$35,000,000 - AMAZING

Last week, the Pan-Mass Challenge made a record-breaking $35 million donation the the Jimmy Fund, the largest gift in its history. In 2008, 100% of every rider-raised dollar went directly to the beneficiary, which is very rare in the fundraising industry.

These numbers underscore the determination of thousands of riders and volunteers, tens of thousands cheering supporters, and hundreds of thousands of generous donors. Thank you for all of your support - you are a major part of this effort, and I appreciate your commitment to making cancer HISTORY.

Click here to read the full press release about the donation.

190 Miles. Done.

I had a fantastic weekend riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge! This being my fifth year of riding, I knew what to expect in some ways, but I am always overwhelmed by the incredible support bestowed upon us by the thousands of volunteers and cheering supporters along the route. The 190 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown would be grueling without them!

The weekend started on Friday in Sturbridge, where we registered, ate at the carbo-load dinner, and watched the opening ceremonies. If you didn't catch the show on NECN, visit their website for some of the highlights. It is always a motivational and inspirational program, and this year was no different. Following the show, my riding partner and weekend roommate Michelle and I retired to our hotel room at 9:30 to try to catch some ZZZ before the big day ahead. Five hours of sleep was all I got, but the anticipation of the ride got me going in the morning. We lined up at the start at 5:30 and were off at 6 AM.

The first 40 miles are very challenging - we ascend several steep hills before descending into the Blackstone Valley. From there on out it's mostly rolling hills with a few doozies just before the lunch stop in Dighton at mile 69. After a lunch of a turkey sandwich, cookies, SmartFood, cookies, pretzels, cookies, pickles, cookies, and cookies, Rich and I set off to conquer the remaining 40 miles to Bourne, our overnight stop. Luckily for us, the weather stayed mild throughout the mid-afternoon - we must have stayed just ahead of the storm.

Mile 85 is around where your body realizes how much you're planning on punishing it that day. The feeling in your "saddle region" becomes more pain than sore and your neck and shoulders begin to tense up from riding in the same position for hours. Again, the volunteers and supporters (and the Gatorade) kept me pedaling to the day's finish line, 109 miles from where the day began.

After parking my bike for the night, I headed straight for the massage registration tent to sign up for a much-desired 15-minute massage. They tend to run out of appointments before I arrive each year, so I was determined to ride fast enough to get one. Nope. All gone. They told me about waiting in the standby line, so I planned to do that later. First - shower!

They skies turned ominous around dinner time and a big thunderstorm rolled through. Thankfully I was done riding for the day, but a few weren't so lucky. Don't worry though - everyone got in safely (albeit drenched).

My half hour of waiting in the massage standby line was well worth it. Elena, a volunteer massage therapist, melted the tension from my neck and shoulders and soothed my aching quads. I left the 15-minute massage feeling ready to take on another 77 miles in the morning.

After loading our luggage on the truck and grabbing a quick breakfast, Michelle, Rich, and I were on the road at 5:40 AM, headed for the Bourne Bridge and Provincetown. The first 20 miles are scenic and fun - we ride over and along the Cape Cod Canal at dawn, a beautiful way to start the day. Then we ride on Service Road, the closest you come to a roller coaster ride on a bike (so long as you have enough momentum to get up the next hill!).

Even though the ride starts and ends earlier on the second day, there are even more people out along the route cheering. Some famous spectators include the "Over the Hill Cheerleaders" with their pom poms and encouraging words at the top of a hill in Truro. Also, shortly before the second rest stop of the day, the Cape Cod Sea Camp gathers hundreds of teenagers, that together form " Da Hedge," a virtual wall of cheers. It's so great to have such great people to look forward to seeing at specific points along the route.

After a long two days of cycling, I completed the 2008 Pan-Mass Challenge at 11:12 AM in Provincetown. Hundreds more cheering supporters were at the finish line. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. All that was left to do was shower (of course), eat, and ride the ferry back to Boston. My fifth Pan-Mass Challenge was one of the best yet!

I reached my goal of safely and swiftly biking 190 miles across Massachusetts, but I still need your help to reach my goal of raising $4,000 for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Click on the "Make a Donation" link at right to support this excellent cause. 100% of your donation will go directly to the Jimmy Fund in support of Dana-Farber, so please give generously! Thanks to all that have made donations - you are amazing!

