How PMC Money is Used

How does Dana-Farber Cancer Institute use the funds that you donate to the PMC? Incredibly effectively, that's how. Dana-Farber is at the leading edge of developing new cancer treatments and providing personalized cancer care. Dana-Farber can do what it does due in part to your PMC donations.

There are several reasons why this is the case. First, 100 percent of your PMC donation goes directly to the Jimmy Fund, Dana-Farber's fundraising arm. Not one penny of your donation goes to Clif Bars or bike mechanics or post-ride beer - all of the costs of the ride are underwritten by corporate sponsors. Second, the PMC generates half of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue (last year the PMC raised $35 million). Without the PMC, Dana-Farber's life-saving work grinds to a crawl. Finally, the PMC generates unrestricted funds for Dana-Farber to spend wherever it finds the greatest need. Many of its other funding sources (like foundation and government grants) come with strings attached. And while stringy money is great, it has its limitations.

Dana-Farber recently released a three page statement describing exactly how the PMC is making a difference in cancer research and care. Below is an excerpt that hits the point home.

Unrestricted PMC gifts:

• Are the life-blood of the Institute. They provide critical, flexible funding to be used when and where the need is greatest.

• Enable Institute leaders to fund promising new research opportunities. 

Early-stage research is not eligible for government funding, yet many of the discoveries that lead to significant breakthroughs begin as promising theories.

• Advance our signature, total patient care philosophy by enhancing the programs and initiatives that serve the spiritual, emotional, and psychosocial needs of our patients and their families throughout the cancer journey.

• Support the core infrastructure and technologies that foster the exchange of ideas and information across the Institute.

• Allow us to attract, develop, and retain the brightest minds who will lead the next generation of cancer care and research.

• Help cover insurance reimbursement gaps so that expert patient-centered care is delivered without compromise.

• Bolster under-funded services including social work, community outreach and education, and cancer prevention and screening.

• Fund the expansion and renovation of much-needed clinical and research spaces.

So, why give to the PMC? Because, in doing so, you are SAVING LIVES. Yes, YOU.

Click here to make your donation today. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

Milestones

Sue (right) raised over $400 for the PMC!

Over the last few weeks I've passed several milestones in my Pan-Mass Challenge training season. On the fundraising front, I surpassed the $1,000 mark on May 21, earlier than I ever have (last year it took me until July 6 to pass $1,000). I greatly appreciate donations early in the season, as they allow me to focus on my training, which is always toughest at the beginning as I wake my muscles up from their long winter rest.

I also recently held my first fundraiser. The generous folks at Hubba Hubba Foods donate the proceeds from their first farmer's market of the year to a cancer charity, and this year they chose to support my ride! Despite the cold and rainy weather, we raised over $400 to fight cancer. Thanks again, Sue!

I also had two training milestones. I had my first back-to-back training rides on Memorial Day weekend. This is an important training strategy, as you get no rest between cycling days on the PMC! In fact, the addition of the unofficial "Day 0" makes it a 3-day, 275-mile journey. Training two days in a row is crucial to making sure you can sit back down on that seat after riding 110 miles the day before!

Finally, I also have completed my first 50+ mile ride of the season a few weeks ago, which is a full month  before my first 50-mile ride last season. I'm traveling a lot in June for work, which is putting a crimp in my training plans, but having that 50-miler under by belt already is going to make a big difference when I have time to devote to training again.

Only 8 weeks till the ride! Have you made your donation yet? 100% of your gift will go directly to the Jimmy Fund to support cancer research at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Your dollars are getting results (which I'll blog about another time). We are saving lives, trust me! Click here to make your donation today.

Jared in Spandex? Hubba Hubba!

Granola is part of a healthy diet. It's also part of my fundraising strategy for fighting cancer. Thanks to the generosity of Hubba Hubba Foods, the company will be donating 100 percent of its proceeds from the June 2 Farmer's Market in York, ME to my Pan-Mass Challenge ride. Yes, 100 percent!

Taking what was simply a fun and creative way to give gifts to friends and family at holidays, Sue from Hubba Hubba Foods now sells her homemade granola, spice mixes, and rubs at farmer's markets in northern New England. At the first summer farmer's market in York every year, Sue donates her proceeds to a cancer charity in honor and memory of her father. This year, Sue has graciously offered to support my Pan-Mass Challenge ride!

