MOUNT VERNON — Ric Landvatter has a few things in common with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

The 58-year-old Landvatter enjoys wearing yellow polo shirts, while Armstrong is accustomed to wearing the yellow jersey that is reserved for the leader of the Tour de France cycling race.

Landvatter and Armstrong have both battled — and survived — cancer.

Landvatter’s fiancée, Diana Storm, and Armstrong both hail from Texas. Armstrong is from Plano and Storm from Seguin.

Landvatter will be in Monaco on Saturday for the start of the 96th Tour de France. So will Armstrong.

While Armstrong will be pedaling the 2,175 miles of the Tour for Team Astana, Landvatter will be watching him and many of the world’s other top cyclists along the route.

Armstrong, who retired from racing after winning the Tour in 2005, has since returned to competitive cycling.

If he manages to win his eighth Tour, Landvatter will be there to see it.

From Saturday through July 26, the Mount Vernon entrepreneur, who owns a tool fabrication shop in Stanwood called Ideality, will travel by motor home to the outskirts of towns hosting the race’s major stages, then bike to areas where the riders can be seen.

“We’ve got the RV rented,” said Landvatter, “and we’ve bought all our Euros.”

Landvatter will be accompanied by Storm, and friends Frank and April Rippel of Seguin. For the Rippels, this will be their fifth trip to see the Tour.

“They have done this before,” said Landvatter. “They’ve figured out the logistics of the trip. I mean, this is our (Landvatter and Storm’s) first trip to Europe. What we’ve been told is that people in the small towns really open themselves up. That’s what I am looking forward to experiencing. That, and seeing the country.”

The Rippels haven’t experienced cruising around in an RV.

“They haven’t done this type of RV thing,” said Landvatter. “In Tours past, they’ve backpacked and camped. They still want to sleep outside and that’s fine with us. They are really looking forward to getting around in the RV.”

The group is going to document its adventure on the Web site http://www.FourLeTour.com. Blogs, a Tour Web camera and dispatches from the race will be available on the site.

Landvatter said he isn’t much into biking or bike racing. In fact, he initially thought Astana was a corporate sponsor of Armstrong’s team, when in fact it’s a coalition of state-run companies in Kazakstan.

His fiancée, however, is bringing him up to speed. She’s been an Armstrong fan for years.

Landvatter admits he’s been bitten by the biking bug.

“She was always into biking,” said Landvatter. “I always liked sports. But I really wasn’t what I’d call a fan of cycling. But Diana is certainly a fan. In particular, she’s a fan of Armstrong’s because they are from the same area of Texas. We are definitely pulling for him.

“Me, I’ve started riding just to get in shape for the trip. What we plan on doing is parking the RV and staying on the outskirts of towns. Then we’ll bicycle to the race sites. That way we can try and avoid the congestion. Then we’ll pack up and drive to the next city.”

The group plans to put about 2,000 miles on their rig’s odometer as they travel through six countries.

Making every stage isn’t feasible, so they have picked the most accessible.

“We won’t be heading up into the Pyrenees,” explained Landvatter. “However, we will be heading into the Swiss Alps. Some stages are just way too hard to get into. It’s not uncommon for it to take three days to get into town for a particular stage and then three days to get out.”

Having just graduated from Texas Lutheran University after years of being out of school, Storm thought a trip to see her cycling idol in the Tour de France would be a great way to celebrate her graduation.

Plus, Landvatter and Armstrong share the same cancer survivor story.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2006, Landvatter was given two years to live.

He’s beaten the prognosis.

“I underwent chemotherapy,” explained Landvatter, “and intensive hormone treatments. I’ve been improving ever since. The thing of it is, when you are given a timeline like I was, of two years, then you are going to live to that expectation. You just can’t do that. Now when I ask the doctor how much time I have, he says there is no date. What that does is give you hope. A lot of hope, and that’s important. You have to keep on living.”

For Landvatter, watching Armstrong defeat the disease while continuing to ride re-emphasized having hope.

“Watching Lance and what he accomplished,” he said, “I see every day as a new beginning. You have to live life to the fullest and still have joy in your heart. I’ve now been following Lance for years. He’s a real inspiration. He is sending a great message: that you have to go on with your life.”

Landvatter has done just that.

The choir director for the Conway Lutheran Church has told his story to just about anyone who will listen, giving testimonials of what can be done with a positive attitude.

“Your attitude has so much to do with it,” he said. “It has so much to do, I believe, with how you will respond to treatment. If you remain positive, then good things are going to happen.”

Now Landvatter is headed to France to see Armstrong tackle the Tour firsthand.

“I’ve enjoyed watching the Tour on television,” admitted Landvatter. “Getting to go is a dream come true. You can’t let an opportunity like this pass you up. Just because you have cancer doesn’t mean you can’t live your life to its fullest.”

Armstrong — and Landvatter — can certainly attest to that.

Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by e-mail at .