“Turn right for the dunes.” All Pan-Mass Challenge riders know the feeling of hearing that call to action, usually with heavy legs, as they approach the last few miles of the nearly 200-mile journey. It’s technically a choice: go straight and cruise to the Provincetown finish line, or tack on 4 extra hilly miles through beachside dunes.

My first time biking to Provincetown, 10 years ago, I skipped the dunes. I was riding alongside one of my brothers—I won’t say which one to protect his pride. After a summer of less-than-optimal training, our legs were cement and the idea of extending our pain felt out of the question. So, we turned left and sailed into the finish.

If I had been riding with our mom, the person in whose name we all ride today on Team Duncan, there would never have been an option to throw in the towel early. She was never one to give up even when things got hard.

Within months of being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, our mom had signed up for her first PMC, marking the start of an event that has become so central to my family. Fundraising to support research was how she fought back against the disease. Throughout her battle with breast cancer, she never missed a single PMC.

That includes 2018, when “turn right for the dunes” took on special meaning. That year, the leader of Team Duncan was not able to ride the full PMC, but met us at that fork in the road in Provincetown. As we rounded the corner, she hopped on her bike and rode the last few miles to cross the finish line with the team.

…

A lot has changed since that ride in 2018. While we no longer ride alongside our mom, we ride in her memory. And Team Duncan only keeps getting stronger. Our team fundraising total has doubled since that 2018 ride, reaching $1.1 million last year—funds that are now being counted on by breast cancer doctors at Dana Farber for programs that would otherwise not exist.

Our mom would be so proud of how support from friends and family chipping in all these years has managed to make such an impact. Please consider donating to my PMC ride using the link below. Your support will help carry Team Duncan through the dunes and, much more importantly, will help the doctors and nurses at Dana Farber continue to support patients like our mom.