On August 3rd, I am riding in the PMC to raise money for Dana-Farber. I want to thank everyone who has donated to the PMC in the past. Because of you, my lifetime fundraising totals $111,236, and last year’s total was $19,745.

With your support, my goal is $20,000 to help the PMC achieve the $1 billion total.

This is my 11th year riding the PMC. In the spring of 1983, when we were much younger, had no worries in world, my wife Janet came home from work and told me about this two-day 192-mile bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown to raise money for cancer. The bike ride was called the PMC and was started 3 years earlier by a guy named Billy Starr. I don’t think we knew anyone that had cancer back then. So, we did it as a challenge. We raised about $500 each that year. Back in those days, we didn’t have fancy bike shirts, bike shorts or bike shoes. We rode without helmets, wore a PMC t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. We got lost, it rained for a while on the first day, there were a few water stops and we slept in a two-person tent on the ground after riding over 100 miles the first day. Then again, I was 25.

Moving forward over the years, we built our house and started a family. As the years went on, my wife was the first in our family to get cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and survived surgery, chemo and radiation. A few years later, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I went through surgery removing my prostate and am doing well. A few years after that, our daughter Amy was diagnosed with leukemia. Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital treated Amy with chemo, radiation, and a stem cell transplant from her brother Matt, which cured her leukemia.

If it was not for Dana -Farber and PMC donations, our daughter and many others may not be here today. Dana-Farber has developed more than half of all cancer therapies approved by the FDA over the last five years. Remember, 100% of rider donations goes directly to Dana-Farber.

I will be wearing ribbons again this year to honor those who were affected by cancer. Please let me know a name you would like to honor by the end of July. I will also be riding in honor of my dad who passed away in April. He was very supportive of my rides.

Events Facts:

• In 1983, when I did my first ride, there were 402 riders and we raised over $491,000.
• When I restarted the ride with my daughter in 2014, there were 5,441 riders and we raised over 44 million dollars.
• In 2023, there were 6,156 riders and we raised over 72 million dollars, totaling over $972 million dollars to date.

My Facts:

• 1983, I had $500 in donations
• 2014, I had $1,950 in donations
• 2015-2023, I had $108,786 in donations
• Total donations to date $111,236

Please give what you can. Thank you! Rick Lane

Donate by credit card on-line: www.pmc.org, ID# RL0183

Or, mail a check made out to PMC to:

Rick Lane, 436 So. Meadow Rd., Lancaster, MA 01523