As most of you know 4 years ago I retired as volunteer head staff and leader of the PMC command post.

This in no way means that I've left the PMC, I'll still be in the CP and helping however I can. As we continue to try make the ride the best we can for riders and volunteers and raise as much money to defeat cancer as we can.

2025 Dedication - Team Papillon and the Memory of:

Sylvie Forest of Cambridge and Montréal

So, fall asleep love, loved by me... for I know love, I am loved by thee.*

In September fourteen years ago, ma amie Sylvie passed away from a brain tumor, or as she said, a fish in her head.

Before she left us with grace and courage, she wanted to know that her illness would have meaning for those she left behind. And the truth is, it does. Some many of her friends still gather as much different people than they were before knowing her. Our lives are unalterably changed for the better.

We've formed Team Papillon to honor a brief life that gave more than many longer ones.

Rest in Peace, mon papillon. We'll all take on your vision of life. To be fruitful, fun, breathtaking, and filled with love, faith and meaning.

We been fortunate to have a brief vision of heaven together. We will meet again, after both of us leave this life. I promise I'll look for you either at the El Paso Gate, or the Cool River Cafe.

*Robert Browning

*******

I was first involved with the PMC in 1896 or at least it seems that way, I think I was about three years old at the time. The PMC has been part of my life nearly every year since.

I've never ridden, I've always supported riders as a volunteer. Initially I tried to support my ex wife (who rode three times and then became the Provincetown Coordinator) and many of our friends. This year I know I'll virtually have 6500+ friends riding and another 3500+ volunteering.

Cancer touches each of us. Mom battled cancer since the mid-eghties. She passed away in July of 2009 at age 86, but it was not from Cancer. My sister had melanomas, my cousin passed away from a brain tumor. As did my other cousin's wife. I mentioned Sylvie earlier, and then my friend Stan. And of course we learn of more each day.

And each year, the spirit of the riders and the volunteers helps me to know that we are getting closer to a cure. But, we need to hurry.

Once again this year, I'll be backstage at the Command Center in the Harrington Building located on the MMA Campus. In addition to our riders who give so much, staging an event like the Pan Mass Challenge requires a host of heroes helping behind the scene. There are more than 3500 direct volunteers who are responsible for creating the infrastructure to safely feed, house and move 6000+ riders over 340 miles of Massachusetts Roads and Trails. During event weekend, the communications center of all this effort is the PMC Command Center.

Here, about 65 volunteers are organized into an cohesive communications team using today's technology to support our riders, letting them know that help is just a call away, no matter what the problem. It is an amazing team. Once each year, we all come together, work hard, have fun, support the event, and leave on Sunday knowing we've all made the world a bit better.

Walking into the Command Post evokes images of quiet confidence. Multiple projections of the PMC route are placed in the area, with twelve communications stations strategically located. At each station, there is a cornucopia of communications and computer equipment, including cell phones, land lines, trunked radios, local radios, GPS tracking, apps for riders and volunteers for IOS and Android. And the ubiquitous wireless internet with multiple PCs. Printers lurk nearby. Just outside and at key places along the route, local law enforcement helps with three mobile command posts allowing us immediate communication with all jurisdictions on our routes. We get tremendous support from the Police, Fire and other jurisdictions. The Mass Chiefs of Police Association is a sponsor.

There is quiet discussion between the communications stations and on the radios, as requests for medical and mechanical assistance are promptly handled. Even an event as well structured as the PMC can have a collision between riders that can require urgent on site medical assistance and the occasional transport to a local medical center. These requests are received here usually via our 800-We-Cycle number or via our dedicated mobile app, and help is quickly dispatched. GPS locates the caller, and if they lose their signal, we go to find them.

Requests for bike mechanics are more frequent. The PMC has more than 35 support vehicles on the road, deployed to support the entire ride, that carry both spare parts and a bike mechanic, as well as first aid supplies and a trained first responder for those in need of medical support.

One of the surprises, and a key part of improving support from year-to-year, is that the map displays the actual, real time position of each of these vehicles. This means that the nearest vehicle can be identified and dispatched to support a rider requesting assistance. We can also locate a rider (if your app is on).

All of this is only possible thanks to the generous donations and technical assistance of organizations like MEMA, MSP, Division of Fire Services, Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council and Norfolk County. VanPool supplies our vans. This team is operational for about 50 hours straight starting Friday at noon.

We also provide transportation for riders who can't continue for some reason, or need to get somewhere to respond to an urgent family issue. We have twelve vans to assist them. Lastly, new this year, we will also be responsible for removing the signage from the route after the event is completed.

Our photo shows the Command Post in action, with the route clearly projected on the wall. BJ Tynan and I are discussing some real medical emergency. Take a look at the slide show to see some of the behind the scenes efforts from this extraordinary team as well as our friends on the Road Crew..

Let's make the 2025 PMC the best yet!

Justin O'Connor PMC Command & Communications Director - Emeritus
Volunteer Head Staff, Emeritus 

Links

VanPool Transportation