My bags are packed..

The day has come. My bag is packed, my bike is tuned, and my body is toned (well, as toned as it needs to be). It's quiet at my house right now, but I know in 3 short hours I'll be entering PMCland. Thousands of people will be buzzing around the Sturbridge Host Hotel - registering, catching up with PMC friends (some of which we see only once a year), eating (more like gorging), and anticipating 190 miles of power - the power to cure cancer.

While I'm riding, I'll be thinking of each of you that generously supported my ride this year. I'll also be thinking of those that you made your donations in honor or in memory of. I'll especially be thinking of my grandmother, who died ten years ago while battling cancer.

I hope you think of me and the 5,400 other riders. Please hope that we're able to dodge the "scattered thunderstorms" they've predicted, and if we are caught in them, please hope that everyone is safe. I know I'll be hoping the same thing.

It's not too late to donate! Click on the "make a donation" link to the right.

Liftoff in 10... 9... 8...

The Pan-Mass Challenge, the two-day, 190-mile bicycle ride that I have been training for all summer, begins on Saturday*. The ride is always the highlight of my summer, and I'm eager to join 5,500 other riders in this amazing event.

In order to best prepare my body for the hours it will be forced onto a slender bicycle seat and trudging up hill after hill, this past week I've kept off the bike. What?!? you may ask? Like preparation for any other athletic event, you need to reduce the intensity of your training in the week or two before the event to allow your body to heal itself. My bike is in the shop right now getting a much-deserved tune up, and when I pick it up on Wednesday, it and I will be ready for the challenge ahead of us.

*If you haven't yet made a donation to the PMC, which supports life-saving cancer research and world-class patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, please click on the "make a donation" link to the right to support this excellent cause. 100% of your donation will go to the Jimmy Fund, Dana-Farber's fundraising arm.

'Til I Can't Pedal No More

This training season, I've worked harder than I ever have to prepare for the Pan-Mass Challenge. As of yesterday, I've logged 1,223 miles on my bike since April. I've spent over 77 hours (that's more than three full days, folks) in the saddle and climbed over 62,000 vertical feet. I cycled at an average speed of 15.5 mph and topped out at 44 miles an hour (I'm pretty sure that was well over the speed limit). The above map shows where I've biked so far this year.

My ride yesterday was the beginning of the end of my training. Rich and I set out early in the morning to ride in CRW's annual Climb to the Clouds Century, a 100+ mile ride from Concord to Mount Wachusett and back. Unfortunately, we followed some riders at a wrong turn, and before we realized we were heading back to Concord prematurely, we were already 23 miles off course. Thanks to Rubel BikeMaps (highly recommended for any cyclist in Massachusetts), we were able to get back on course, but because of the added miles, we had to miss the big climb up Mount Wachusett (darn!). Even without that, it's still the hardest route I've ever ridden. As much as I wanted that ride to be over, I knew that it was going to make me stronger for the PMC, just two short weeks away.

Another Way to Fight Cancer

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides outstanding cancer-patient care in addition to conducting research that, I believe, will one day make cancer history. I've recently begun donating platelets at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber. In a way, I feel like I've deepened my connection to the fight against cancer, and all it takes is 90 minutes every two weeks.

Platelets are a component of your blood that aids in clotting. A cancer patient's platelet supply is diminished, so they need regular platelet transfusions. Platelets are collected through a process called apheresis, during which your blood is collected and the platelets are separated and removed from your whole blood supply. The remainder of your blood is returned to you through the same needle that took the blood from your arm. The whole process takes about 90 minutes, and since you receive back your whole blood minus some platelets, you are able to donate every two weeks (as opposed to every 8 weeks for a unit of whole blood). The best part - they seat you in ergonomic (and heated) lounge chairs, plus you get to watch a movie - your choice! Oh, and the free cookies!

In addition to donating platelets, I've been registered in the National Marrow Donor Program. I'll be ready and willing to donate bone marrow to a compatible cancer patient if there is ever a need. I highly suggest you consider both donating platelets and registering as a potential marrow donor.

