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