I have riden in 3 PMC rides before and each one had its own set of challenges but nothing will compare to this upcoming ride. When I registered in January I had hopes that my dad would be around to see another ride. I was wrong. His brain tumor returned and more aggressive than the first time. Irish luck was not on our side. On March 31st, Dad lost his courageous battle with brain cancer. He was and always will be my rock. His strength throughout the progression of his illness will forever be my inspiration to conquer whatever comes my way. This ride is in memory of my father Charles Kelly. I love and miss you dad !!

When I first registered in 2013, I was inspired by the unfortunate passing of my father in law. The impact that his passing had on me is what propelled me to take the first steps that I needed to ride the PMC. For years I had watched and cheered on the thousands of riders as they passed through Rochester and now I was going to be part of it. I was scared and overwhelmed but I wanted to be a part of the greatest bike event to help raise funds and awareness for the Dana-Farber Cancer Center. As I trained for my first PMC, I questioned whether I had the strength to ride 192 miles however, as the ride began I quickly realized that I was not alone on this ride. Riding beside me were 5000 other riders but riding with me was my grandmother, aunt, and cousin, all of who had lost their fight with cancer. Their strength helped propel me through the miles, up long steep hills and safely around every bend. I completed that first ride with more inner strength than I ever anticipated and I was already planning on riding the following year and couldn't wait until January to register.
I still registered but my world had changed. On December 26th, my dad's 68th birthday, he found out that he had a brain tumor. In a matter of one week, he underwent several scans/tests, met with a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women's, and underwent a left occipital craniotomy to remove a cancerous tumor. The surgery went well and everything was moving so fast it was as if we were in a dream. When we woke up we realized it was actually a nightmare. Dad not only had a permanent right field visual loss but was also diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma, with a year at the most to live. The year 2014 was full of chemotherapy and radiation treatments with monthly visits to the Dana-Faber Cancer Center. As you could imagine, training for the upcoming ride was difficult as I was not mentally ready to tackle reality. August 2nd and 3rd arrived whether I was ready or not and it arrived with a vengeance. The 2014 PMC ride was the coldest and wettest ride on record with torrential down pours for most of the ride. In true rider spirit, I pedaled on and got stronger by the mile and looked forward to greeting my family as I arrived at the Wareham water stop.
Later that month dad went for his follow-up check up and took his last dose of chemotherapy medication and was told that he would be rescanned every other month to see when the tumor comes back. Due to the incredible neuro oncology team at Dana-Farber dad celebrated his 69th, 70th, and 71st birthdays with no new tumor growth. In November 2017 Dad was re-diagnosed with another tumor that was more aggressive than the first, he was given 6 months to live. Please help me by supporting my ride and donating to this incredible cause. In fact, last year 100% of rider-raised revenue went directly to support the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's tireless commitment to finding a cure. Thank you and I appreciate your contributions. I am also riding in memory of Margaret Craig, Anne Charron, Craig Charron, and Jack Mullen.
Thank you for your support!
Maureen

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