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.