I got in Lance Armstrong’s face last weekend.

He was seated at a table signing autographs for people who raised lots of money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation to find a cure for cancer.

I’d helped raise a couple thousand dollars for LAF. I helped organize a bike ride on Memorial Day weekend as a fundraiser. I collected some more money to ride on the LiveStrong triathlon team in a Tri-Sharks event at Dawson Lake earlier this year. But I didn’t raise enough to be invited to this gig held in Austin, Texas, the Mecca for cyclists like me who have survived cancer.

I was at the LiveStrong Challenge as a guest. The rare opportunity came after local LAF volunteer fundraiser Jeff Wells nominated me as one of two people who were ultimately invited to attend the event by the “Team Discovery Channel Challenge.” The team got to choose two attendees after visitors to the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team Web site (www.thepaceline.com) met Armstrong’s challenge to raise $30,000 for LAF. The other guest was a 10-year-old leukemia survivor.

Armstrong was seated alone at a table at one end of a conference room when I first saw him. Two guests were allowed in the room at a time. One walked to the table where Armstrong penned his name on whatever item the person brought along, a perk for doing fundraising for LAF. The other person waited a few feet away with a woman on the LAF staff.

When my turn came, I walked up, shook his hand, smiled and said, “Hi, I’m Scott.” I unfolded a Discovery Team jersey I brought for the occasion and spread it in front of him. As he leaned forward with black marker in hand, I leaned forward so just he and I could hear.

“Thank you for saving my life,” I said.

He cocked his head a little to listen as he looked down at the jersey to write.

“You did it even before I was diagnosed with cancer. You made cycling look like so much fun, I bought one and lost more than 100 pounds. That’s when I went to the doctor for a physical and he caught my prostate cancer early.

“Thank you,” I said.

Armstrong grinned.

“Cool,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

That was it, less than a minute. But it was a magic time, one I’ll never

forget. Thank you Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team and www.thepaceline.com.

Many times, I’ve wanted a chance to express my gratitude to an author or a statesman, a religious figure or a scientist who did or said something that helped me. I’ve wanted to thank sports figures who accomplished the impossible like Armstrong’s seven victories at the Tour de France after he defeated testicular cancer. He challenged me to be a better me.

He’s a big part of the reason I finished 2006 with 7,015 miles on my bikes despite time off for two surgeries in June and September. My goal was to stay in shape to ward off a recurrence and to show others cancer didn’t have to slow them down. I have more than 8,000 miles on bikes this year for the same reasons. At age 56, I’m still losing weight. I’ve really never been in better shape in my life.

During the experience, I repeated the LAF mantra often; “Unity is strength, knowledge is power, attitude is everything.”

Armstrong has affected millions of other people in similar ways. From a small beginning 10 years ago, the Austin LiveStrong Challenge drew more than 5,500 people last weekend. The event raised $3.8 million by people walking and running through the city’s streets or cycling through the tough hills of the Texas countryside.

Wells and I rode the 45-mile route because we had to catch a plane back to Bloomington. However, a new friend, Pete Maroun of Peoria, rode the longest bike ride of his life. He completed the longest course offered; it stretched 90 rugged miles.

The computer specialist with Microsoft who is assigned to State Farm Insurance Cos. in Bloomington went to Austin after he collected several thousand dollars for LAF. It was his way to fight back against the disease that impacted him and his wife so dramatically in the past year.

His bride, Kara, was diagnosed with advanced melanoma one month after they married. She underwent surgery to remove lymph nodes in her legs. She is still recovering. Meanwhile, Maroun’s father was diagnosed recently with late-stage cancer.

Armstrong’s LAF has given Wells a way to strike back against the disease that claimed the life of his grandfather and threatened the life of a good friend at work at State Farm. He’s accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from people in McLean County during the past few years by organizing movie nights, annual galas and auctions. His next effort will be next month when he hosts the movie, “24 Hour Solo” featuring world champion Chris Eatough on his quest to a seventh consecutive title.

There were thousands of stories like ours at the Challenge. I met cancer survivors riding to celebrate life and others who rode in memory of family and friends. I asked one woman riding a Merckx titanium bike about the picture pinned on the back of her jersey. The photo featured her and a friend, who died from cancer not long ago.

“She left me the bike,” said the woman. “I ride for her now.”

The woman cyclist was one of about 125 people who, like Wells, were invited to the special Ride of the Roses.

After collectively raising more than $2 million for LAF this year alone, the group received VIP treatment while in Austin.

There’s more to Armstrong than running bike rides. He entered the political arena recently when he hosted a nationally televised forum for presidential candidates. He asked each of them how they planned to address the issues of cancer and health care, if elected. In addition, he’s leading an effort to pass a proposition on the ballot in Texas in November to generate $3 billion for cancer research.

That’s why I had to go to Austin to get in Armstrong’s face. I just wanted to say, “Thank you for saving my life.”

24 Hour Solo

Wells will host the movie “24 Hour Solo” at the Normal Theater at 7 p.m. Nov. 7. Tickets are $10 in advance at Vitesse Cycle Shop in Normal, or visit www.jbwpeloton.com to buy tickets online. All proceeds benefit LAF and All for Hope, a Chicago-based cancer support group.

See you there.