It's mid-spring in Boston (even though it doesn't feel like it) so it's time to start training for the Pan-Mass Challenge! After working two jobs (I'm back down to one now) and moving into a new house (hooray!), I was finally able to get out for my first ride of the season on the last day of April. It was a relatively easy ride on familiar pavement, just to remind my body what it feels like to sit on a bike seat for a few hours. Much like living near the ocean, if I didn't live near such a world-class rail trail as the Minuteman Bikeway, life would a lot less pleasant.
The following week I revisited another familiar route that traverses the western suburbs of Boston, including Newton, Needham, Wellesley, Natick, and Dover. The rain-swollen Charles River was a sight to see! My average speed is starting to creep up as I put in the miles, but the rides I do early in the season are meant to focus on adding mileage, not perfecting pace. It was a fantastic day, albeit chilly - I even got a tan!
Yesterday I got out for another familiar, though shortened, route through Boston's northern suburbs with a jaunt through Harold Parker State Forest. It didn't look like it was going to be a great day for a ride, and I was reluctant to head out. Memories of my grandmother flooded my head, as did visions of Charlotte, Team Kinetic Karma's pedal partner, and thoughts of a few friends who are engaged in their own battles with cancer. I donned my spandex uniform, clipped in, and rode on.
Cancer motivates me to ride, even on the gloomiest of days, in the hopes that I help make others' days a little less gloomy. Cancer needs to end, and I'm doing everything in my power to stop it. Won't you join me? Visit my PMC fundraising page for more info about my ride and to make a donation. Your donations are saving lives. Period.
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