Best of 2011: Battling Cancer, One Ride at a Time

Editor's Note: With 2011 now in the history books, we're taking a few moments to look back at five of our favorite stories. Be sure to stay tuned all week, as we continue to count down the best stories of 2011.

There are certain stories you just know are going to be fascinating to tackle, from start to finish. So when I received that random email from a family member of , I leapt at the opportunity to interview him.

Of all places, things started just before sunrise in the musty basement Andy lovingly nicknamed "the pain cave." He rode while we talked, slowly telling me everything he had gone through over the course of the last few months—namely being diagnosed with stage 2 testicular cancer and, suddenly, finding himself involved in a fight for his life.

We met back up that same afternoon as he received a dose of chemotherapy drugs, talking at length about how his life had changed. One particular quote still sticks with me today, perfectly encapsulating Andy's battle plan:

"As soon as I found out (about the cancer), something inside of me said if I'm quiet about this, if I pretend nothing's happening, if I just like am scared of it, somehow it's going to win," he said. "But if I yell about it, I'm just going to embarrass it out of my body. And that's the plan: I'm just going to tell everybody that I can."

I'm glad to report Andy has been cancer-free since late spring, met his goal of riding alongside Lance Armstrong this past October in Austin, TX and managed to raise more than $34,000 for the LIVESTRONG Foundation in the process. A kudos to an amazing Edina resident and all-around inspiration.