On May 5, 2018 Jensen Butler graduated Summa Cum Laude from Florida State University. One week later, he left Santa Monica, California with one goal in mind – to ride his bike over 4,150 miles across the United States to Montauk, New York. Along the way, he is raising money for rare cancer research through Memorial Sloan Kettering’s charity, Cycle for Survival.
Butler, son of Kristan McCarthy of Mountainside and Nat Butler of Westfield, is a native of Mountainside and a graduate of Governor Livingston High School. He was a walk on to the Florida State University Football team but cycling is a relatively new endeavor for the 22 year old. An exceptional all-around athlete, he played football, basketball and tennis at his high school and is always looking for his next challenge.
Last year over spring break, Jensen was inspired and rode his bike 300 miles from Florida State’s campus in Tallahassee to Anna Maria, Florida. After that, he knew he wanted to do more and set out planning for the 70+ day journey that will take him through 13 states before finishing in Montauk, New York in mid July.
Butler, who is riding solo, has a fundraising goal of $10,000 for Cycle for Survival and hopes to raise awareness about the charity which is the movement to beat rare cancers. Cycle for Survival has raised over $180 million dollars in the past decade with every single dollar allocated to rare cancer research.
“With over 1.6 million new cancer cases diagnosed in 2017, approximately half of them were rare cancers so we all know someone who has been touched by rare cancer,” said Butler. “Committing my ride to such a great cause while raising this money holds me accountable and motivates me to finish.”
Jensen entered Kentucky on July 1, 2018 and anticipates finishing his journey before the month’s end. You can follow along on Jensen’s journey on social media via Instagram and Facebook through @tourdejensen.
Donate to Butler’s ride and cause at mskcc.convio.net/goto/TourDeJensen
(above) Jensen Butler at the start of his journey in Santa Monica.
(above) Starting in Santa Monica, Jensen Butler’s over 4,150 mile route across America to raise money for rare cancer research will bring him to New York by the end of July.
