It was all about the bike for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards this past Wednesday. Decked out in spandex bike shorts, he pedaled with champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong on the Register's Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Riding at an easy pace of 10 to 12 mph from Hampton to Cedar Falls, Edwards chatted with riders about their pressing issues, including their concern for his wife Elizabeth who was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer this year.

About his bike trek, Edwards commented, "This is an accident waiting to happen."

Why did he take on the challenge? "Lance has become a friend," Edwards said. " Proud of what he's doing, particularly on the cancer issue. It's obviously very important to us personally. And I've heard about this race -- err, race -- this ride, ever since I'd been coming to Iowa so I wanted to see what it looked like."

Lance Armstrong sat down with ABC News This Week's George Stephanopoulos to talk about RAGBRAI -- the politics of cancer research funding -- and bringing the issues of cancer back as a national priority and into the hearts and minds of the American people. At this point in time, concerning cancer as an epidemic that strikes one in two men and one in three women, Armstrong said, "There are people who never needed to die -- never needed to go through the pain and suffering -- it's got to stop."

Of the RAGBRAI he participated in last week in Iowa, he joked that he enjoyed it much more than riding through the Alps during the Tour de France. In the RAGBRAI, a seven day bike tour, he was amazed at the sheer relaxed fun of it all. Armstrong spoke about drinking cold beer and eating coconut cream pie. He told Stephanopoulos that ladies were asking him what his favorite pie was, because in each town square there are home baked pies waiting for the cyclists.

Armstrong hopes that by talking to the voters of Iowa, a pivotal political state during presidential campaigns, he will spark interest in discussion and debate about cancer issues. Ultimately, during the presidential and vice-presidential debates, he would like to see one of the moderators ask the candidates directly, "What's your plan?" concerning cancer -- the number one killer of people in this country.

Armstrong said he was not looking to get elected to political office and wanted to stay neutral and apolitical. What he is looking to do, he said, is start a movement. Of a political future -- Armstrong said, "Never say never." You can watch ABC News This Week's George Stephanopoulos interview with Lance Armstrong video here.

Radio Iowa reports that Lance Armstrong wants to fight the final battles against cancer by forming an army to wage war on cancer. Armstrong is in Iowa this week to participate in RAGBRAI, a cycling tour across the state of Iowa, and while there he is also giving interviews and making speeches about cancer and cancer survivorship.

"What we need is an army. We need an army of people. It starts in Iowa," Lance Armstrong said during an appearance in Newton on Wednesday. "Now's the time to make a difference and knock this thing out forever."

At the heart of the matter is federal funding for cancer research. For the first time in 35 years, the federal budget for cancer research has been cut -- which is essential to cancer research. Without federal funding, the advances made toward a cure for cancer are dramatically slowed. Armstrong is on a mission to ignite the political passions of the voters in this country to become an army against cancer.

"We hear every day how we're in the middle of a war, maybe a war in Iraq. It might be a war on terror. Let me tell you about a war. This is a war that's 35 years old and this is the war that's about time in my opinion that we get done with and that we finish," Armstrong said at a political event in Iowa City two days ago.

Today the RAGBRAI began.

RAGBRAI, an acronym for The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day 472 mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. The ride began 33 years ago as a challenge made by one Des Moines Register newspaper journalist to another -- when John Karras, feature writer/copy editor suggested to Don Kaul, Over The Coffee columnist, that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective.

Today, RAGBRAI has the distinction of being the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. The ride is so popular that riders who wish to participate are required to enter a lottery for a spot in RAGBRAI.

Lance Armstrong will join RAGBRAI this year. Armstrong is participating in the ride to continue to raise awareness about cancer issues, the need for increased federal funding of cancer research and cancer survivorship. Armstrong sees Iowa as a pivotal place politically, and he is hoping to encourage locals to grill prospective presidential candidates on their positions on cancer research funding when they come to court Iowa voters.

Armstrong is more than concerned that for the first time in 35 years, the federal budget for cancer research has been reduced. He is single-focused about cancer survivorship, and remains consistently determined to fight for the best in cancer care and cancer cure.

When I was going through cancer treatment, I read Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, in which he shared the philosophy of a cancer survivor's obligation of the cured. I was inspired to my own commitment and obligation in cancer survivorship. He has steadfastly lived up to his obligation. RAGBRAI is one more effort made -- and for a seven-time Tour de France champion -- a passion.