For Nichols, the red and white checked fabric represented the red and white cell counts that are crucial to cancers of the blood. She wanted to create a recognizable symbol like the familiar pink ribbons that have become synonymous with supporting a cure for breast cancer.

But during the intervening years, the yards of ribbon sat unused as Nichols' focus turned to her family life. She married her Del Mar High School sweetheart, Jeff, and gave birth to Jaden, now 2.

Motherhood and her health kept her ribbon project on the back burner. During her pregnancy, the cancer, which had been in remission for 1 1/2 years, returned, but she had to wait until she gave birth to tackle the disease once more. She began four months of chemotherapy when Jaden was only five weeks old.

Five years passed before Nichols revived her advocacy work and joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training to ride in the100-mile High Sierra Fall Century event on Sept. 10 in California's Mono Lake area. Nichols joined the group as both a participant and a team honoree, hoping to raise awareness of the disease and funds for lymphoma research.

Since late May, her teammates have taken on Nichols' cause as their own.

"She brings a lot of courage to her teammates," rider Jane Cao says. "When she's with us, no one complains. Why should we complain when we still have the life to bike?"

It was Cao's kindness that helped Nichols complete her ribbon-making project. On June 20, Cao invited her teammates and friends to her Sunnyvale apartment to unspool the 1,000 yards of ribbon and create 3,000 red gingham pins. The team worked until 1 a.m.

Nichols and her teammates wear and distribute the ribbons with pride. Lubna Quereshi, another rider on the team, says distributing the ribbons gives her the opportunity to talk about her work with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. On a personal level, it motivates her during long training rides.

"When I'm struggling hard trying to get up a hill, I find myself thinking of the honorees and especially Jessica," Quereshi says.

Quereshi has strapped a bento box full of knick-knacks to her bicycle and has pinned a red gingham ribbon to the top of the box. "Sometimes I look at that ribbon at every mile," she says. "It helps me get through the hard parts."

Nichols and her team have built up the strength and endurance to ride 45 miles since they began training in late May. But in early July, Nichols had to slow down her own training as her health worsened. The cancer was progressing and Nichols missed several training rides.

"We definitely felt the void," Quereshi says.

Despite her health, Nichols hopes to participate in at least part of the race.

"I live for the day when I can hear the word 'cure' associated with indolent lymphomas. It has been a rough year for the Nichols family so far. I am sorry if I am disappointing any of my sponsors," Nichols wrote to her sponsors on her Team in Training webpage. "My heart and mind want to ride the century, but my body is not following suit."

Changing gears

It was a routine annual exam in May 2000 that changed Nichols' life. Her doctor discovered swollen lymph nodes on her body and a biopsy proved the node was malignant. Living in Irvine and married to her first husband only four months before, Nichols says she took the news hysterically. "I wasn't ready for that," she says.

Nichols underwent five months of chemotherapy before entering remission in December 2000.

But the disease also affected her marriage. Within the span of months, things began to change and her marriage ended.

"The relationship wasn't strong enough to withstand it," she says.

The disease also redefined Nichols' priorities at work. She worked as an administrative assistant in a high-stress environment and decided life was too precious to spend eight hours a day doing something she didn't love. Instead she became involved in something that mattered to her--the lymphoma cause.

Low-grade lymphoma is a slow-growing cancer originating in the body's lymphatic system. The chronic condition is incurable and many patients are not diagnosed until stage four. The cancer is in stage four when it has spread to the tissues or organs outside the lymphatic system.

The median survival rate is 10 years after the initial diagnosis. During that period, patients go through treatments, remissions and relapses, Nichols says.

In the United States non-Hodgkins lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in males and fifth most common cancer in females. The disease has increased 74 percent in the last 30 years, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

"Yet, hardly anyone has heard of it," Nichols says.

Nichols hopes to change that.

In 2001, she flew to Washington, D.C. to speak at an advocacy day sponsored by the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Later that year, a friend participated in Ride for the Roses in Austin, Texas in her honor. Nichols also participated in the event by walking 5 kilometers.

While at the race, Nichols became interested in cycling.

"The sound of all those bikes, it was really exciting," she says. "I was totally jazzed."

At home in California, Nichols reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Jeff, who was living in Los Angeles and was also a cyclist. Nichols began training for the next Ride of the Roses.

"At the beginning, I couldn't ride two blocks to the video store to return a video," Nichols says. "Eventually I got through 10 miles and it was amazing."

In spring 2002, Nichols completed 45 miles at Ride for the Roses. In August, she discovered she was pregnant with Jaden, a welcome surprise after her body went through premature menopause as a result of the cancer treatments.

Three days later, her doctor discovered another swollen lymph node. Although she had relapsed, any available treatments would be too harmful to the child. The Nicholses moved from Los Angeles back to San Jose before Jaden was born in May 2003, to be closer to her in-laws.

After his birth a variety of postpartum problems, including swelling and difficulty breathing, were indications that the cancer was rampant. The disease had caused 75 percent of her lungs to fill with fluid. She stopped breast feeding and immediately flew to Southern California for chemotherapy. She soon found a doctor in the Bay Area and continued treatments until October.

By November 2004, Nichols relapsed again. Two months later, Nichols received Rituxin, an immunotherapy drug that suppressed the cancer by 50 percent. By July, the cancer was growing back.

Although the treatments have been an emotional and physical drain, Nichols credits her husband's support for getting her through it.

"He's been a trooper and jumped in with both hands," she says.

When the couple reconnected after more than a decade, Jeff says the cancer had changed Nichols.

"I could tell right off the bat that everything was crystal clear for her," Jeff says.

Nichols agrees that the cancer has forced her to rearrange her priorities. Along with committing herself to lymphoma advocacy, she opted to stay at home with Jaden.

"I don't know how much time I have and I want to spend as much time as I can with Jaden," she says.

Although Nichols revels in all the time she has with Jaden, she says nonstop worrying keeps her up at night. She worries about having to take Jaden with her to the doctor appointments or Jeff missing work because of her cancer treatments. She worries about the amount of time she has left as the cancer progresses and wonders why she got the disease.

Most cases of lymphoma have no known cause, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the disease generally affects people over 60 years old.

But then Nichols says she tries to think positively and long-term. She is considering going back to school and pursuing a teaching credential once Jaden enters kindergarten. Nichols would like to become an elementary school teacher.

Today, her total white blood counts are below average, possibly due to her previous Rituxin treatments. Her blood count, currently at 1.7, compared to the normal range of 4 to 10, puts Nichols at risk for illness and infection. She will also receive a dose of Bexxar soon, a radioimmunotherapy treatment that she qualified for because she has less than 20 percent of her bone marrow.

Because of her health, Jeff may help her reach her riding goal by manning a tandem bicycle for the race. Riding tandem, Jeff will do most of the work, while Nichols will pitch in as she can. Jaden will also help by cheering on his parents. Even during training, Jaden can be found on the sidelines yelling, "Go Team!"

On Sept. 10, the Nicholses and their teammates will be biking for Nichols' life. To date, Nichols has raised $5,062 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the generosity of family and friends. Nichols says 75 percent of the money will fund patient services and research.

"I have moments once in a while where I'm scared I'm going to lose her," Jeff says. "She's the love of my life and life wouldn't be the same without her."

For more information about Jessica Nichols and red gingham ribbons, visit www.goplaid.org. To donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, visit www.teamintraining.com.