2025 Letter

“On August 2 & 3, 2025, the PMC community will come together from all corners of the world with one mission: raise funds for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Our goal is $76 million! Together we will get closer by the mile to a world without cancer. This is what a bike is meant to do."

Dearest Family & Friends,

This year will be my 14th Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), a tradition that began to honor the memory of Ron Gelb, who died of cancer in his early 40s. Cancer profoundly shaped my own life with my mother’s death when I was 15 and she was 52. And so many other people I’ve loved have died of cancer — Lisa Flaxman, Jane Rechtman, Walter Bornhorst, to name a few. Yet so many others that I love are Living Proof that we are making progress in the fight to eradicate this set of diseases — Jane Baron, Rich Baron, Heidi Klopfer.

This year has special meaning as Josh and I are joined by 2 of our 4 children — Alex and Isaac! An added joy is that Josh’s 60th birthday is on Day 1 of the PMC! ??

My ability to participate is a measure of my good health and good fortune and is a genuine privilege. Some who ride the PMC may be on chemo and they are my inspiration. So for all of those who we’ve lost, those who are survivors, and to those who hope to be, I ask that you consider supporting our ride with a donation to any of us using the links below. (And to those who have already donated, THANK YOU!)

Love,

Rachel

2024 Letter

Dearest Family & Friends,

It’s been 3 years since I last rode the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC). With my training goals met in the past few weeks, next Saturday August 3, 2024, I am crossing my fingers and hopping back on the course to tackle the one day 86 mile challenge. Though anxious, I am thrilled to embrace the privilege of riding the PMC with Josh! Not only does the ride support Dana Farber Cancer Institute — one of the world’s top cancer centers in my back yard — but it is also a measure of my good health and good fortune.

I’ve outlived my mother, Florence Baron Rock, who died at 52 of breast cancer. And my dear friend, Lisa Flaxman who died in her early 40s and Ron Gelb also in his early 40s whose wife Nanci pulled me into the PMC in 2009. I watched a beloved cousin, Jane Rechtman, fight her pancreatic cancer with grace until the end. And most recently, I witnessed both my dear friend, Walter Bornhorst, succumb to blood cancer.

I know that some who ride the PMC may be on chemo and they are my inspiration. So for all of those who we’ve lost, those who are survivors, and to those who hope to be, I ask that you consider supporting my ride with a donation using the link below, or with good wishes throughout the day next Saturday. (And to those who have already donated, THANK YOU!)

Wish me luck and I’ll send photos once its over…

Love,

Rachel

PS. If you’d like to track my progress, use this link: https://rtrt.me/ulink/_RT/PMC-PANMASS-2021/tracker/REUMNDWX/focus

PMC donations are tax deductible and 100% will go to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The PMC's tax ID / EIN is 04-2746912.

The Pan-Mass Challenge only uses your personal information to thank you and will not share it with any other organizations.

To donate online:

https://donate.pmc.org/RR0104

Rider ID: RR0104

To donate via check:
Please make check payable to Pan-Mass Challenge and mail directly at:

Rachel Rock

Rider ID: RR0104

Pan-Mass Challenge

77 Fourth Ave.

Needham, MA 02494

2021 Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s Saturday night at 8pm EST and I’m about to go to sleep in preparation to ride the Pan Mass Challenge bike ride. But this year is a bit different as I’ve signed up to ride 100 miles in a single day…a first for me!

Honestly, a part of me is not sure that I will be able to ride this many miles. Each time the doubt passes by, however, I remind myself that riding in the PMC is one of my greatest privileges. Not only is it in support of Dana Farber Cancer Institute — one of the world’s top cancer centers in my back yard — but also a measure of my good health and strength. At 55 years old, I’ve already outlived my mother, Florence Baron Rock, who died at 52 of breast cancer. And my dear friend, Lisa Flaxman who died in her early 40s…and Ron Gelb also in his early 40s.

Each of us knows of so many who have been felled by cancer or are currently battling this horrid disease. I know that some who ride tomorrow may be on chemo and they are my inspiration. So for all of those who we’ve lost, those who are survivors, and to those who hope to be, I ask that you consider supporting my ride with a donation using the link below, or with good wishes throughout the day tomorrow. (And to those who have already donated, THANK YOU!)