In riding the PMC, I am using my body to help raise funds for cutting-edge cancer research. In donating platelets, I am similarly using my body to aid in the life-saving cancer treatment that Dana-Farber provides. Both activities are some of the most fulfilling in my life.

Training Update

In the past two weeks, I've put over 350 miles in on my bike in preparation for the Pan-Mass Challenge, just three weeks from today. I had two noteworthy rides in that time period - a century and my fastest ride ever!

Rich and I decided to ride a century route (over 100 miles) that had been mapped by the Charles River Wheelmen that took us from Wakefield up over the New Hampshire border and back. It was a very long day, but we finished with a respectable time and average speed for such a distance. The first day of the PMC is 111 miles, so riding a century beforehand is good for the legs.

The second notable ride was today - the Saturday Morning Fitness Ride organized again by CRW - only this time I was joined by fellow cyclist Rob and about 50 other riders. They sent riders out in groups based on the distance they wanted to cover and their average speed. We set out with the 42-mile, 19 mph group. I knew that would be a stretch in terms of speed, but I was up for a challenge.

And what a challenge it was! I stayed with the group for the first 10 miles or so, averaging around 21 mph (WAY faster than I usually go), but I couldn't keep up. I lost the group at a curve and never caught up (I actually missed a turn for the 42-mile route, so I inadvertently rode the 28-mile route). I wanted to keep the challenge level high still, so I tried to keep my speed up. I finished with an average speed of 19.0 mph (my previous record was 16.9!). I'm pretty satisfied with my effort.

Only three weeks left until the ride! I'll spend the next two weeks around the same mileage level I've been at. Rich and I are going to ride CRW's Climb to the Clouds century on the 20th. We rode it last year and it was the single hardest ride I have ever been on. I'm looking forward to doing better this year.

Party!

Join Michelle, Rich, and I at the Rattlesnake Bar & Grill in Boston at a happy hour to benefit our riding the Pan-Mass Challenge! 

WHO: you!

WHAT: a great time with your favorite cyclists

WHY: donations benefit the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

WHEN: Thursday, July 17 beginning at 5 PM

WHERE: Rattlesnake Bar & Grill's Venom Lounge (2nd floor) - 384 Boylston Street, Boston (near the Arlington T stop)

It's Go Time

There are less than five weeks until the Pan-Mass Challenge, so it's time to step up my training. For two weeks before this past weekend, I had been taking it easy - I'll blame a brief mild illness and the ridiculous weather we've been having on my paltry mileage. This weekend was when I finally went into high gear.

I only had a few hours to ride on Saturday, so I picked a familiar but challenging route to Norfolk. I had to high-tail it back to Boston to catch a train to Worcester (I barely made it!). It was a nice and quick 60-mile ride.

Sunday was a bit of a challenge. I was already a little sore from my ride the day before, and a bit over-tired, but Rich and I went for a long ride anyway. It was a hilly 85-mile ride on some of eastern Massachusetts' quietest roads. The sun eventually came out, and it turned out to be a great day. I am quite sore today!

Best of all though, I had no mechanical issues on either day. This is monumental, since I started off the season with multiple flat tires and a bout of chain derailing.

So, I was able to ride 145 miles in two days. I've got less than 5 weeks to get to 190 miles in two days. Let's just hope the weather and my immune system cooperate!

PMC Kids

Kids are the future. The Pan-Mass Challenge has embraced this ubiquitous statement and is cultivating the next generation of PMC riders. The PMC kids rides (there will be 24 kids rides this year throughout Massachusetts and in New Hampshire and New York) involve thousands of children (aged 3-15) who ride their bikes various distances at a kids ride event and raise money for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Insititute. Last year, almost 3,500 kid riders raised over $465,000 for the Jimmy Fund, contributing to the PMC's $33 million donation. Since the first PMC Kids Ride in 1998, the kids rides have contributed nearly $1 million to the PMC's goal. These kids are amazing.

Just like in the "adult" PMC, the kid riders have loved ones - uncles, mothers, grandfathers, sisters - who are battling or have battled cancer. These kids know what they're doing - they're helping to make sick people feel better and to make sure others don't get sick.

