Dear Friends and Family,
Crazy to think that here I am heading into my 13th ride in the Pan Mass Challenge and 6th ride with the Patriot Platelet Pedalers team!! Looking back at 2012 and hearing Beautiful Day by U2 as the Sunday 50 mile ride rolls out of Babson College during that August weekend while I embark on my first ride to help find a cure.
Fast forward to 2025 and still thinking back to when I was taking those first steps of making the decision to ride in the Pan Mass Challenge to help those that need it when they are faced with that dreaded 6 letter word and never thought that I would still be riding to help find a cure today. But here we are, where cancer is still affecting so many on a daily basis and seems that my personal list as well as so many others has only gotten longer. As I head into my 13th ride and begin my training one thing I personally keep in my that it’s not the hours of training or the miles I rode prior to the PMC weekend but the eye-opening experience that I take part in firsthand during that weekend in August each year.
Heading into PMC 2025, I always find that I get more and more involved with the PMC as well as loving the mission that drives them to do what the PMC does day after day, year after year, and PMC ride after PMC ride by helping others and putting cancer patients needs ahead of their own. Aside from riding my usual 50 miles from Babson College, I find myself continuously being involved with the PMC not just from the training rides but in the ride itself every August but much more behind the scenes as well. From being a volunteer photographer at a water stop along the routes on Saturday of PMC weekend to helping out at the PMC headquarters in Needham putting rider and volunteer packages together to volunteering at the Winter Cycle event that takes place at Fenway Park, America's most beloved Ballpark in Boston Massachusetts as well as volunteering at the PMC Unpaved that takes place in Lenox, MA. And lastly, being involved with the PMC's Pedal Partner Program that partners riders / teams with a pediatric oncology patient that is being treated at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Each year it seems that this list always continues to grow.
Looking into this year's ride and continuing with riding my 50-mile ride taking off from Babson College in Wellesley and biking the roads that take us to Gillette Stadium, home of the 6-time Superbowl Champs, the New England Patriots, and back to Babson College, I am once again asking myself about the reasons why I am riding. As it seems that each year the list on the back of the shirt I wear when I ride seems to grow, but it’s always remains the same to ride for those who can't and are currently fighting this awful fight, while riding for those who have beat it and in memory of those who are no longer here. This year I am riding in memory of my cousin Ericka, who lost her battle to brain cancer at the young age of 7, as well as Jane and her husband Kevin, both who lost their battle to lung cancer. Also, in memory of Corinne, who I had the pleasure of being partnered up with through the PMC's Pedal Partner Program. Lastly, in honor of the cancer survivors Skye, Vanessa, Michelle and Donna who are all in remission.
On August 3rd, I will be joining more than 6,000 other cyclists in the Pan Massachusetts Challenge, a bikeathon that raises funds for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. While the funds raised with my team go directly to the research done by Dr. Ken Anderson. This spectacular event raised more than $70 million dollars last year by donating 100% of all rider and volunteer raised funds to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The Pan Mass Challenge holds the promise of helping eradicate this disease, which effects millions each year. I will be riding 50 miles from Babson College in Wellesley to Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA and back to Babson. To take part in this event that means so much to me, I need to raise a minimum of $2,000 and have a personal goal of $5,000 and I am asking for your help in achieving this goal.
Donations are tax deductible and may be made either online at www.pmc.org/ja0177, or mailing a check directly to me made out to the PMC, Jimmy Fund, or Dana Farber and I will take care of the rest. I have until October 1st to go beyond my fundraising efforts with your help. Any contribution you make towards my ride would be the most gratefully appreciated. By riding in the PMC is my way to honor Corinne, Ericka, Jane, and Kevin who battled with high hopes, unshakeable faith and a buoyant spirit of determination. Like anything they did in life, they gave it their very best.
Thank you in advance for your help,
Julie
