Grace Goodell

Grace Goodell / 2024 Team Fundraising

Here is a little about why I ride. My mom has always been the healthiest person I know. She grows all of our food in a massive backyard vegetable garden, only eats eggs that come from our chickens, runs 5 miles a day, and can swim the length of an entire lake without getting tired. 

That is why, last summer, I was completely shocked when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before my mom’s diagnosis, I had never experienced cancer firsthand, although my grandfather died of lung cancer. It took him before I got the chance to meet him, but my dad's stories about their days at the family lake house and hunting together make me wish that I got that opportunity. 

My mom has always been relatively skeptical of doctors– when talking about mammograms before her diagnosis, she shrugged them off. Maybe her cancer could have been caught months (or years), earlier if she had gotten her annual mammograms. I know she regrets that every day. Unfortunately, that is the reality for millions of people. Early diagnosis is the most important and deciding factor of cancer fatality rates. That is why I want to cycle to Alaska to fight cancer. I want to stop in every little town on the way to Alaska and inform people about the importance of early detection and prevention. 

My mom has completed all four of her chemo treatments, has undergone two surgeries and 6 weeks of radiation, followed by five years of hormone therapy. I hope and pray that this will be the end of her cancer journey, but it will not be the end of my journey fighting cancer from Texas to Alaska. 

To Alaska and back, 

Grace

  • $4,890

    Raised

  • $6,000

    Goal

  • 27

    Supporters

  • 0

    Days Remaining

Recent Transactions

  • Julia Nigro

    $25.80 / 121 days ago

  • Janet Dietrich

    $103.20 / 160 days ago

    Hi Grace! I just met you, Aneesha and Rama at HEB in Lakeway during your training ride. So impressive that you guys are doing this ride! I just read your profile and your mom sounds amazing and she obviously raised an incredible daughter! Good luck on your ride and look me up/message me on linked-in if I can be helpful given your major. :) Janet Dietrich, Houston (and Lakeway), (Macquarie Group)

  • Lee Edwards

    $100.00 / 255 days ago

    Got Get 'em Grace!!!

  • Evan Autin

    $30.96 / 257 days ago

  • Riley Edwards

    $25.80 / 257 days ago

    Proud of you!!! And very very impressed, TX-AK doesn’t stand a chance, ride on!!!!

  • Katie Robinson Edwards

    $103.20 / 259 days ago

    Go Grace Go!

  • Grace Goodell

    $67.00 / 269 days ago

  • Jackson Cox

    $88.75 / 275 days ago

    Good luck to you and your mom, Grace!

  • Daniel Dudek

    $103.20 / 275 days ago

  • Marcia Wadlow

    $103.20 / 275 days ago

    Jill and I will be following you every pedal of the way! If there was one grandchild of mine who would ride her bike from Texas to Alaska, I always knew it would be you.

  • Jeff Goodell

    $516.00 / 275 days ago

    So proud of you for this, Grace. May your muscles flatten mountains and your courage guide you through the wind and heat (and mosquitoes!) and your great spirit carry you and all your friends across the glaciers of Alaska. You go, girl!

  • Donna Mainini

    $309.60 / 278 days ago

  • Michele Owens

    $1,000.00 / 279 days ago

    So proud of Grace Goodell, for her energy, her stamina, and her civic-mindedness.

  • Laura Bennett

    $258.00 / 281 days ago

    Go Grace! You will make a huge impact with all the people you meet along the way!

  • Andrea Diaz

    $10.32 / 282 days ago

    You rock!! So proud of you, you got this!!

  • Barkley Bennett

    $51.60 / 282 days ago

    Grace is amazing! We love Grace!

  • Julia Nigro

    $25.73 / 325 days ago

  • Chris Chase

    $51.45 / 325 days ago

    Awesome Grace. Proud of you for doing this. Be safe

  • Thomas Sieniewicz

    $205.80 / 325 days ago

    Gracie, I have known you for a long time I can attest that 4500 miles on a bike for you will be as easy as catching a bucket of Maine mackeral on a pink Barbie fishing rod, eating apple or blueberry pie and swiming in the 50 degree Atlantic waters while laughing and smiling. GO GO GO! love Captain Haddock

  • Ethan Heasley

    $30.00 / 325 days ago

  • Etta Carpender

    $5.15 / 325 days ago

  • Leah Nigro

    $51.45 / 325 days ago

  • Amber Harwood

    $5.15 / 325 days ago

    Good luck Grace!!

  • Tina Nigro

    $205.80 / 325 days ago

    Kick Cancers Ass…….💕💪🏻

  • Katelyn Anderson

    $51.45 / 328 days ago

About Grace Goodell

Hello! My name is Grace and I am a senior at UT majoring in geography and sustainability studies with a concentration in natural resource management and minoring in geology. I am very passionate about environmental conservation and I hope to go into the field of conservation work after I graduate. The current plan is to be a park ranger! This summer I attended a study abroad program in Botswana. I did field work and studied climate change and its effects on the vegetation and people living in the Kalahari Desert and Okavango Delta, as well as human-wildlife conflict and interactions. I also volunteer at the Vertebrate Palentology lab working to identify and date bones and fossils found in caves around Central Texas.

If you couldn’t already tell, I love to be outside. You can find me paddling a river with Longhorn Stream Team, guiding a backpacking trip with the UT Outdoor Center, and soon biking to Alaska! I also love going to see live music and exploring new food spots around Austin, knitting, reading, and cats!