A Wonderful 15th Pan-Mass Challenge

Feeling hot at lunch. Tut tut, looks like rain!

I've been so busy since the Pan-Mass Challenge ended earlier this month that I'm only now sitting down to write my recap of that wonderful weekend! The memories are still strong, which is evidence of a fulfilling weekend of friends, physical exertion, and the best that the human spirit has to offer. PMC weekend recharges my soul.

Day 1 began before the sun peaked above the horizon. In fact, the sun didn't really show much that day. The forecast was for rain later in the morning, but since it was coming from the west, and we were heading east, the thought was, if we could pedal fast enough, we might beat it! So, my teammates and I set out from Sturbridge at a pretty good clip. We arrived at the first water stop (24 miles in) faster than ever! There we were greeted by our teammate Dawn (who is taking a hopefully-short break from riding) and her husband. We also met up with our fallen teammate Patrick's wife and baby girl - resulting in my first tears (of many!) for the weekend.

Andrew and Gina (Maya's parents), Maya, and me!

Still no raindrops, so we kept pedaling. The temperature was starting to climb, but we kept rolling on over the hills, down Cherry Street (the famous street of steel drums, bagpipers, and the infamous clown), all the way to lunch. We arrived at lunch around 10 AM, and just as we were sitting down to eat, we felt a few sprinkles. We knew what we had to do - eat quickly and get back out on the road! After all, the next stop was the Pedal Partner stop!

Those sprinkles turned into steady rain. Warm rain, but rain nonetheless. As we pulled into the Pedal Partner stop to refuel and visit Maya and her family, it felt like the rain was letting up - yay! Maya spotted us with our unicorn horns on our helmets and we visited for a bit. If you remember last year's photo of me and Maya, you can definitely see the difference a year cancer-free does to a kid!

Yeah, so about that rain letting up - nope! It started to fall even harder! In addition to the rain falling from the sky, we had to contend with the water from the road that was kicked up by everyone's tires - in our faces. It felt like my eyes were going to fall out, or at the very least, I thought I'd lose my contact lenses. Luckily, I was able to complete the day's ride with my eyeballs (and contact lenses) intact.

Crossing the Day 1 finish line! Don't I look happy wet?

My teammates and I were greeted by yet another teammate on sabbatical from the PMC, Christine! It was so nice to give her a huge, wet, sweaty hug at the end of the day's ride! After that, the routine is familiar - park the bike, visit my volunteer friend Kim, get a beer, take a shower, get another beer, eat, beer, massage, and beer! Then it's early to bed since it's another early morning on Sunday!

Day 2, another one that begins in darkness! I was happy to see that the rain that had continued all afternoon and evening was over. It was foggy, but that's no problem early in the morning. My teammates and I set off at 5:30 AM and rode the familiar route to Provincetown - over the Bourne Bridge, along the Cape Cod Canal, up and down the hills of Service Road, and past the villages along Route 6A.

At the second water stop of the day, the halfway point, the clouds parted and the humidity dropped. Mother Nature decided we should have friendly skies for the rest of the ride to Provincetown! Unfortunately, my legs and "saddle region" were feeling the effects of having ridden 150 miles by that point, but there's no quitting in the PMC! Onward we went.

Cheers to another PMC in the books!

Thanks to some favorable winds, the final stretch of the ride along Route 6 was fast - 21 mph fast! It was a welcome change over last year, when headwinds slowed us to a proverbial crawl on that same section. Just as the sun was starting to get a little hot, we were over the dunes and at the entrance to Herring Cove Beach for the annual Team Kinetic Karma champagne toast photo! It was so nice to celebrate the end of another successful PMC with my teammates.

While the ride is over, the fundraising continues! I am within striking distance of my $10,000 fundraising goal, thanks to over 100 of my generous friends and family. I just need a few more donations to put me over the five-figures mark! If you need a reason to give, here is one: Maya, our pedal partner, is living proof that supporting the lifesaving research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute saves lives. We all have been touched by cancer, and giving to the Pan-Mass Challenge (which gives every rider-raised dollar directly to the charity), is the best way to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Please donate today. Thank you!