This year I’ll be riding the PMC for the eighth time. By my back-of-the-envelope calculation, over that period I’ve biked more than 1000 miles (not counting training rides) and raised nearly $50,000 dollars from my incredibly generous friends and family for the battle against cancer. I’m unendingly grateful for your support, and I’m asking you to support my ride once again.

Many of you know that I started riding about ten years ago when a young friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Dmitri is now 22 and living with some serious effects of his cancer. I continue to earmark all the funds I raise to the Dmitri Itzkovitz Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund.

But over the last decade cancer has touched so many people I know. I think about each of them as I ride. It’s great, especially in these trying times, to be doing something positive and concrete to help people.

Over the course of its history, the PMC has raised more than a billion dollars (yes, that’s a “B”) to fight cancer. That’s enough to make a real difference. All the money that riders raise goes directly to research at the Dana Farber Cancer Center. None of your donation will go to the cost of staging the ride or to my new brightly colored spandex biking outfit.

As always, the equation is simple. I’ll bike 160 miles from Wellesley to Provincetown. You don’t have to. In return I ask that you consider donating something to help in the fight against cancer.

If you can see your way to supporting my ride with a donation, I’d really appreciate it. And so will some researcher at the Dana Farber. And a patient who benefits from a new treatment. If you can’t this year, that’s fine. I get it that I keep asking you and it might get old. But If you can, it could make a real difference.

As always, I’m deeply grateful.

Best,

Peter