It's official: PMC 2010 raised $33 million for the Jimmy Fund

The check was awarded tonight for this year's PMC, and the final amount was $33 million -- 2.6 million more than last year.

Thanks very much to all of those people who supported me or other riders on this year's PMC.

You can read the press release at http://www.pmc.org/  or at WBUR's web site: http://www.wbur.org/2010/11/12/pan-massachusetts-challenge-donates.

You'll all be hearing from me again next year for PMC 2011.

/doug

PMC 2010 Fund-raising Update: 9/07/10

As of today, September 7,  PMC overall fund-raising has passed the $27M mark.  While $27M is a lot of money, we're still $4M short of our PMC 2010 goal for the Jimmy Fund at Dana-Farber -- and more than 2,000 riders are still below their fund-raising minimums.  

However, we do still have 23 more days to meet the $31M goal for 2010.

You can donate online at http://pmc.org/profile/dm0192
  
We can't simply "wish away" cancer.   The people at Dana-Farber are treating patients while simultaneously vigorously researching for more effective and humane cancer treatments.  With their work and your help I'm confident we will find a cure.   Until then, in the words of Dr. Hunter S Thompson,  "Call on God, but row away from the rocks."

/doug

My PMC 2010 Weekend Wrap-Up Post

Well, the PMC weekend 2010 is now just a memory -- but it's a great one.   As per usual, it's almost a month after the ride and I'm only just now getting around to writing it up.  I don't know why I procrastinate like that -- I just do.

This year  I decided to do things a little differently and start the ride from our house in Littleton.  My friend Pete was able to finagle a hotel room for Friday night in Sturbridge, MA (not an easy thing to do).  I usually have to get up at 3AM and drive my bike down to Sturbridge, then leave the car there for my in-laws to pick up later.   Now, however, I was free to simply ride my bike from Littleton to Sturbridge during the day on Friday (no car logistics!), enjoy the Friday night ceremonies in Sturbridge and get a decent night's sleep before the ride.  Hence, my 2-day, 192-mile ride became a 3-day 242-mile ride.  You can view my GPS track logs from this year's PMC online at http://ridewithgps.com/trips/82726.  It's an interactive map so you can zoom in/out and follow along watching speed, elevation etc.

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Friday ("Day Zero")

Locked, loaded and ready to roll...

I rolled out of the driveway at our house at about 8:50 AM on Friday for Sturbridge.  [ Previous readers of this blog may recall my accounting of my last ride to Sturbridge -- aka "The Fiasco Semi-Century Ride". ]  This time, however, I planned my route a little differently around Spencer (to avoid some of the more ridiculous grades) and things went much more smoothly.   I only stopped in Holden at around 11:30 for about 15 minutes -- long enough to restock fluids and have a Snickers, then off again.   I ended up in Sturbridge a little sooner than I needed to, at about 1:45.   Since PMC registration didn't start until 3PM, I biked over to the hotel for a shower and a short nap.

Hotel room. (Check the wallpaper!)

The hotel certainly wasn't anything to write home about, but it was clean and passed my bed bug inspection, so no big complaints.


Friday evening, I ran into Peter and his ROAG (Roudenbush Outdoor Athletic Group) riding buddies at dinner outside the Sturbridge Host Hotel.  They did their "Day Zero" ride, too.  Some biked down from NH, and the rest started at the MA/NY border that morning.. They're all really nice guys, and there never seemed to be any shortage of stories around the table... ;-)     The "opening ceremonies" later that night were entertaining and inspiring. You can see photos of them from the PMC web site in the 2010 photo gallery under "Friday Sturbridge Opening Ceremonies". After the show, I hopped on my bike and headed back to the hotel to try and get as much sleep as possible.

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Saturday (Day 1)

Early Saturday AM at the Sturbridge Start

Pete and I managed to get up around 4:15 and on our way to the Host Hotel.   Of course it was still dark, but I had remembered to pack my 900 lumen headlamp (aka "The Fist of God").  That thing is so bright, that I have to be careful where I point it while riding, as it can really (really) annoy oncoming traffic. We were at the starting area at the Sturbridge Host by 5AM.  Pete took his usual place with the "Fast Riders" section and I parked my bike in the "Mid-Pace Riders" section and went to get some food and coffee.   The food area was a mob scene of caffeine-deprived people bumping into each other.  I managed to get into the longest line ever, but eventually was rewarded with Dunkin' and a bagel...  I filled up my camel-bak bladder with water and was finally, officially ready to go.  Nothing to do now but wait.