How can you get in on this? Come to the York Farmer's Market on June 2 (as an added incentive, I'll be there, spandex and all!)! Too far to drive? Check out the Hubba Hubba Foods website and place an order with me - I'll deliver or ship ($25 minimum please) it to you!

Thank you, Sue, for your generosity and your commitment to the fight against cancer!

Riding for Charlotte

TKK Visits the Casgars

Training began a little early this year due to the mild and dry spring we've had thus far in New England. I've logged 125 miles in the saddle in March and April. My upcoming travel schedule will make it hard to train like I usually do, so starting the training early this year is going to pay off in the long run. The PMC is 14 weeks away, and there is still plenty of time to ramp up to the necessary strength level,

Today I joined my team, Team Kinetic Karma (TKK), on a training ride with a very special purpose. 18 past and  current TKK riders and friends of TKK met at 9:30 am in Needham to begin a 42-mile ride through Boston's quiet suburbs. This was the annual TKK Pedal Partner ride, where we rode to the home of Charlotte Casgar, our 2012 Pedal Partner. You may remember Charlotte from a few years ago. In January 2010, Charlotte, who was 2 and a half at the time, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a childhood cancer. Since then, she has been undergoing cancer treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and has been TKK's Pedal Partner. We ride in honor of her battle.

It's a battle she's winning. When we visited with her and her family today, her father told us that she is out of treatment and they're waiting to see if it was a success. Seeing Charlotte playing with he two younger sisters and my teammates, it's clear how far she has come. She's an adorable *almost* five-year-old and seems to be thriving. She even took out her bike and showed off some sweet moves!

Seeing Charlotte's smile reminds me of why we ride. We ride so that children like her get many years of laughter. No child should undergo what Charlotte has at such a young age, and research at Dana-Farber, funded by you, is making a difference. Charlotte's form of cancer is very treatable because of donations like yours. She smiles today because of donations like yours.

Please give, whatever you can, in order to get one pedal stroke closer to a cure for cancer. Let her inspire you, as she has done for me and for many others. Make your donation today.

2011 Wrap-up and 2012 Goal

I like big checks, and I cannot lie.

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last wrote. As you can probably guess based on the above photo, last year the Pan-Mass Challenge raised $35 million for the Jimmy Fund, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's fundraising arm. That matches the all-time largest donation back in 2008. Given the recession, it's very impressive that the PMC continues to over $30 million a year for the fight against cancer.

2012 marks my ninth PMC, and it'll be a little different from years past. My brother and his fiancée are getting married (yay!) on the Saturday of PMC weekend, so I'll be Best Manning up in Amesbury that day. I'll still ride the Day 0 ride from the NY border to Sturbridge, and then Day 2 from Bourne to Provincetown. I will still do the entire 275-mile ride, of course. I will make up Day 1 on another day. It won't be the same, but I'll be damned if I miss my brother's wedding!

As for fundraising, I have a special goal this year. In 2012, I plan to raise $6,605.15. Why that strange number, you ask? Because, by raising that amount this year, I will have raised a total of $40,000 for the fight against cancer since 2004. I'm really excited about this goal, and I hope you choose to become a part of it.

Please help send me on my way. Make a donation today. 100% of your donation will go to the Jimmy Fund, which finances innovative cancer research that is, today, saving lives. Be a part of a cancer-free future. Thank you, and I hope you follow me on my journey to Provincetown this summer!

Another PMC in the Books!

This was my 8th PMC, so you'd think that my memories of each ride are beginning to blur together. Not true. Every PMC experience is unique and special. Some years I ride with friends and teammates. Other years I connect with other riders in a meaningful way. This year, it rained!

So, I really can't complain. It only rained on Sunday, and it was mostly sprinkles while we were riding. There are many other aspects of this year's ride that make it a memorable one. Rather than recount my entire weekend, I'll spare you the details and will hit upon the highlights of my 275-mile trek across Massachusetts.