Billy Starr, PMC Founder and Executive Director, recently made this statement about the kids rides: "Children are no longer as shielded from illness, injury, and other aspects of real life that can be painful or upsetting. Kids continue to surprise all of us, all the time. They want to be involved, they want to contribute, and we believe that children, just like adults, become healthier, more complete people because they participate."

Click here to watch a video about the Kids Rides.

Spent.

Wow. They were right. HEAT WAVE!
I rode over 150 miles on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend. It was great training for the PMC - long, hot consecutive days in the saddle, but man, am I spent.
Friday was actually cool and cloudy. In order to increase the difficulty level on the relatively short route, I added in a few roads with known hills. Unfortunately, they were in Belmont, which, for some reason, doesn't believe in repaving its roads. It's a miracle I didn't get a flat tire, or worse.
The ride on Saturday was organized by Charles River Wheelmen, the local bicycling club. The route took us through quiet and tree-covered roads north of Boston. It was a nice ride in an area I haven't explored much. It was hot, but not as hot as...
Sunday was HOTT. I decided to ride the beautiful Cape Ann route I've been doing for a few years now. It hugs the coast for most of its length, so I figured the sea breeze would keep me cool. Not so much. I was sweating buckets. I was completely done when I finished the ride at the Salem commuter rail station, but I looked forward to the air conditioned train that would whisk me back to Boston. Not so much. No A/C. But again, it's good training for the PMC - the overnight stay on the ride in Bourne has no A/C either!

Heat Wave!

Meteorologists are predicting a heat wave this weekend, with temperatures in the 90s, possibly through Tuesday. (PS, can we talk about how unexcited the performers and the audience are in that video? Miley Cyrus could teach them a thing or two..)

I must say, I'm excited about the heat. I won't have to worry about wearing layers that I'll soon shed and have to find a place for. And cycling, unlike running (for the most part), generates its own wind "chill" factor. Plus, the routes I plan to do this weekend are either well shaded or along the cooler coast.

The heat is also good preparation for the PMC. As it falls in the first weekend of August every year, odds are we'll have a sunny, hot two days of cycling. That's what has happened the past four years I've been riding. Although, I have seen some photos of PMCs past with cyclists braving torrential rain. Yeah, I like the heat.

Efficiency

In the last few years, I've been working to improve my cycling efficiency. I installed pedals with foot straps to make my pedaling more efficient. I switched from riding a slow hybrid bike to a sleek and light carbon-framed road bike. I now have shoes and clipless pedals to maximize the output I get from each pedal stroke.

The Pan-Mass Challenge has also become more efficient. In 2007, 100% of rider-raised funds went directly to the Jimmy Fund, Dana-Farber's fundraising arm - I expect them to continue to do so from now on. Your donations are going as far as possible to provide world-class treatment to today's cancer fighters and to fund cutting-edge research to find a cure for cancer.

This is important: your donation isn't being spent to subsidize a bike ride - it is saving lives.

Great Biking Weekend

Well, those meteorologists were right! This past Memorial Day weekend was as nice as predicted. Temps in the low 70s to low 80s, low humidity, and abundant sunshine all three days - an anomaly in New England!

I didn't get in as many miles as I had planned, but I biked a total of 140 miles over the three-day weekend. Click on the following links to check out the routes I took and my biking stats for each: Saturday    Sunday    Monday.

Despite my pleas for no more flats, my rear tire deflated a quarter mile after starting my Sunday ride. I rode back home and fixed it (my rear tube now has two patched holes - not good!). Worse than the flat, though, was the fact that my chain didn't want to stay on the front cogwheels. It came off about 20 times while riding this weekend. It's a quick fix (just put it back on and go), but it's messy - my hands are still black from the grease. Luckily, I have a great bike shop. I brought it in to Landry's in Boston at the end of my ride with Rich on Monday, and they fixed it while I waited FOR FREE. They're great!

The coming weekend isn't looking great for biking weather-wise, so I'll have to get in some miles during the week.

Survivors and Fighters

Two well-known Bostonians made national headlines with stories about cancer in the past week. Jon Lester, a Red Sox pitcher and recent cancer survivor, threw a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals (for those non-baseball fans out there, that is a big deal). His accomplishment on the mount this past Monday is a striking metaphor for his return to the majors after being diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006. Jon Lester was a cancer fighter and is now a cancer survivor.

