Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

                                                               Photo by Linda Navarro, The Gazette

Lance Armstrong says she is his hero. Linda Armstrong Kelly calls the seven-time Tour de France champion her best friend.

The bond between son and mother is special and has only grown stronger over time.

Linda was the guest speaker Tuesday at the Kids on Bikes Raising a Champion Luncheon at Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

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"He didn't start as a Tour de France champion," Linda said while detailing her son's upbringing.

Lance was introduced to cycling at age 9. He wanted to race so he and his mother visited a bike shop in Plano, Texas. Not one to settle for second-best even at a young age, Lance picked out the nicest BMX bike in the shop. Though the purchase forced Linda to miss a rent payment, she came through on his request.

Every weekend, Linda would drive Lance to BMX races throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. And Lance, not surprisingly, won his fair share of races.

Biking wasn't his life though. Lance was addicted to running in elementary school and soon became hooked on swimming. And, beyond sports, he wanted to be part of a rock band.

Thankfully, his mother said, it didn't take long for Lance to realize he wasn't cut out for rock 'n' roll. So he sold his drum set and used the money to buy a bike.

"It was his passion, his dream, to ride a bike," Linda said.

Lance signed his first pro contract for $28,000 -- more than his mother was making at the time -- and moved to Austin. After being diagnosed with cancer, Lance underwent months of extreme treatment and eventually beat the dreaded disease. But he refused to return to a quiet lifestyle.

"I want to help people learn about cancer," Linda recalls her son saying upon leaving the hospital.

Lance immediately began his foundation -- laying the groundwork for what has become an enormous success -- and in the process taught his mom the "importance of giving back."

And that's what Linda was doing Tuesday afternoon, volunteering her time to help Kids on Bikes -- a nonprofit founded by Paige Carmichael that has given more than 700 new bikes, helmets and locks to children in the Pikes Peak region.

"Perseverance, relentless, never give up, that's what she has," Chris Carmichael, Lance's personal coach and founder of Carmichael Training Systems, said of Linda.