70-Year-Old Stage 4 Cancer Survivor to Cycle 10 States for Charity

On September 8, 2017, 70-year-old Brother Shamus McGrenra T.O.R., a stage 4 colon cancer survivor, will tackle his toughest route in the history of the annual #GoBroShamus Charity Bike Ride. The journey will begin in Bar Harbor, Maine and cover roughly 1,000 miles of mountainous terrain, taking Bro. Shamus through 10 states and several major cities before coming to an end in Jamestown, Virginia.

Bro. Shamus’s goal is to raise $45,000 for the Dorothy Day Outreach Center at Saint Francis University, a volunteer-based charity that provides food and necessities to members of the local Loretto, PA community suffering from rural poverty. 100% of the proceeds will be donated. 

In 2011, Bro. Shamus created the first Charity Bike Ride for Dorothy Day after witnessing an intimate moment between a young mother and the center’s staff. He felt inspired to do something that would help support the underprivileged in the local community, and combined that inspiration with his love for cycling.

In 2013—after two years of successful charity rides—Brother Shamus was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and began several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Devastated he could not ride the following year, Brother Shamus reached out to the local community for help. The “Shamus Shuffle” was created in response, raising $30,000 for the Dorothy Day Center in 2014 in Brother’s honor.

In 2014, while still undergoing chemotherapy treatments, Brother Shamus successfully completed his “Five States in Five Days (The Lord Willing) for the DDC” charity ride, raising $32,000 for Dorothy Day.

Since his first ride in 2011, Brother Shamus has biked over 3,000 miles and raised nearly $200,000 for the Dorothy Day Outreach Center. 

Now miraculously in remission, Brother Shamus’s goals are clear: “I want to do 2 things. I want people to realize the power of prayer, and I want to be an instrument of hope to those like me. Cancer is not a death sentence. There is life after diagnosis.”