Cycling

When winter still lingers and memories of her brother’s death feel heavier, one RGP employee chooses not to retreat, but to bike.

For Melissa Goldstein, giving her time to Cycle for Survival, a nationwide indoor team cycling fundraiser that supports rare cancer research, is something she returns to, year after year.

“I started, not because of the cancer mission, but just because the ride happened in February, the month I lost my brother,” said Melissa, “I love riding, and I just used it as a way to focus on something positive.”

That decision, made 12 years ago at a small local gym, has since grown into a deeply personal commitment. Melissa captains a team, The Rising, that has raised nearly $90,000 for rare cancer research. Melissa uses her personal time to organize riders, coordinate fundraising, and create momentum around the cause. As for the fundraising part of her role, she said she never asks people for money. She just tells people what she does and how excited she is, and that authenticity resonates, even reconnecting her with people she hasn’t spoken to in decades.

“There was someone I worked with twenty-five years ago who donated,” said Melissa. “He said, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing. This touches me personally.’”

Cycle for Survival was started by a woman who attended high school with Melissa.

“I knew her as Jennifer Goodman,” said Melissa, “She was one year older than me in Livingston High School. She was just ‘a force’. She was president of the Key Club and very popular. She just had this great personality. She was someone who stood out as a leader in high school.”

Jennifer married David Linn and became Jennifer Goodman Linn. One year after she was married, she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare cancer.

“Instead of letting cancer get her, she decided she would cycle every day,” said Melissa, “It was the place she felt most in control. She, her husband, and a small group of friends decided they were going to do a cycling event to raise money for rare cancer. Which then turned into a bigger event, which then turned into a bigger event.”

As participation grew, the event caught the attention of larger partners. With the involvement of Memorial Sloan Kettering, where every dollar raised goes to rare cancer research, and the sponsorship of Equinox, the gym and fitness company, Cycle for Survival found the infrastructure it needed to scale. Today, the event spans coast to coast, uniting thousands of riders in synchronized weekends of fundraising and remembrance.

For participants like Melissa, who first rode when it was still held at a local New York Sports Club, the transformation has been striking: “It’s amazing to think that it is coast-to-coast.”

As for the events themselves, the fundraisers create a rare emotional space. Patients, survivors, families, doctors, and entire teams of supporters fill the room; many riding for someone they love. As Melissa explained, there are moments when the room quiets, when a story is shared, and the weight of it settles over the crowd. And then, almost immediately, the music rises again. People cheer. They dance on their bikes. They lift each other up.

“It’s basically a party on your bike,” she said, describing a room filled with music, cheering, and energy. “There are moments of sadness, but it’s mostly just about hope.”