The ride started promptly at 5:30 AM with the "fast rider" section spilling onto Route 20 Eastbound, completely filling the lane. About 9 minutes later, my section rolled out and I was on Route 20 as well -- somewhere in the middle of that rolling lycra throng of about 3000+ other cyclists.  The ride was now on..

The rolling lycra throng...

I swear that I could pick just about any random time of day during the PMC ride and honestly write that there is no experience like it.  It seems that any time I talk about the ride with someone, those words come out of my mouth.  Everything that happens that weekend is wrapped in so many layers of emotions and memories. It's not just another bike ride, that's for sure.

My favorite memory from Saturday was getting to ride with my friend Dave, whom I used to work and bike with at General Dynamics in Taunton.  Over the last several years, I've managed to meet up with Dave near Dighton (where the lunch stop is).  This year, I arranged to meet up with Dave and he rode "bandit" with me all the way from Dighton to Wareham.   Dave's a really nice guy, a former PMC-er and has always supported me on my ride. We caught up on work gossip and just enjoyed the day.  I waved goodbye to Dave in Wareham when he had to meet up with his wife.    I continued on to Bourne, where I would meet up with mine -- somewhere at Mass Maritime Academy.

The Big-Top at Mass Maritime Academy!

Sandy, Ben and Brian: volunteers!

Sandy, our older son Ben and his friend Brian (Pete's older son) worked as volunteers at Mass Maritime again this year.  This year, they worked keeping drinks stocked (not as easy as you might think) and managed to have a good time in the process.  This year, I actually made it to Bourne before they did, so I was showered and in line for a massage before they found me.  I was really glad to see them, and it looked like they had a good time.  While I was in line for pizza at the food tent, I ran into the tandem couple that I rode over the Bourne Bridge with last year: Glenn and Terry.  They recognized me as well, and we agreed that we'd ride out together tomorrow morning at 4:30 AM sharp. After dinner and a couple of beers to balance my electrolytes, it was off to bed...  I was in my bunk and asleep by 8PM.

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Sunday (Day 2)

Woke up Sunday about 3:30 AM and tried to gather up my stuff without waking anyone else up. I was afraid that it would be cold and clammy in the early morning and was a little mad at myself for not even thinking about bringing a jacket or long sleeve T-shirt for the early morning.   Imagine my surprise when I set foot outside the ship, only to find it about 68F with a very gentle breeze.  Absolutely perfect.  The volunteer "elves" had been working overnight cleaning up the mess from Saturday and the big tent was set up with plenty of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and just about any sort of breakfast food you could want. I was able to have a leisurely breakfast and a couple of cups of Dunkin', then it was off to put my luggage on the truck to P-Town and meet up with Glenn and Terry to start the day's ride.

True to their word, Glenn and Terry were on the tandem and ready to roll at 4:30 AM.   Since I had my "Fist Of God" headlamp operational I  "rode point", lighting the way in the pre-dawn stretch.  We ended up having to loiter at the bottom of the Bourne Bridge to wait for them to finish putting down the traffic cones. (They dedicate a section of the Bourne Bridge to PMC bike traffic until around 8AM.)   After a few minutes, they told us that we actually could walk our bikes across the bridge as pedestrians using the sidewalk area. That was just fine with us, so we dismounted and started walking.  By the time we'd gotten to just about the peak of the bridge, they told us we could go ahead and ride the rest of the way across since the cones were all in place. So we mounted up and the ride re-commenced.

It turned out to be a really good thing that I had such a good headlamp that morning.  Once on the other side of the canal, the PMC route continues for a few miles along a bike path that runs the length of the Cape Cod Canal.  Access to that path from the road is blocked from cars by a steel pipe gate that hangs about 3 feet off the ground all the way across the access road.  Had I not had such a good headlamp, I might not have seen that this gate was CLOSED (and locked) and run into it at about 15 mph -- not a great way to start your day. However, thanks to the F.O.G. headlamp, we saw the gate in time and were able to walk our bikes around it on a little footpath. By  4:54 AM we were cruising down the canal bike path with the moon still hanging in the eastern sky, orange from the soon-to-be-rising sun...

