CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A cancer survivor made a stop in Clarksville Saturday as he began his trip to ride his motorcycle around the world raising both awareness and funds for childhood cancer research.  The Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research is the sponsor of the Rally Around the World motorcycle tour.

(CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT)
 
Brad Thompson, from Nashville, who says he has been free of cancer for 20 years left the Music City this morning and made a stop at Mid-South Motoplex, 730 Economy Drive on his way to St. Louis, Missouri and then around the Globe on his Suzuki motorcycle.
 
For his 10^th anniversary of being cancer free, Thompson rode a bicycle supporting the American Cancer Society, across the country from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida which took 35 days and covered close to 2,900 miles.
 
“I’m celebrating my 20^th anniversary of being cancer free and I found the Rally Foundation so I decided to ride my motorcycle around the world.  To date we’ve raised about $80,000 and I’m personally funding the motorcycle portion and all of the dollars I’ve raised have gone back to the Rally Foundation,” Thompson said. 
 
During his stop, Thompson met with Adrianna, one of the Rally Kids from Clarksville currently fighting cancer who said this about event.  “I think it’s actually really special that everybody’s coming out for such a good cause.  I think that cancer doesn’t get as much attention as it should and I’m just really glad that everybody’s here,” said Adrianna.    
 
During his travels, Thompson is scheduled to visit Alaska, South Korea, Russia; Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, England and Canada.  The journey will cover 25,000 miles with Thompson riding around 14,000 miles over the next 50 days.
 
Ed Krass, Owner of Mid-South Motoplex talked about supporting the Rally Around the World.  “We’re glad to be involved anytime there’s an opportunity to support an organization like this, if it’s an adventure like this we want to be involved.  Anything on two wheels is good for us and it’s great to see people out riding their motorcycles,” said Krass.      
 
For every dollar the Rally Foundation receives, 93 cents goes to support childhood cancer research.  Since it was founded in 2005, Rally Foundation has awarded over $3 million for childhood cancer research grants supporting more than 60 projects across the United States.
 
To track Thompson’s progress as he travels around the globe visit www.rallyaroundtheworld.com and to donate to this year’s bike tour go to www.RallyFoundation.org.



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