Year 8 will be my most meaningful ride yet. This years ride is in memory of my dad, Gary, our house musician, Jimmy Buffett, and the biggest deadhead and fellow Big Red, Bill Walton.

Back in the saddle for year 9, the last ride out of Sturbridge before moving to the new Worcester start.

Last year was an incredibly challenging year in so many ways. The first weekend of August, a weekend that has brought so much joy to my summer the previous 7 years was filled with mixed emotion. My sister, Marissa, was there in Sturbridge with me ready to take on her first PMC. This was a light in a dark period for our family, losing our dad 4 months prior, that made me so excited, and proud of her for taking on the journey.

The miles on the road, often training solo, have always been a time of solace and reflection (and maybe a little fear of drivers). Last year’s training season I was given the opportunity to deliver some brutal workouts to my sister to get her acclimated to the bike, though I can’t find my tracker of how many times she cursed me out on those rides.

The emotional filled weekend had finally come, and one that I find myself tearing up as is, happened much more often this year. I got to share with her traditions of the weekend, BT’s dinner Friday night, a stop at the narrows, and beverages in Provincetown on Sunday. She got to learn the hard way, adding a few miles to the end of her ride Saturday, to never try and “drop me” after a mudslide at the narrows. She got to meet PMC friends and truly understand what this weekend means to be a part of.

This past year has been filled with a lot of changes, including a move and a new job. I accepted a position in endoscopy sales with Boston Scientific, a company dad proudly worked for over a decade of his career. I’ve had countless moments already that I would have loved to ask dad a quality or engineering question.

While this years training and fundraising has been a little tough to get going with work training and other life happenings, I’m kicking it off today. We are 30 days away from the start of the ride. Last year Marissa and I raised a combined $20,000 in honor of dad. If you can, please support my mission of honoring my dad, and all the others we have lost on this amazing weekend of riding.

I appreciate all the support over the last 9 years of raising funds for the important teams at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.