I’m about to embark on my twelfth Pan Mass Challenge! Technically the fourteenth if you count the PMC Unpaved. More on that on the PMC Unpaved page.
I started riding for the PMC in 2013. I first heard of the event a few years earlier when the riders were routed through North Attleborough. I started looking into the mission and the goals of the organization and was impressed at the athleticism and the dedication of the riders.
While riding, I often think of the people I have known through the years. Those who had fought cancer, some who survived, some who did not. People like Karen, a friend from college I would talk to only about every few years, but the conversation always picked right up where we left off. It's sad that she's not there and the conversations have ended.
I also think of people like Mikey, someone my wife and I knew since he was a toddler. Then there's John and Mike from work. Rita and Helen, two women I called aunts.
But its more than a memorial - it's about making sure there success stories, like my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and a couple of co-workers at EMC. I could go on, but everyone knows someone who has had cancer.
The more I raise - the more success stories there will be. Like two of my siblings who beat cancer. I have five brothers and two sisters – I need them all.
The need for money continues- more recently a high school friend lost his wife to an aggressive cancer. She was an important figure in the community and her loss isn’t just to her family – but to all of us.
My eleventh PMC summer ride will be a return to the Wellesley start from Babson college. I look forward to riding with the thousands of other dedicated cyclists - we all have one goal, to cure cancer.
100% of the money I raise goes directly to treatment and research Please be generous with your donations!