Happy Summer!!!!
I hope that you and your family are enjoying some fun, some peacefulness and some adventures this summer.
Maybe you've been thinking .... "something doesn't seem right about this summer. What's missing? OH WAIT I KNOW! Betsy hasn't been bombarding me with Pan Mass Challenge fundraising messages!" If you've been wondering .... here's the story.
Instead of riding my bike 192 Miles across Massachueseets, I'm going to walk 192 miles across Northern Spain.
I decided last winter to embark on a new challenge. I'm going to walk one of the traditional Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes in Spain. If you aren't familiar with the Camino, it's a network of hiking / walking trails that spread all across Europe. These trails guided Medieval (and modern!) pilgrims toward the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in Northwest Spain where (the tradition tells) the Apostle James lived, taught, died and was buried.
When I was trying to decide if I was going to do this, it became clear to me that I couldn't prepare to walk fifteen miles a day AND train for PMC. Just aren't enough hours in the weekends! I was researching routes, trying to decide which Camino route to try and I saw that the "Camino Primitivo" was 309 kilometers and could be completed in about two weeks. Not being so savvy with my metric conversions, I did what any American would do and I asked siri how many miles is 309 kilometers.
Her answer ..... 192 Miles!
I literally busted out laughing. It seemed clear to me that the universe and Siri were telling me that this year, my PMC would take a different form, and that's ok.
So, I've registered for PMC as a "virtual" rider which means that I'm still connected and still fundraising, but I will not ride the route on PMC weekend. I'll be there to cheer on my Forza-G teammates though!
Every year when I write these messages, I'm always thinking about the people in my life with new cancer diagnoses. I expect that you probably do to. The work continues, and the recent NIH cuts and federal grant cuts attacking Harvard absolutely affect Dana Farber, which is Harvard affiliated. So the PMC feels more important than ever right now. You can't just turn off science and hope it's still there when funding is restored. The threat to current clinical trials and the research that will fund future breakthroughs is real.
If you feel inspired to contribute, I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue my fundraising commitment for DFCI through the PMC even though I'm not riding this year. I have some serious FOMO, but I also know that my adventure is going to be pretty awesome.
If you feel so inclined, you can follow along on Instagram. I'm @heybetsybow on Instagram.
Thank you for being a part of my little cancer hating community. You all will be in my thoughts and prayers as I navigate the mountains of Northern Spain.
Peace,
Betsy
My Links
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
Mass General Cancer Center
What we talk about when we talk about cancer
MyLifeline Blog
Team Forza G
Spaghetti for Breakfast
