My passengers for this year's ride -- so far...

FYI, here's the collage of my "passengers" for this years PMC. These are pictures of some of the people I'm riding for -- and now I'll be riding with them (sort of).

There's still more room on the bike, so please don't be shy: if you know someone who has fought/is fighting cancer, or if there's someone you've lost to cancer, then send me their picture. I'd love to take them along with me.

/doug

Training Update...70mi ride to Needham

Just a quick training update... While I was off last week I decided to bike out to Needham to the PMC headquarters and pick up my Thank You cards.

It was about a 70mi round trip ride, and I couldn't have asked for better weather. I'd forgotten how beautiful route 27 is down around Wayland/Sudbury. Once again, the curious among you can check out my GPS tracklog for the ride on Google Earth by downloading this file. If you use the "street view" features, it's almost like being there. ;-)

Remember: I'm still collecting "passenger" pictures for this year's ride. If you know someone who's fought/is fighting cancer, or if there's someone you've lost to cancer, please send me their picture and I'll take them on the ride with me.

/doug

For those with Google Earth: The PMC 2-Day Route

People often ask me about the route that everyone rides on the PMC. I can only speak about the "classic" 2-day ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown, since that's the only route I've ridden.

On last year's PMC, I took my GPS along so that I'd have a log of the ride with actual elevation, speed and waypoints for later review.

If you have a little curiosity, some free time and Google Earth on your PC (and you should -- it's free and incredibly cool), you can download and view my GPS waypoints and "virtually ride" the route via Google Earth.. I split the track log into 2 files: one for Day 1 (Sturbridge to Bourne -- about 111 miles) and one for Day 2 (Bourne to Provincetown -- about 82 miles).

Click here for Day 1

Click here for Day 2.

I don't know if the 2009 2-day route is substantially different. They change a little from year to year. Anyway... just thought I'd make those links available for the curious.

TTYL!

/doug

My Pedal Partner

As I mentioned in a previous post,  I have a "Pedal Partner" for this year's PMC:  little Kristen Hoenshell from my very own Littleton.   You can read about the Pedal Partner program on the PMC website, so I won't re-type it all here.

On Saturday May 2, the PMC hosted a "meet-n-greet" at Fenway Park for the Jimmy Fund clinic pediatric oncology patients and their riders.  Kristen and her mom, Elizabeth, came out that morning to Fenway for the event.    It was the first time I'd seen Kristen in person.  She is a full-on cutie.  

I didn't know what to expect and was completely unprepared.  I didn't even think to bring a camera.  Oh well.   Elizabeth and I chatted while Kristen scoped out the area.  She (Kristen) went climbing through the bleachers, and unnerved her mom a little. (We were up high behind home plate near the State Street Pavillion, so it's a ways up.)    Stacey Lucchino, PMC rider and organizer (and wife of Red Sox President &CEO Larry Lucchino)  spoke for bit, as well as Billy Starr.   But the most memorable speaker was Matt Bodenrader: a former Jimmy Fund patient and Pedal Partner who's now a PMC rider in his fourth PMC.

There's a good summary of the Pedal Partner Party on the PMC blog, with additional pictures.   I felt a little awkward, since most of the kids were paired up with actual bike teams -- but I'm a "team of one".   Kristen was very gracious and didn't seem to mind..  :-)

Anyway, check out the PMC web site and blog (above links in this post)  for more (and better-written) info.  

/doug

You never know how things are going to play out...

You can never know how things are going to play out.
This year I'm riding in honor of Dave Haynes, a family friend who passed away from cancer this spring. That was my plan when Sandy and I went to Dave's wake. That was where I met Liz Hoenshell and her mother and listened their stories. (I won't recount all of that in this post -- it's in the previous one.)

At that point, things changed a little. I figured that Dave wouldn't mind if I also rode in support of little Kristen H. on this year's ride as well. So: for the first time in 6 years of riding the PMC, I will also be riding with Kristen Hoenshell as my PMC "Pedal Partner". The Pedal Partner program is a one that the PMC has developed to pair up young patients at the Jimmy Fund clinic with riders and teams to personally involve those patients with the PMC and motivate riders. (I'll write a little more on the PMC Pedal Partner program later.)

Of course, time passed and things changed again. The more I emailed and talked with people for this year's PMC, the more personal stories I heard about people who are fighting/have fought cancer. Some stories end better than others, but they are all memorable -- some heart-wrenching, some beautiful, but all memorable. Then I started thinking, "Maybe I could carry a few 'passengers' on the PMC with me too..."

So, in addition to riding in memory of Dave Haynes and in support of Kristen Hoenshell, I started asking the people with their "cancer stories" to send me a picture of their friend/family member/self so that I could *virtually* take them along with me on my PMC ride. As it works out, I'll now have a picture of Dave Haynes making the ride with me, as well as a few others for company.

Then I thought, "In for a penny, in for a pound," so now I'm using this forum to extend my offer a little wider: if you or someone you know or love has fought or is fighting cancer, tell me your story and send me a picture. I'll add them to my "passengers" for this years' ride. I haven't figured out exactly how I'll carry/display my the pictures I collect, but I have a little while to work on it...

That's all for now.
/doug