Wish me luck and I’ll send photos once its over…

Love,

Rachel

2017 Letter

Hello Family and Friends,

I don’t quite know how August 1st arrived so quickly. While it suggests a hint of summer ending (boo-hoo), it also means its time to ride the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), my favorite weekend of the summer. This will be my 8th year and though i feel less prepared physically (just didn’t seem to get as much training in), I am totally prepared in my mind, my heart and my spirit.

I look forward to joining 6,300 other fellow cyclists to raise money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) — all ages, all sizes, all skill levels. We are cheered and thanked mile after mile by those whose lives have been touched by cancer. Predictably and sadly there are enough to cover the nearly 200 mile ride over two days (maybe NOT every inch of the route…though it sure feels that way).

Last year, I rode in honor of my beloved cousin, Jane Rechtman, as she battled pancreatic cancer far beyond expectations. With a heavy heart I must ride in her memory on Saturday. She taught all of us how to live and die with beauty and dignity, without fear nor regret. For Jane, my mother Florence Rock, Ron Gelb, and Lisa Flaxman, I will pedal many miles.

I hope you are able to contribute to my 2016 PMC ride. Its my small contribution to the fight against cancer, the dreaded disease for all of us. Thank you for considering!

Love, Rachel

2015 Letter

Dear family and friends,

On August 6&7, I will again ride in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC).

PMC weekend, and all of the prep that precedes it, is a highlight of my year. It is nothing less than a privilege to participate and each year I find myself in awe of those with whom I ride. Along the route one year, I met a 60 year old man on his first PMC ride who had finished chemo treatment just weeks earlier. And if that wasn't enough to inspire me, I later met a woman in the midst of her chemo treatment for breast cancer. She had convinced her doctor to give her some steroids so she could muster the strength! And as I departed to head back to Boston, I came upon one of the oldest women riders of the event (in her 70s) who herself is a cancer survivor and had been hospitalized just a week earlier for her back. How can I possibly sit out, on this day and all the rest of the year?

This is my opportunity to do my small part in helping to raise funds to support cancer research. I ride in memory of my mother, Florence Baron Rock, my dear friend Lisa Flaxman, and Ron Gelb. I also ride in honor of my dearest cousin, Jane Rechtman, who is currently living with cancer. Janie's voice, spirit and writings inspire me every day (www.theconnectinglines.blogspot.com). She will be the wind at my back, as she has for so many years.

Thanks for your support and words of encouragement and keep your fingers crossed for a sunny day.

Love,

Rachel

MY ORIGINAL 2009 LETTER

On August 1, 2009, I am cycling 86 miles to raise money to support cancer research. Though I have known so many who have battled cancer, there are three individuals in particular in whose memory I am riding. The first is my mother, Florence Baron Rock. As most of you know, my mother died of cancer when she was 52 and I was 15. It was a loss that shaped my life in countless ways. As the years have passed, I have crossed a threshold of understanding the loss -- rather than only see it from my perspective as a child, I now live it from her perspective as a mother and all that she left behind.

The second individual in whose memory I am riding is Lisa Flaxman. Lisa, a wife to Jonathan Martel, mother of Benjamin, Sophie and Zachary, died this past January at age 43 of genetic breast cancer. A childhood friend of mine, we reconnected our freshman year at Brown. A vibrant, passionate and devoted friend, Lisa discovered her breast cancer when she was 37, after her youngest sister was discovered to carry the breast cancer gene. It seemed to be a success story yet reappeared in her brain last spring. I think of Lisa daily and all that she has left behind and will miss.

Third and last is Ron Gelb. The husband of my dear friend, Nanci, and father to Arielle, Andy, Sydney and Teddy, Ron died at 42 and like Lisa has left so much behind. I have watched in awe over the past five years as Nanci has shepherded her children with dignity and grace and a healthy dose of humor. And it is Nanci who suggested that I join her as a novice cyclist and ride in the PMC.

If only this bike ride could make cancer a curable disease. It can't but after so many years of thinking about how to help, I am riding in the PMC to do my small part to help us find a cure. Please help me reach my goal of raising $10,000 to support cancer research at The Jimmy Fund at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. 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. You can either donate on line using the link below or send me a check made out to Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Thanks in advance for the support!

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.