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2024 Last year, one of my oldest friends in the world, lost her 33 year old daughter to a swift and definitive breast cancer. Two babies lost their mama. A husband lost his young wife. A brother and two sisters lost their sister. A father lost his daughter. Excruciating. Unimaginable. Yet I’m sure each of you have a similar story about someone you know--intimately, personally--who is in treatment, in recovery or who you lost–a relative, a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend you haven’t seen in ages, a shopkeeper, a yoga instructor, a boss, your child’s teacher, your childhood teacher, an entrepreneur, an uber driver, a winemaker, a pickleball partner, a tattoo artist, a business tycoon, a rock climber, a nurse’s aide, an athlete, a flight attendant, a musician, a professor, a sanitation worker, a filmmaker, a bartender, a writer, a dishwasher, an oyster farmer, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister, a lover. When we lose someone, our world dims. For the past 14 years, I’ve written to ask that you fuel our collective determination to find a cure for cancer by supporting my Pan Mass Challenge ride. I ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown over 2 days, this year with our A-Street Hospitality team of 15, and the 6,000 others who will be pedalling with us, supported by 4,000 volunteers who commit every year. One of my father’s favorite quotes is from the Canadian poet Robert W. Service: “A promise made is a debt unpaid.” I made a promise to my sister Eliza, my mother, my father–to those we have lost–and to myself, that I would ride as long as this body allows. In 13 years I have raised $254,740.29, with a goal of $25,000 for 2024. Please help me get there. A million thanks and see you on the road! xox Jody
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