Tour de Vaughn Cycling Event Honors Vaughn Prude and Others Touched by Cancer

Vaughn Prude was the kind of cycling instructor who, even on a sunny day when most people wanted to be outside, still would be surrounded by cyclists as he instructed in the .

His fun-filled attitude is part of what made him a favorite around the Y, said Dave Keller, Prude’s friend and colleague there.

“He’s just a great guy all the way around,” Keller said. “He was the most popular instructor we had at the Y.”

Keller, also a cycling instructor, said he would bike outdoors with Prude, who died from prostate cancer in 2005.

To honor him, Prude’s family started the Tour de Vaughn cycling event, and now the annual fundraiser supports the North Canton YMCA’s Living Strong Living Well classes. That's a free 12-week program for those who have or have had cancer. Money also goes to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation.

This year’s Tour de Vaughn event is from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday inside the North Canton YMCA. Participants pay $25 to ride a stationary bike for a half hour. Spots still were open at the beginning of this week, and those interested in joining may sign up at the YMCA. No membership is needed.

The Living Strong Living Well program is the main reason why Keller participates in the Tour de Vaughn. This year he’s reserved a bike during each time slot.

“The biggest thing for me is listening to the people who benefit from our Living Strong Living Well program at the Y,” he said. “That’s why I’m there.”

Riders pass around a microphone and share their stories of how cancer has affected them, said Kathy Yaros, the Y’s family and community director. She will ride at 3:30 p.m. in honor of a friend who’s battling cancer. She also hopes to get the word out about the Living Strong Living Well program.

“One of the big messages … is to get people to know about this cancer program, that it’s free and it’s open to anyone wherever they are in their journey,” she said.

“The real benefit is these people feel like they’re coming back to living normal again. They don’t want to see themselves as cancer patients or cancer survivors. They just want to see themselves as living.”

Julie James, the Y's director of personal training, is in charge of the Living Strong Living Well program. She said the North Canton YMCA received a grant from Stanford University more than three years ago to create the program. The Tour de Vaughn started supporting the program, which is open to anyone diagnosed with cancer regardless of where they reside or whether they have a Y membership, once grant dollars ran out.

“It allows us to keep the class going for free,” James said.

Right now 22 people are in the program, but she hopes to soon involve 60 to 100 people.

The program also puts participants in touch with a dietitian from the North Canton Medical Foundation.

The cycling event raised more than $20,000 last year, said Anne Covert, North Canton YMCA health and fitness director. Riders filled about 85 percent of last year's time slots.

YMCA personnel say they look forward to the Tour de Vaughn all year, and it’s inspiring to hear the stories shared by those riding the stationary bikes that day.

“Just come and enjoy the day with us and see the brighter side of what these people have been through,” James said.