My 20th PMC...My Favorite Ride Yet?

PMC Opening Ceremonies

Us PMC riders talk about the post-PMC depression a lot. Reentering "normal" life can be jarring after such a unique and special weekend. Why aren't people thanking me every 3 minutes? Why isn't anyone making me another fluffernutter? What are my feet doing on the ground? Why am I still asleep at 4:30 AM? Why don't I live in a world where the best of the human spirit is on display all the time?

Luckily, my post-PMC depression didn't last long this year, and I am fondly thinking back to what may have been my favorite PMC ride ever. And that's saying a lot after having crossed the finish line in Provincetown 20 years in a row. What made this year's PMC so special? It was the perfect combination of outstanding weather, the return of some PMC traditions that have been on hold the last few years, and riding with the best team in the entire PMC.

Jose and I on Day 1

My teammates and I assembled in Sturbridge on Friday evening to begin the epic weekend. After registering, I had my first delicious Harpoon beer of the weekend and caught up with teammates and other friends that ride. After a delicious carbo-load dinner, we attended the PMC Opening Ceremonies. The show is streamed online via WBZ's website and features ride updates from the founder and president of the PMC and heartwarming stories of why people ride. The show never disappoints! You can check out the recordings of the State of the PMC portion and the Everyday Heroes portion.

It was soon time for bed - the ride begins at 5:30 AM on Saturday! My teammates assembled outside our hotel and the butterflies of excitement settled in. The weather was perfect for a 110-mile ride! Some of my highlights of Day 1 include seeing Sheila and friends at the first turn of the ride, eating a fluffernutter at almost every water stop, seeing current and past teammates as we toasted to our fallen teammates, and riding FAST! Since the weather conditions were ideal, we figurately flew along the route, with a slight tailwind.

After finishing Day 2

When I finished Day 1, I went through a familiar order of operations: park bike, get a massage appointment, shower, get a massage, get a beer, see my volunteer friends, get another beer, eat, take Team Kinetic Karma photo, get another beer, eat more, say goodnight to the bikes, and say goodnight to myself. The fantastic weather continued through the afternoon and evening and made for a wonderful end to a wonderful day of riding.

My teammate Jose and I were up at 3:30 AM to begin Day 2. We packed up and fueled up for the 80-mile ride. We met up with a few more teammates and rolled out around 5:15 AM to meet the rest of our team on the other side of the Bourne Bridge. Oof, the Bourne Bridge - historically it has been a choke point for riders, with long backups to scale the surprisingly big hill, and this year was no different. We slowly made it to the top as the sun rose above the Cape Cod Canal. We still make it on-time to meet our teammates, then we zipped up the Canal Bike Path to continue on the way to Provincetown.

Day 2 is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it day. It flies by, but has plenty of milestones and wonderful moments to savor. Besides crossing the bridge and watching the sunrise over the canal, we ride the undulating hills of Service Road, pass through quaint villages, and encounter throngs of supporters throughout the whole ride. There's also something special about the water stops on Day 2 - a lot more focus on FUN! And they don't skimp on the fluffernutters, either.

Team photo after finishing the ride

It was another fast riding day, due in part to the fantastic weather. The lack of a strong headwind on the Route 6 portion was a godsend! As we turned into the dunes of Provincetown, I cranked up my figurative motor and decided to leave it all on the route for my 20th PMC. I bombed up the hills and flew down the descents as fast as I could - it was a blast! We assembled for our traditional "champagne" toast photo at the entrance to Herring Cove Beach, and rode to the finish lines with our glasses held high to celebrate a fantastic PMC weekend.

The ride is over, but the fundraising continues! I am less than $1,000 short of my $20,000 fundraising goal. To those who have already donated this year, thank you! I encourage everyone else to consider joining the fight against cancer by making a donation today. 100% of your donation will directly support the innovative cancer research and compassionate cancer care that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute does every day, due in part to the funds that the PMC contributes. Together, we are getting closer by the mile to a cancer-free world.

Thank you for joining me on this ride of a lifetime.

This weekend, we ride.

How is it already August? Seriously, the summers seem to fly by more quickly with each passing year. Because I spend so much of the spring and the first half of the summer training and fundraising for the Pan-Mass Challenge, August approaches especially quickly.

