Why I Ride for my brother James Mannix
I remember the summer of 1969. Our family spent the summers back then in Marblehead, Masachusetts. I remember watching our black and white TV, the astronauts landing on the moon. I remember my little brother James had fallen in love with a bright new shiny red bicycle... the tiniest bike I had ever seen... he wasn't even two years old.
I remember my father coming home one afternoon carrying that same bike James was hypnotized by through the bike shop window ... the thrill, the surprise, the joy that little red bikes arrival brought to all of us stays with me today.
I now have a beautiful red heart on my bike. It reminds me of that happy summer day , it reminds me of my love for my dear sweet brother James , it reminds me of his big, loving, generous heart and it reminds my why I am riding my bike.
I've just gotten back on a bike after twenty something years. I'm back on my bike because my dear sweet little brother James at the age of 42 was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer .
I've committed to ride the Pan Mass Challenge this year for him and for all the other beautiful people who have been diagnosed with cancer.
I want to help and I have found my vehicle - The Pan Mass Challenge ( and my bike, the one with the big red heart on it ).
Why I ride? I ride for me. I ride for you. I ride for my brother and for your brother. I ride for all of us.
Godspeed.
