Tomorrow, we ride.

As the sun rises on the day before my 16th Pan-Mass Challenge, I am grateful.

I am grateful that, despite only getting three long training rides in this summer (plus lots of shorter rides), my legs feel strong, and my body feels ready to climb every hill and bomb down every descent.

I am grateful for the volunteers who will nourish us for the long ride ahead. Fluffernutter sandwiches always taste better when made by a volunteer! I guarantee the first tears of the weekend will come when a child volunteer pours water into my bottle and thanks me for riding. No, thank YOU, kid!

I am grateful for my fellow riders. As we descent on Sturbridge this afternoon, the crowds of riders remind us all that we are a part of something much larger than ourselves. We all have our reasons for riding and fundraising, and together, we are making a difference in the trajectory of cancer. It is an awe-inspiring sight to see as we all depart from Sturbridge in the same jersey - the same team.

I am grateful for my Kinetic Karma teammates. My team Captain, Dave, pulled together a rag-tag group of misfits into one of the biggest fundraising teams in the entire PMC. I am looking forward to the rolling party that we create as we roll through town after town. My teammates helped me understand that cycling is a team sport.

I am grateful for the doctors, researchers, nurses, and staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for taking the infusion of cash raised by the PMC and innovating solutions to cancer treatment that no one has thought of before, or that no agency was willing to fund because it wasn't a likely success. Dana-Farber is changing the way cancer is treated, and in doing so, is saving and extending lives - the lives of our friends and family, including several of my teammates. 

Finally, and this is a big one, I am grateful for my donors. Over the last 16 years, you have helped me raise $105,000 to support Dana-Farber (yes, we crushed that goal!). You are the reason I get to enjoy my favorite weekend of the year. You are the reason that all of this happens - the cancer research, the pacelines, the 6,700 rider event, and the fluffernutters. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

I've increased my fundraising goal because I know I can do more, so why stop now? My new goal is $13,000, of which I have about $2,000 left to raise. If you haven't donated yet, now is the time! Make a donation today in honor of or in memory of a loved one who battled cancer. Together, we will make cancer HISTORY!