Diane Saunders and Jeff Brunner ride the Tour de Pier on the “Live Like Bob Saunders” team.

When Diane’s husband, Bob Saunders, no longer had kids of his own to coach in Little League, he connected with Jeff to help him coach. They soon became fast friends, bonding over their passion for youth baseball and inspiring young athletes. They coached Manhattan Beach Little League together and brought home some trophies, but more importantly, they worked to make everybody on the team better.

Bob was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of appendix cancer in 2018. Shortly thereafter, their friend Karen Hunt was diagnosed with cancer and formed a team at the Tour de Pier. Bob started riding in the Tour de Pier that year and was all in to support Karen.

Throughout his 9-month cancer treatment, Bob always found a way to be there for the team, his friends, and his family. He shared about his cancer journey because he knew that others facing cancer needed hope. As Diane says, “Cancer was never the lead story with Bob.” Bob was cancer-free until August 2020, when his cancer returned aggressively.

He loved riding in the Tour de Pier with his friends on Team Hunt and sharing his knowledge with others dealing with a cancer diagnosis. He loved it so much that in September of 2021, too frail to ride, his friends and family wheeled him down to the event in a wheelchair so he could share in the day’s festivities. Sadly, he passed just 15 days later.

After his passing in 2021, Jeff and Diane formed Bike Bob in his honor. Jeff’s competitive side emerged as he started reaching out to all his contacts. “If I’m going to do this, Bike Bob needs to be on the front page.” Jeff dug deeper into his contact list and asked for donations while sharing Bob’s story. He reached out to all his friends, family, and contacts and was impressed by the outpouring of support. Bike Bob continued to stay in the top 5 fundraising bikes on the homepage of Tour de Pier. It was a way for Jeff and Diane to honor Bob and ensure he will never be forgotten.

In 2024, as one of the highest fundraising bikes, they rode at Tour de Pier and celebrated Bob together. Diane told us, “We wanted to make sure we honored Bob, and we did it in a way that really made us feel like he was there with us.”

https://vimeo.com/tourdepier/bikebob

We will be riding in place to move charity forward at the Tour de Pier! The Tour de Pier brings hundreds of stationary cycling bikes to the iconic Manhattan Beach Strand while raising money for three outstanding cancer charities. Our team is raising funds to help the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, the Cancer Support Community South Bay and the Uncle Kory Foundation raise money to fund research and programs designed to improve patient care, offer better treatment options and, ultimately find a cure for cancer. 

Please consider contributing towards our efforts today. Or we would love to have you join us for a day of fun at the beach, a great ride, remembering those we have lost and celebrating those who are currently battling this disease. Together we can make a huge difference so that no one faces cancer alone. Let's ride in place and move charity forward!