“I was a young punk,” the 32-year-old said, “and I thought I could ride that old-timer into the ground.”

It turned out the other way around.

At Lance’s memorial service, Cuniff read a poem he wrote in which he said: “I’ve sweated with him, And I have bled with him, Both at work and at play,…His joy of life was unwavering.”

The trio plan to stop at some of the more beautiful locations along the route and scatter some of Lance’s ashes. Anne will join the group for the last five days.

“What amazes me is they knew this guy (Lance) for 10 days and want to name a race after him. They could see what I know was there. I’m honored.”

To make donations to the cystic fibrosis fundraiser in Lance Gregson’s memory log on to: www.gearup4cf.org.