Hello my dear friends,
I remember signing up for this ride 1 year ago and I thought it was going to be one of the craziest things I have ever done. Can I bike that many miles? Would I be able to finish? Can I do this alone?
Funny thing about a goal is that unless you take those minute first steps, you never really know if you can pull it off. So, I got a bike (step 1), I got the shoes (step 2), and hit the road (step 3). I fell many times when I first started, clip-on shoes can sneak up on you like that if you have never dealt with them.
The more I got into it, the more it was slowly dawning on me - the gargantuan task of biking 162 miles (the required amount from Wellesley to P-Town), but on day 3 of training, I was able to do 15 miles, and on day 56 of training, I could maybe do 40 miles of training on a single ride. Every single mile added up and it was becoming apparent that maybe, just maybe, I could finish this ride come August.
Then ride day came, and it was the most amazing thing I have ever been part of. The emotion of taking off as a whole group was unlike anything else I had ever experience, all of us realizing that the moment was finally here - that all that training had led to these next two days. I was not part of a team last year, but yet the support of all the riders around me, all the volunteers, and all the people cheering us along the way was humbling.
On PMC year 2, I once again ride for Kathryn B, who was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer almost 3 years ago, and just like me on that day 1 of PMC training, she looked at the gargantuan task in front of her and was also overwhelmed. Yet, she gets up every day of treatment, puts on her game face, and heads into Dana Farber.
Anyone that tells you that biking 40 to 60 miles is easy, is full of it, or a Tour de France rider who feels no pain. Sometimes, just biking 5 miles can be hard. This battle for Kath has been the same, no single chemo treatment, surgical procedure, or inifnite amount of pills have ever been easy. It's a testament of tremendous courage, stamina, and the brightest burning of the human spirit one can witness.
So, for year 2 of this PMC experience, two things have changed for me,
(1) Instead of Wellesley to P-Town consisting of 162 miles, we're going to be doing Sturbridge to P-Town (186 miles). Apparently, it's the last year the PMC is going out of Sturbridge, so it should be quite a party. Next year, they are going to be going out of Worcester.
(2) That's correct, I said we above, as this year I'm part of a team. I will no longer be the solo rider wondering if I can do this alone. I'm joining Team Velominati (https://profile.pmc.org/TV0027), they were kind enough to make me part of their team. Looking forward to training with them all and then take off as a group come August 2025.
We love you Kath, keep on fighting, and I'll keep on riding.
Love, E.
P.S. Check out the gallery folks, for photos from last year's PMC (2024).
Hello my dear friends,
I remember signing up for this ride 1 year ago and I thought it was going to be one of the craziest things I have ever done. Can I bike that many miles? Would I be able to finish? Can I do this alone?
Funny thing about a goal is that unless you take those minute first steps, you never really know if you can pull it off. So, I got a bike (step 1), I got the shoes (step 2), and hit the road (step 3). I fell many times when I first started, clip-on shoes can sneak up on you like that if you have never dealt with them.
The more I got into it, the more it was slowly dawning on me - the gargantuan task of biking 162 miles (the required amount from Wellesley to P-Town), but on day 3 of training, I was able to do 15 miles, and on day 56 of training, I could maybe do 40 miles of training on a single ride. Every single mile added up and it was becoming apparent that maybe, just maybe, I could finish this ride come August.
Then ride day came, and it was the most amazing thing I have ever been part of. The emotion of taking off as a whole group was unlike anything else I had ever experience, all of us realizing that the moment was finally here - that all that training had led to these next two days. I was not part of a team last year, but yet the support of all the riders around me, all the volunteers, and all the people cheering us along the way was humbling.
On PMC year 2, I once again ride for Kathryn B, who was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer almost 3 years ago, and just like me on that day 1 of PMC training, she looked at the gargantuan task in front of her and was also overwhelmed. Yet, she gets up every day of treatment, puts on her game face, and heads into Dana Farber.
Anyone that tells you that biking 40 to 60 miles is easy, is full of it, or a Tour de France rider who feels no pain. Sometimes, just biking 5 miles can be hard. This battle for Kath has been the same, no single chemo treatment, surgical procedure, or inifnite amount of pills have ever been easy. It's a testament of tremendous courage, stamina, and the brightest burning of the human spirit one can witness.
So, for year 2 of this PMC experience, two things have changed for me,
(1) Instead of Wellesley to P-Town consisting of 162 miles, we're going to be doing Sturbridge to P-Town (186 miles). Apparently, it's the last year the PMC is going out of Sturbridge, so it should be quite a party. Next year, they are going to be going out of Worcester.
(2) That's correct, I said we above, as this year I'm part of a team. I will no longer be the solo rider wondering if I can do this alone. I'm joining Team Velominati (https://profile.pmc.org/TV0027), they were kind enough to make me part of their team. Looking forward to training with them all and then take off as a group come August 2025.
We love you Kath, keep on fighting, and I'll keep on riding.
Love, E.
P.S. Check out the gallery folks, for photos from last year's PMC (2024).
I have chosen to keep all of my donors' information confidential; therefore it is not displayed on my PMC public donor list.
