmatic all her life, 26-year-old Breein says she remembers when she was the only kid at summer camp with an inhaler. “I was the weird kid at camp,” she says. In 1996, her condition worsened. She traveled to a center in Denver that specialized in respiratory disease, where she worked with a therapist on breathing patterns and was put on an aggressive medication plan. She disliked taking the medication, and made two resolutions—to ease her way off the medicine and to get active. After three months of the intensive treatment, Breein was ready. She stopped taking the medication and dusted off her heavy beach cruiser. Her initial goal was to ride the circumference of Lower Bidwell Park. After several attempts that left her gasping, Breein was finally able to ride all the way around the park without stopping. She also found that her asthma symptoms were subsiding. Inspired by these results, she enrolled in the bicycling class offered by the university’s Physical Education Department. She met others who shared her enthusiasm for the sport and continued to increase the duration and intensity of her rides. Then she joined the cycling team. “Chico State is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” says Breein. “Living in Chico makes you more gutsy; it gives you confidence.” In 1997, Breein decided to ride for a cause. She registered for the California AIDS Ride, a seven-day, 560-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to benefit HIV and AIDS research, education, and treatment in both cities. She had to raise $2,500, and she was so moved by the entire experience that she joined the 1998 event as well. Breein says her trial-and-error fundraising effort for the two events prepared her for the often intimidating task of raising $7,000 for the Big Ride. She spent an average of three hours each day trying to reach her goal. The challenge was shared with riding partner Amber Scott, 21, a Chico State recreation administration major. The duo, self-dubbed “Team Chico,” met when Scott called Breein and asked her to join the cycling team. The team approached their fundraising with a flair of creativity. One strategy was to design and print raffle tickets for a drawing. They sold the tickets wherever they could—at various expos, in classes, at events throughout town. But more important than meeting their collective $14,000 goal, Breein hopes people learn something from the knowledge they have to share. “Awareness is a big thing for me,” notes Breein. “Anytime we’re anywhere, I hope people learn something.” Breein, who plans on applying to a physician’s assistant program near her hometown of Santa Cruz after her journey, conducted a study of her own during the trip. Teaming up with exercise physiology professor George David Swanson, each day she tested the lung capacity of a group of volunteer cyclists to see if it improved after repeated endurance activities. Each morning, the 200 Big Ride cyclists rolled up their tents, filled their water bottles, and hit the road for an average of 81 miles. The longest day was 113 miles in Wyoming; the shortest day 51 miles in Montana. Although Breein dreaded some of the weather and terrain—the Cascades, the Rockies, and the Appalachians—she felt fortunate that her body could tackle the challenge. “There was a woman in 1998 who rode with an artificial lung. There are people riding with oxygen tanks on their bike. Trust me, I’m considered a lot more healthy than most people on this ride,” she says. “I’m just an average person doing this. I have two legs that are healthy, two lungs that are healthy...I feel blessed.”
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