I've amped up my training over the last few weeks with a series of 50+, 60+, and 80+ rides. After each one, I felt stronger and more ready to take on the first 40 hilly miles of Day 1, the surprisingly steep climbs scattered throughout Day 2, and everything in between. Tonight, I'll start to pack for the big ride. That's when the nerves will really start to set in.

Nerves, you say? But Jared,  you've been riding the PMC for almost two decades - how could you possibly be nervous?! I'm not nervous per se, I'm just anticipating all of the special feels that I get during the weekend. Here are some highlights:

• Arriving in Sturbridge on Friday afternoon to see thousands of people doing the same thing as you: registering, catching up with friends over a (free!) beer, and heading to bed early in anticipation of a long but fun weekend.
• Waking to see those same people all wearing the same jersey as you. In the dark, mind you, because it's barely 5 AM.
• Seeing my friend Sheila, who every single year cheers us on with a huge "Go Jared F!" sign (I always feel like a rock star!).
• Riding down Cherry Street in Wrentham, which its residents turn into a party. I think of it as a reverse parade - we roll by and take in the cheers and the musical acts.
• Riding up to the water stop at mile 85, where the street is lined with large photos of every single pedal partner (children undergoing cancer treatment). I always, always cry. They are why we ride.
• Seeing our pedal partners at that water stop. Zinnia, see you on Saturday!
• The luxuries of staying at the Mass Maritime Academy. No, really! Free beer, massages, music, tons of food, and I get to see my friend and volunteer extraordinaire, Kim!
• Riding over the Bourne Bridge and along the Cape Cod Canal Bike Path at sunrise. I never get a chance to take a photo, but take my word for it - breathtaking.
• The uphills and downhills of Service Road on the Cape. Wheee!
• Riding across the finish line in Provincetown with my teammates, "champagne" "glasses" in-hand as we toast to another great ride, and another step forward in the fight against cancer.

My legs feel ready for the ride ahead, but I am still short of my ambitious fundraising goal of $20,000. Please make your cancer-fighting donation today. 100% of it will go straight to the Jimmy Fund in support of the innovative research that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is doing. Research that saved the life of my team captain, Dave, several other teammates, Zinnia, our pedal partner, and many of our friends and loved ones. Together, we are making cancer HISTORY. Thank you!

Tribute to a Teammate

I know it's PMC week when the butterflies settle into my stomach. There is so much anticipation around PMC weekend, my favorite weekend of the year. Part of that anticipation stems from being able to hang out with my teammates, some of whom I only get a chance to see once a year. This year will be a little different, as one of our Team Kinetic Karma teammates won't be there.

Jim loved the clever signs that cheerers would make. From PMC 2022.

Jim Adelson was a member of Team Kinetic Karma before I joined in 2010, and his first PMC was in 2006. Jim always participated in every team training ride that I ever attended, a testament to his commitment to training and our team. He would provide helpful route advice and would modify the routes as needed for slower riders. He seemed to always be smiling when talking about the PMC, his face covered in his signature white zinc oxide (he was allergic to common sunblock). He was a training machine! As of June this year, he had recorded 64 training rides in Strava for a total of 1,441 miles, just this calendar year. 

On June 18, Jim completed a 36-mile training ride on Father's Day. On that ride, he visited a playground that was dedicated to his father for his service to the community of Sudbury as a pediatrician. Jim's father died of colorectal cancer in 1991, and was one of Jim's inspirations to begin riding the PMC.

Team Kinetic Karma's photo on Day 1 of the 2022 PMC. Jim is furthest to the right in the front row.

Two days later, on June 20, Jim passed away unexpectedly at age 70. Our team was devastated by the news. We miss our teammate, our friend, who would have ridden his 18th PMC this weekend with us. I will miss our chats over dinner and beers at the end of each riding day, rehashing the hills, the headwinds, and the clever signs that we saw along the way. Jim's spirit of kindness and determination will always be with us. This weekend, I will think of Jim often, and I will aim to carry his legacy forward.

We miss you, Jim.

Training Update

How, HOW is it already the end of July? I know saying the summer is going by quickly is cliché, but....it is! While I'd love to blame "time passing too quickly" for the slow start to my training season, it's been mostly due to being too busy. Luckily, in the last few weeks, I've been able to carve out more time for training, and it's paying off! Here's a recap of my training in July.

