Dave's friends have adopted a section of road in Dave's honor. What more fitting tribute could there be than to have a some of the roads Dave loved to ride maintained so that others can ride and perhaps feel a bit of the passion for cycling that Dave did?

Photo courtesy of Chelsea Reynolds

On October 2nd of 2000, Dave Panella's life changed when he received some of the worst news anyone can ever hear- he was told that he had colon cancer. Dave was diagnosed with colon cancer on the same day of the year as one of his heros, Lance Armstrong. Another blow came in April of 2003 when Dave was told he also had pancreatic cancer.

Many people would fold under the pressure and give in to despair after hearing news like that. Not Dave. Dave met this news with hope and determination to overcome this biggest challenge of his life. With the steadfast support of his loving wife, Dave is still fighting the good fight even though his road has been a rocky one at times.

Dave began sending updates to his local cycling club's e-mail list to let his friends and fellow riders know how he was doing and about any significant changes in his situtation. These e-mail updates are the reason this website was created. Dave's courage, fighting spirit, unflagging optimism, and good cheer in the face of his illness have been an inspiration for many across the central NY cycling community who received these e-mail messages. The hope is that they can now be an inspiration for many others in a much wider audience through this site.

Dave's e-mail updates can be viewed on the "Dave's Updates" page exactly as they were originally written. No editing of any kind has been done to them. Future updates will be added as Dave writes them.

Please sign the guestbook to show your support for Dave and his continuing fight. It might not seem like much, but as more people sign the book Dave can know that he has a lot of people pulling for him.

Perhaps the best measure of the kind of person Dave is is this guestbook entry-

About Dave Panella-

Dave was born 3 October, 1961 and is currently 43 years old. He is a member of Local 325 of the Electrical Worker's Union and is employed by Matco Electric as a General Foreman. Dave is an avid cyclist and racer. Even when not racing, his big, booming voice can always be heard on the sidelines encouraging his friends to the best of their ability. Few have the fervor and love for cycling that Dave does.

Dave has undergone 7 rounds of chemotherapy and has had surgeries lasting up to 12 hours to help battle the cancer.