13th PMC a Huge Success!

It's been over a week since the ride, but I'm still coming down from the high that was my 13th Pan-Mass Challenge. Every year the ride is special, but there were many reasons to make this one particularly poignant.

Day 0: On Thursday evening, 16 of my teammates and I set out for the New York border to prepare for the optional and unofficial Day 0 ride. This is a ride before the official PMC that starts at the western edge of Massachusetts and continues to the starting line in Sturbridge, making the weekend a TRUE  Pan-Mass Challenge. This year, we rode in memory of Danno, our beloved teammate who passed away after a cycling accident in November. We wore his bike shop's cycling kit to honor him.

Danno was a great motivator and cycling coach, and we all heard his encouraging words in our heads as we rode that grueling route through the Berkshire mountains. The hills were tough, and the miles long, but this is what we trained for. We did it together, as a team, just as Danno would have done with us. He would have also gotten a huge kick out of the best rest stop of the day, at the Magic Lantern in the "Champagne Room." :) Day 0 was a success, if a bittersweet one.

Day 1: Once we get to Sturbridge, there is a very specific order of operations: Day 0 team photo, beer, registration, shower, beer, food, beer, and opening ceremonies (thank goodness for Harpoon!). The next morning, my teammates and I (and, you know, 6,300 other people) set off at sunrise to begin our day of cycling. It was fantastic weather for riding - not too hot, relatively dry air, and a beautiful pink sky over us. The first few miles of the ride are overwhelming because there are SO many of us, but over time we start to spread out and the density of riders becomes more manageable.

At mile 49 was another bittersweet moment. That is where every year, Danno's wife, Jacqui, holds a special water stop for my team complete with baked goods and fresh fruit. What was missing was Danno, but we knew he was watching over us from the bike shop in his garage. Jacqui, it was so good to see you, and thank you so much for treating us so well over the years!

At the lunch stop, I saw Theresa, my teammate who recently kicked skin cancer to the curb! She was hurting (and rightfully so - she had just gotten out of her post-surgery wheelchair two weeks prior) but her determination brought tears to my eyes. Cancer struck way too close to home, but we, all 6,300 riders and 4,000 volunteers, were here to do something about it.

At the Lakeville water stop, at mile 85, we were greeted by Anna, our Pedal Partner. In prior years, she was shy, afraid of loud noises, and reserved (2.5 years of chemo will do that to a kid). She finished her chemo treatment in December, and since then, her hair has regrown, and so has her energetic personality! She was dancing and singing to the music the whole time! You should have seen the look on her face when she saw "Anna's Bike Team" roll in! The look on her face - pure joy - and the look on her parents' faces - pure relief - said it all: this is why we ride.

Day 1 wasn't my fastest, but it was one of the most emotional I have experienced. From seeing Anna to watching Theresa pedal on to a rest stop at Danno's, it was an emotional roller coaster. But with the best teammates in the world, we got it done in pure TKK style - with laughter through tears.

Day 2: On my third day of cycling, after having ridden over 200 miles the prior two days, I felt surprisingly ready to tackle Day 2. After a very slow ride over the Bourne Bridge (apparently everyone decided to leave at the same time), and a nice sunrise rise along the Cape Cod Canal, the fun really got started, Service Road parallels Route 6 but has a series of rolling hills that, if you build up momentum, you can fly up and down them. I did, and it was exhilarating!

On Day 2, more than any other day, I rode with a larger group of teammates, which truly makes a long ride turn into a rolling party. The laughter was constant! Since we wear our team kits on Day 2, we looked like a more cohesive team, and the crowd loved it. "Hey, look at that great-looking team!" we would hear (we sure are, lady!). One mile from the finish line, we stopped at our traditional photo spot for our "champagne" toast team photo. Another successful PMC ride in the books!

The ride is over, but the fundraising continues. I am $630 from my $9,000 goal! 100 percent of your donation will go straight to the Jimmy Fund, which supports Dana-Farber's life-saving cancer research and compassionate patient care. Making a donation to the PMC is one of the best ways you can make a difference in the fight against cancer. Join me to help make cancer HISTORY. Donate here: https://give.pmc.org/jf0128. Thank you!