On July 15, Ian and I set off on a 50-mile ride from home to the Medfield area. It was HOT. Good training for the PMC though, because as last year reminded us, it can be VERY hot on PMC weekend! Despite the heat, we completed the ride with no cramps - score! Next, I found myself in Provincetown for a day (thanks to some friends for letting me crash - figuratively!) and did a 68-mile Upper Cape out-and-back ride. Much of the ride was on the PMC route, which after 19 prior PMCs, I know like the back of my hand. It felt great to climb the familiar hills of the Upper Cape. The weather was nearly perfect - partly cloudy, little wind, and moderate temperatures. Another long ride with no cramping - double score!

Last Saturday, several of my teammates and I did our annual Pedal Partner Ride, where we ride to visit our former Pedal Partner in Arlington, MA and our current Partner in Nashua, NH. More great weather - I could get used to this! We had about 12 riders join, which is great. Training in a group is the best kind of training for the PMC, since there are thousands of other riders to consider (and draft off of!). We visited Maya, our former Pedal Partner, who is now 11 and still cancer-free! She and her brother proudly wore their Team Kinetic Karma jerseys along with us. Later in the day. we visited Zinnia, our current Pedal Partner for the second year in a row. She is responding well to her treatments and is always full of smiles (and jokes) when we see her. It was my longest ride to date, and overall it felt great (even of I struggled to keep up with my faster teammates!). It was a good litmus test for preparing for the PMC.

Finally, earlier this week, I did a pre-work ride on the Neponset Greenway and in the Blue Hills. I always forget how satisfying it is to ride so early - so peaceful, less traffic, not as hot. Besides the fact that the PMC starts at 5:30 am! I am lucky to have the Neponset Greenway literally in my backyard, and the Blue Hills in my figurative backyard. The Greenway is a great warm-up, and the Blue Hills are great training grounds for the PMC, especially the first 40 miles of Day 1 of the PMC. After this ride, I now feel ready for the PMC (though the training continues)!

While the training continues, so does the fundraising. I am over 80% of my way toward achieving my $20,000 fundraising goal for this year. As you may know, the PMC is the biggest fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund, which directly supports the innovative cancer research and compassionate cancer care delivered by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the world's preeminent cancer institutions. 100% of your donation will go directly to the cause of making cancer HISTORY. Please make your donation today. Thank you!

FINAL Day of the $7,000 in 7 Days Challenge!

Today is the LAST DAY of my annual PMC fundraising challenge! Over the last six days, we've raised a WHOPPING $4,975.18 - the most I've ever raised in 6 days! Thanks to those of you who donated, I've raised our goal to $7,000 in 7 days. I know we can do it! As a reminder, here are the fabulous raffle prizes that you could win:

• A two-night stay at the 8 Dyer Hotel in Provincetown;
• A 60-minute massage at Boston Massage Associates in Boston;
• A $100 REI gift card; 
• A $50 gift card to Yolqueria in Provincetown, and
• A $50 gift card to Mezzeterranean in Provincetown.

As an added incentive to give TODAY, if we reach the increased $7,000 in 7 Days goal by raising $2,024.82 today, I will add FIVE new prizes to the pot: five $25 gift certificates to the restaurant of your choice! You can eat well and fight cancer at the same time! If we reach this goal, your chances of winning a prize will have DOUBLED!

Raffle tickets are $25 each, or five for $100. You can purchase raffle tickets through the end of the day today by making a donation online. I will pull four winning tickets; the first winner will have their choice of prize, then the second, and so on, until all prizes are awarded. If we have reached the $7,000 goal by the end of the day today, I will pull four more tickets for the restaurant gift certificates!

Have you already made a donation and feel left out of the raffle? Fear not! If you make an ADDITIONAL donation, I will DOUBLE the number of raffle tickets you get. For example, donate an additional $25, and get TWO raffle tickets; donate an additional $100, and get TEN raffle tickets!

As always, 100% of your donation will go directly to the Jimmy Fund, which supports innovative and life-saving cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This is one of the BEST ways to make an impact in the fight against cancer. Together, we can make cancer HISTORY (and you can win some fabulous prizes, too!).

Bigger and Better: $7,000 in 7 Days Challenge!

It is time, once again, for my annual PMC fundraising challenge! As you know, for my 20th PMC, this year my goal is to raise $20,000 for the fight against cancer. My 2023 PMC ride - 190 miles over two days on August 5 and 6 - is approaching quickly!

Thank you for your support!

