Hi! I'm a proud participant in the Pan-Mass Challenge: a bike-a-thon that raises more money than any other, and it all goes toward finding a cure for cancer. Since its founding in 1980, PMC riders like me have raised more than $1 billion for lifesaving cancer research, treatment and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the country's top cancer care hospitals. 100 percent of every dollar I raise goes directly to Dana-Farber. The funds I raise support the innovative work of doctors, nurses, and scientists in their search for cures for cancers and related diseases.

OK so who am I riding for specifically? Veronica James, whom I never got to meet. Veronica was supposed to be my mother-in-law, but just 6 weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Veronica was gone. This was in 2009, seven years before I would meet my wife Christine. If I had one wish, it's that I could have known Veronica. Actually, a better wish would be to find a cure for cancer, so that Veronica -- and all the others -- could still be with us today.

THANK YOU in advance for helping me reach my fundraising goal and contributing to the greater goal of ending cancer.

Nick