The other well-known Bostonian is Senator Ted Kennedy, who received some rather grim news this past week. After medical tests following a seizure, the senator was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The media is covering all angles of the story; in one article, they interview cancer specialists who discuss the many promising treatment options the senator may have, and in another, they talk about the likelihood of him leaving office, voluntarily or involuntarily. What every story includes, though, is that Senator Ted Kennedy is, and always has been, a fighter. A malignant brain tumor will be his biggest fight yet. 

Click here to read an excellent Newsweek article about both Bostonians and how the PMC and battling against cancer links us all.

Putting in the Miles

Riding the Pan-Mass Challenge requires some serious training. So far this season I've put 225 miles on my trusty ride, ol' AC/DC (here's the origin of its name - I sent it to the shop for a tune-up. They discovered the frame was cracked, so they replaced it. It was blue when I dropped it off, and it was black when I picked it up. It came back in black - get it?!).
The weather for this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous (pronounced gaw-jiss in Boston), so I plan to put in at least 150 more miles in the next few days. I'll be praying for no more flats - I've had five so far this season (but only one in all of last year)!
My fundraising push is about to begin - you'll be hearing from me soon!

The First Weekend in August

The first weekend in August is permanently marked off in my calendar. It's a holiday of sorts. You gather with those family members you only see once a year (well, they FEEL like family) and have a huge meal (carbo-load!). It's always the highlight of my summer.

I made the above video slideshow with images from last year's ride to give you an idea of what it's like to ride 190 miles with 5,500 people, be fed, hydrated, housed, and entertained by 2,600 volunteers, and be cheered on by miles after mile after mile of supporters along the route. It's always an amazing weekend, and each year I'm a better person for having experienced it.

Check out the video (you can also see it on YouTube) and let me know what you think!

Research = Hope

We've come a long way. Almost 80 percent of children diagnosed with cancer survive, as do over 60 percent of cancer-diagnosed adults. Cancer is no longer an immediate death sentence.

We've got a long way to go. 560,000 Americans die each year from cancer, and 1.2 million will be diagnosed with some form of the disease this year.

The cancer research world is full of advances and setbacks, but we have those advances to thank for the ever-improving survival rates. And we have researchers and doctors like those at Dana-Farber to thank for those advances. They are creating more advanced tools for early detection of cancer. They are developing new drugs and new combinations of drugs to treat cancer more effectively and with fewer side effects. They are engineering new radiation techniques and identifying better surgical options to treat cancer patients. They are finding the factors that cause cancer in order to prevent the disease. They are providing their patients with the fantastic results of their cutting-edge research. They are saving lives.

The Pan-Mass Challenge supports the work of Dana-Farber's doctors and researchers in a huge way. Since 1980, the PMC has contributed over $200 million ($33 million last year alone!) to the Jimmy Fund, Dana-Farber's fundraising arm. The extensive and life-saving research and treatment at Dana-Farber is happening in large part due to the PMC's countless supporters.

Dr. Edward J. Benz, President of Dana-Farber, recently stated the following in a letter to last year's PMC riders: "Your PMC funds this year will allow us to make major investments in people, equipment, and research projects that will allow us to accelerate our research momentum despite flat federal research funding. Major new initiatives in medicinal chemistry, imaging, cancer genomics, and experimental drug development will move forward because [of] the funds you generate..."

We really have come a long way. We still have a long way to go.

Start of the Season

Welcome! I'll be blogging about my training and fundraising for my fifth Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a charity bicycle ride to raise funds for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Calling the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) a 'ride' is a bit of an understatement. It is two days and 190 miles of passion, spirit, and hope (oh, and pain). 5,500 riders and 2,600 volunteers come together during the first weekend in August every year (since 1980) to do something larger than ourselves. It's truly an amazing event, and I'm honored to be a part of it every year.

Over the next three months, I'll be spending every weekend on my bike (named AC/DC - I'll explain some other time) in preparation for the PMC. I'll also be conducting my fundraising campaign to meet my goal of raising $6,000 for cancer research. More about that later.

So, again, welcome, and look forward to more posts from me. Thanks for reading!