Over the next seven days, I hope to raise $5,000 $7,000 in support of my goal. In order to help make that happen, I have some awesome and generous friends who have donated items for me to raffle off! The raffle prizes are:

• A two-night stay at the 8 Dyer Hotel in Provincetown;
• A 60-minute massage at Boston Massage Associates in Boston;
• A $100 REI gift card; 
• A $50 gift card to Yolqueria in Provincetown, and
• A $50 gift card to Mezzeterranean in Provincetown.

Raffle tickets are $25 each, or five for $100. The raffle runs from now through the end of the day on Tuesday, July 18. You can purchase raffle tickets by making a donation online. I will pull five winning tickets; the first winner will have their choice of prize, then the second, and so on, until all prizes are awarded.

Have you already made a donation and feel left out of the raffle? Fear not! If you make an ADDITIONAL donation, I will DOUBLE the number of raffle tickets you get. For example, donate an additional $25, and get TWO raffle tickets; donate an additional $100, and get TEN raffle tickets!

As always, 100% of your donation will go directly to the Jimmy Fund, which supports innovative and life-saving cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This is one of the BEST ways to make an impact in the fight against cancer. Together, we can make cancer HISTORY (and you can win some fabulous prizes, too!).

Kicking off Year 20(!) of Riding the PMC!

How is it summer already? Did spring actually happen? Asking for a friend. While I’ve never been busier at work, the Pan-Mass Challenge has been constantly on my mind—partly because it’s my favorite weekend of the year (and it’s just over six weeks away!) and partly because it will be my 20^th PMC ride.

Me being silly at the 2008 PMC, my 5th.

20^th. You read that right. I can hardly believe it either. I still have vivid memories of my first ride. In the summer of 2004, fresh out of undergrad, I moved to Boston and even before I found a job, I registered for the Pan-Mass Challenge. I had admired the event from afar for a few years and decided to “commit and figure it out.” I spent June and July training on my mountain bike that I had put smooth tires on for road riding. I was a cyclist, I had fundraised before—this will be great!

It WAS great, but it was also one of the biggest challenges of my life. The hills were hillier that I expected, my bike was heavier and less performant than I needed it to be, and I really wasn’t expecting to turn to ride in the dunes of Provincetown after 190 miles of challenging riding! The hardest part was the fundraising—as a 22-year-old, I didn’t have a large network of friends, family, and colleagues to support this big fundraising effort. As the 2004 PMC wound down, I said to myself, “this was fun, but let’s not do this again for a while.”

First PMC training ride of 2023!

When registration for the 2005 PMC came up, I forgot all the hard stuff, remembered the great stuff nostalgically, and signed up for year 2. And I haven’t looked back since! The PMC is part of my DNA now. My collection of 19 PMC jerseys (some of which no longer fit!) is my trophy closet—each one brings back memories of amazing PMC weekends past. It is an honor and a privilege to participate in this wonderful event each year.

What makes it wonderful? It's two days of heart-warming camaraderie among riders, amazing support provided by the dedicated volunteers, and 190 miles cheers from the people that line all 190 miles of the route that make it the most wonderful weekend of the year. It is the best of humanity on display, and who couldn't use more humanity these days?

The real motivation to ride year after year isn't the physical challenge, or the camaraderie, or the volunteer support, or the cheers. It is the pursuit of a world where families aren't torn apart by cancer. I've made it my mission for 20 years to raise as much money as I can to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in its fight against cancer. Every year I am reminded of the amazing advancements that result from our fundraising dollars, and sadly, every year I am reminded of cancer's toll on the families of friends and loved ones. Hearing the stories of those who have fought cancer motivates me to clip in and ride again. Until we make cancer HISTORY.

2022's record-shattering $69 million donation increased the total amount of funds raised by PMC riders to an astonishing $900 million. I have no doubt that many of the cancer innovations and increases in survival rates that we have seen over the last 44 years—and even in the last 20 years of me riding—are due in part to the monumental charitable movement that is the Pan-Mass Challenge.

As I embark on the 2023 PMC, I am asking you to jump on my handlebars and join me in supporting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to continue and expand their life-saving work. To honor my 20^th year of riding, I’ve increased my fundraising goal to $20,000—my highest goal ever, by far. It is a lofty goal, but achievable with support from generous people like you. We all have our personal connections to cancer—a family member, friend, neighbor, or colleague—I ride for them all, in honor of their fight or in memory of their spirit. Please make a cancer-fighting donation today and help us make cancer HISTORY.

Team Kinetic Karma at the end of Day 1 in 2022