This morning at 4:55am I hopped on my bike and began the first day of my 200-mile Pan Mass Challenge ride beginning this year in Annisquam, MA - not the usual PMC starting line.

Like most things, this year's PMC will be different. There's no big gathering of riders on the Cape, no cheering on the cyclists and meeting with other families who've been touched by cancer. Me and our PMC team will ride on our own, each pedaling our individual routes in different towns. 200 miles solo.

Well... almost solo.

Henry will join me for the final 40 miles of the ride for his first partial PMC!

It's almost impossible to explain what a milestone this is. For those of you who've been with us from the start, you know that Henry was born with paralysis in both of his legs due to a rare tumor that compressed his spinal cord. The doctors weren't sure he would ever walk. But through all of his treatments and surgeries, Henry has been determined. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. When Henry was 5, he begged us to take the training wheels off his bike even though he could only pedal with one leg. Tossing his left leg onto his handlebars, he showed us he'd invent his own way of getting where he wants to go.

So where's Henry now? Here's our update for 2020:

Henry started 8th grade at a new school in September and immediately felt at home. He loved science, talked his way out of band class, and found a new group of friends through mountain biking. He snowboarded all over New England and made his first trip out west to Steamboat, CO where he fell in love with the powder.

And then school shut down. Virtual learning was frustrating but Henry persevered. He spent the time at home writing a petition to build a bike park in our town. He presented his proposal to town leaders during a Parks and Recs Commission hearing and is now on the committee to investigate a future bike park in Arlington! And because Henry likes to be busy, he also started his own bike repair business, complete with a website, which he relocated from home to Annisquam for the summer.

This past year also has brought more growth (he's now officially taller than mom!) The surgery to his femur last spring has started to correct his leg length discrepancy, ease some back pain, and lessen his limp. This year has also brought some new challenges as he has more high frequency hearing loss, likely due to chemotherapy.

And even though these past months have turned the world upside down, some things stay the same. For Henry, it's navigating life as a cancer survivor - now during an ongoing pandemic. The doctors appointments - some in person, some virtual - the medications and scans and exams still have to happen. Because while it feels like the world has stopped, cancer and its impacts haven't.

So today I ride 110 miles solo. Tomorrow Henry will join me to cross our own personal finish line.

Last year, the PMC raised $63-million dollars. Every single dollar went directly to cancer care and research. This year the need is no less but the challenge is significantly greater. We hope you'll consider making a tax deductible donation to our PMC ride by clicking here:

www.irideforhenry.com

Or you may send a check made out to the Pan Mass Challenge and mail it to:

Josh Fenollosa

12 Benjamin Road

Arlington, MA 02476

We struggled with how to ask for support for our PMC ride this year. How do you ask people to support a cause when so many have lost their lives to Covid, when there is so much unrest in the world and uncertainty about the future? But like us, many of you have been touched by cancer. While we can't change the state of the world, we can make a dent in cancer. We hope you'll join us.

This year especially we ride to support my father Bill, an avid biker himself who has encouraged Henry’s love of tools and bike maintenance.

With love and appreciation,

Josh, Cath, Henry, Leo & Ruby Fenollosa