Beaverton cyclist Joe Dominey is set on an extraordinary journey.

From June 28 to July 20, the Beaverton resident will ride the full 2,023-mile route of the Tour de France to honor his mother and those battling or who have died from leukemia.

The Tour 21 charity ride will see 25 cyclists from around the world — including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Israel — complete the Tour de France route one week ahead of professional racers.

Unlike the 21-stage annual European mainstay, Tour 21 focuses on raising cancer awareness, with stages featuring intense mountain climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees.

“It was always a dream to ride the Tour de France route. I wondered, ‘Could I do it?’” Dominey said. “I’m not going to invent the cure for leukemia; I’m not going to run drug trial research… but (cycling) is a way for me to help fight a disease that will eventually claim my mom’s life.”

Getting to the course

Dominey’s journey started about a year ago when he found himself in a bike shop. A flyer caught his eye with a simple headline: “Oregon cyclist selected to ride the Tour de France route.”

“I’m looking at this and going, ‘I’ve got to meet this guy,’” Dominey said.

And so, he met Keith Knowles — the Oregon cyclist who had been selected — at a Beaverton bicycle shop and found out about Tour 21, a fundraising event to find a cure for leukemia.

After a bit of help and encouragement from Knowles — not to mention a background with 20 years of cycling experience — Dominey was chosen from a competitive pool of applicants.

Since his selection, Dominey has trained rigorously in preparation for the challenging three-week ride this summer — logging nearly 12,000 miles on his own over the past year and training with 15 other riders off the coast of Spain, where they rode roughly 580 miles in seven days.

Dominey noted the difference in his size compared to with his teammates, “I was a 1994 NAIA second-team All-American defensive selection. I was a defensive tackle… it kind of encompasses my build,” Dominey said. “I’m a lot bigger than a normal cyclist. Everybody else is a small guy, and I’m always the biggest guy out there.”

Though this isn’t the official Tour de France race, Dominey and his team won’t be alone. As an organized event partnered with Cure Leukaemia, the cycling team will be aided by road closures and escorted by motorcycles.

The long and brutal climb

Motivated by a personal connection with leukemia, Dominey will ride each stage of the course in honor of individuals affected by blood cancer.

Dominey is making the long and brutal climb through Stage 16 for Douglas Eberwein — a teen who passed away at the age of 16 battling leukemia and a friend of Dominey’s stepson.

He is riding the Lourdes stage in honor of his mother, Jean Dominey, a 92-year-old former Catholic nun who has been battling the disease for many years, even outliving her doctor’s prognosis that she would not survive past 2021.

“(Lourdes is) a huge place in the Catholic faith. My mom and I went to Lourdes in 1984. The tour going through it this year — it’s almost perfect that I get to honor her that way,” Dominey said. “If I can show the fight, the tenacity and the sheer stubbornness that my mother has in her battle with leukemia — If I can show half that, I’ll be OK,” Dominey said.

With an initial fundraising goal of $40,000, Dominey has already surpassed it, having raised over $41,000 as of Thursday, June 26, to support drug trial research.

“I got a chance to keep going and honor (those with leukemia) and their efforts,” Dominey said. “That’s important to me about this whole thing. It’s not about me, it’s about honoring people in a struggling battle.”

Dominey hopes his effort will go on to inspire others to take on fierce challenges and support critical medical research. For those interested in supporting Dominey and his effort to raise funds, visit justgiving.com.