Well folks my training is well underway in preparation for the Pan Mass Challenge. I continue my fundraising efforts in support of my friend Kirby Grochal who continues onward in her battle with cancer. I will be riding and fundraising alongside a great group of people who are proud to call themselves Kirby's Dream Team.

Those who supported me last year know that Kirby is battling a rare and aggressive form of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer that she was diagnosed with at the birth of her second happy and healthy child. Since then, Kirby has gone through many forms of treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation. She is currently on an innovative form of immunotherapy which aims to activate her immune system to fight the disease. The work and fundraising over the past four years have enabled Kirby's doctor Jennifer Chan to collaborate with Dr. Eli Van Allen. Dr Chan and Dr Van Ellen have put the funding to good use and have made great strides this past year in targeted research and finding ways to specifically target the neuroendocrine carcinoma with immunotherapy which for Kirby and all of us is very promising news. Our goal is to continue to support and fund this research so that Kirby and patients like her can continue to live with hope.

I truly want to thank everyone that supported my ride for my friend Kirby last year. As with most things last year, Covid 19 continued to shape the typical Pan Mass Challenge. As a group, myself and a few others continued to pursue a DIY format for our ride. As with the year 2020's ride we continued the trend of setting ourselves up for a big suffer ride. We took on a lofty goal of riding 150 miles and about 20,000 feet of climbing on mountain bikes over 3 days in Vermont.

This year, with the easing of Covid restrictions we are fortunate enough to be able to ride the PMC in its traditional format. On August 6th and 7th I will be riding 192 miles from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown, MA. This is what myself and my teammates on Kirby's Dream Team can do to help a friend in need. We aren't scientists, doctors, researchers, or miracle workers. We are just friends helping out friends and the venue of the PMC provides the perfect avenue in which to do this.

I know riding bike isnt life's hardest challenge but when I am able to pair with the massive fundraising ability of the Pan Mass Challenge it's my way of trying to make a difference for my friend Kirby and the countless others like her who are battling cancer as well. I only ask that you consider a donation of any size to this cause so that we can continue to give these folks hope and advance the science of curing cancer.