Western Mass is hilly. Mountainous even. But having done the Day 0 ride last year prepared me for what was to come - 35 miles of climbing before a long 5-mile descent, then dozens of miles to Sturbridge. I took it easy this year and was surprised at how good I felt at the end of the ride. One of the unexpected elements of Day 0 was that I saw much of the destruction from the June tornado that hit Western Mass. We rode on Route 20 in Brimfield, which parallels the route that the tornado took. The felled trees and boarded-up homes were a reminder of nature's brute force and how in many ways we are powerless against it. Thankfully, because of the hard work of doctors and researchers (which is funded by PMC donors), we are waging a fight and cancer and are winning on several fronts. Here's a video of some of the highlights of Day 0.

Day 1, as always, was filled with inspiring moments. Lance Armstrong joined the other 5,300 riders this year as yet another "Living Proof" rider, those that have fought cancer. Sure, he's inspirational, even heroic. But he's not the cancer fighter that inspired me that day. The woman in the photo with him - I don't even know her name or her story - but she played a huge part in my Day 1 ride. Based on her appearance, I'm guessing she is in the middle of her cancer treatment - the fact that she was even out there on her bike was inspiring. But as we rode those first few miles from the Sturbridge start line, we began to climb. As the hill started to get steep, one of her riding companions gently put his hand on her back and helped her ascend the hill. It was a touching moment that reflects our larger effort. All of us, those directly and indirectly affected by cancer, work together to make a difference in the lives of those fighting the disease. This moment provided me the inspiration to power up that hill. I saw this woman several times throughout the weekend, and her smile was always as bright as you see in this photo.

I awoke on Day 2 to rain. Damn, my first wet PMC in 8 years, but the ride goes on. Luckily it only sprinkled throughout the day on the Cape. The photo to the right was a particularly special moment of this wet day. My fellow rider and friend Andy Seguin battled and defeated cancer 15 years ago, but it's back. He's currently undergoing chemotherapy in Baltimore, where he now lives, and was up on the Cape to visit his teammates and take part in the PMC as a spectator. He was positioned less than a mile before the first water stop of Day 2. I stopped to visit and we shared a big hug and reminisced about past PMCs where we've ridden together for part of the ride. Seeing Andy provided me the inspiration to powerfully climb the hills in Truro and the dunes in Provincetown. Andy, thanks for making my Day 2 so special!

Now five days after the ride, my leg muscles have stopped hurting and I am back to my regular life. But that doesn't mean the fight against cancer is over! There are two ways you can contribute to the fight against cancer. First and foremost, make a donation! I am just $1,000 from reaching my fundraising goal, and every gift helps. Visit my fundraising page to make your donation today. Also, I and several other riders are holding a fundraising event at Flatbread Company in Davis Square on Tuesday, August 23. Join us, eat pizza, bowl, buy goodies and raffle tickets, and have a grand old time! Hope to see you there!

As always, thanks so much for your support. I wouldn't be able to do this without you!

Border-Bound

In just a few hours, my dad will arrive and take me and my teammate Lance (not Armstrong, the REAL Lance!) to Hillsdale, NY, where we'll stay overnight to prepare for our "Day 0" ride. Per usual, PMC weekend has approached faster than I could have imagined. Thoughts are swirling around my head about what awaits over the next three days. Here are some of the highlights:

• Day 0 is incredibly hard - biking up and over the Berkshires. There is a sign that indicates a 5-mile descent into the Pioneer Valley, which will be the highlight of the day. I'll come close to hitting 50 mph!
• Arriving in Sturbridge on Friday afternoon is a sight to behold. Thousands and thousands of riders and volunteers will be abuzz with positive energy. Oh, and Lance Armstrong will be there!
• Rollout on Saturday morning is incredible. The sun rises before us as we roll out and begin the official Pan-Mass Challenge ride.
• The signs that people hold up along the route are funny, tear-inducing, heartfelt, and fun. I can't wait to read them all and smile.
• Massage! I'm going to get a massage at the end of Day 1!
• Riding over the Bourne Bridge at the beginning of Day 2 is always a treat, even if it is a challenging hill. The views are incredible.
• Da Hedge! Riding by a shrubbery lined with hundreds of camping children is the pick-me-up we all need to finish the ride.
• Crossing the finish line in Provincetown has got to be one of the most bittersweet moments of my life. So happy for what I've accomplished, so sad to say goodbye to the weekend. A tear will be shed, guaranteed.

I'm leaving work early today to finish packing my weekend bag, then it's off to New York. There is still plenty of time to join the fight against cancer by making a donation. I'm overwhelmed by the support of my friends and family - thank you from the bottom of my heart!