One of the reasons that Glenn and Terry (my tandem riding partners that morning) like to get such an early start on the Sunday leg of the PMC is the little stretch of the ride near West Barnstable along Service Road.  Service Road runs parallel to Route 6 for about 5 or 6 miles starting at Route 130 until Route 149.  This stretch starts off with a nasty little 350-foot ascent that's "hidden" behind a curve. Many cyclists who aren't ready for it will do a panic down-shift and fall victim to "chain suck" from shifting too far under too much torque.   When that happens your chain gets a wedgie and you stop. Suddenly.  Ungracefully. However, once you get past that little bit of Service Road, the terrain changes to a pretty thrilling set of rolling hills.  Tandem bikes (and recumbents like mine) can build up a really good head of steam on those hills by parlaying your downhill momentum into speed to help attack the following rise, ad infinitum.  However, if you're sharing the lane with lots of other cyclists, you really can't "open it up" on the downhills -- it's just not safe in close quarters -- so you end up getting get robbed of that momentum you would have otherwise had and end up dragging yourself up the hill...  So, getting on the road early means that you'll be out ahead of most of the other cyclists, and subsequently have plenty of room to rock and roll on those hills.  I have to tell you that it's a genuine pleasure to be able to "rip it up" on that stretch of rollers when you have enough room.  I ended up with a several peaks up to around 40 mph that morning on Service Road..

I made an unscheduled stop at the dunes in Wellfleet.  On that particular stretch, there's a really protracted up-hill grade.  With that kind of hill, I've learned to simply 1) be patient, 2) gear down and 3) just keep pedaling.  Eventually, you will get to the top. (It's true. It always works!)  But this hill isn't just some ordinary hill: on this stretch the dunes are all around and to your right they just drop away leaving you with a breath-taking view of the ocean.  So even as you're slogging your way up the hill there is this gorgeous seascape next to you, and (if you're lucky) a little breeze off the water to cool you down.   Anyway, at the top of this hill, I made an unscheduled stop at a little lot on the right where cars can pull off, park and admire the dunes and sea.  I got off my bike to stretch, have a drink and then made sure that the right side of my bike was angled so that Bob -- one of my passengers -- would get a really good look at that stretch of beach.   I know that Bob enjoyed being at Wellfleet while he was alive, and standing there that morning next to the ocean, I could certainly see why. We hung out there in the quiet for about 5 minutes, then saddled back up to finish the ride.

The rest of the Sunday ride went pretty much like clockwork, and I ended up rolling into the "Family Finish" in Provincetown at 9:55 AM, giving me plenty of time to reunite with my luggage and shower before watching and cheering more riders as they arrived.   After a leisurely (albeit early) lunch, I headed down to the docks and was seated on the "fast ferry" back to Boston by 11:38.  As it turned out, Pete had been able to get onto the noon fast ferry and boarded soon after I did.   It's a good thing that we didn't dilly-dally getting aboard: the ferry was scheduled to leave at noon,  but they actually pushed back from the dock 10 minutes early!  Sandy and Barbara (Pete's wife) were there to meet us at the pier in Boston and we all carpooled back to Littleton.

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Thus ended my 7th PMC weekend, and thus ends my 7th PMC trip report. For those of you still reading, God bless you.  I hope it was at least a little interesting for you.  It's almost impossible for me to pick and choose what to write about -- there is just so much, and I can only procrastinate so long.  :-)    As usual, I'll be following up with an email later this year when the final results of the 2010 PMC fund-raising are announced. (Which probably won't be until some time in October, based on past years.)

Finally, I will be riding in the 2011 PMC next year, so you'll be hearing from me again in 2011. (As always, if you'd prefer not to get my PMC emails, just jot me a quick 'please stop' email and I'll promptly remove you from my email list.)

Thanks one last time to each of you for your support, comments and encouragement.
/doug

The ride is over, but we're still not done...

Although the 2010 Pan Mass Challenge fund-raising ride for cancer research is over, there's still stuff left to do...  

Overall fundraising for this year's PMC has passed the $25M, still $6M shy of our $31M goal for 2010.   And as of right now, I'm still about $1,300 shy of my personal fund-raising goal for this year's ride.

Fund-raising for this year's PMC will close at the end of September, so for those of you out there who intended to, but never did -- there is still time left.   So why wait ? Just point your browser at http://pmc.org/profile/dm0192 to help us meet our 2010 goal.

Also, continuing my 7-year tradition I have procrastinated writing up my notes/thoughts from the PMC ride.  As I'm just about out of excuses, I expect that closing missive should be out in the next week.

So like I said, there's still stuff that needs doin'.   So let's go.

/doug

You can be a "PMC stalker" !

I was on my way out the door for Sturbridge and realized I forgot:  if you're near a web browser this weekend, you can follow my whereabouts by going to http://ixen.com/where-is-doug   

It's tracking my cell phone location, so it's nowhere near as accurate as a GPS, but hey -- it's free.

Okey dokey. Now I can get going!

/doug

PMC "Day Zero" is tomorrow !

Although the PMC officially starts on Saturday, for me and my passengers this year's ride starts tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning I'll be biking from Littleton down to Sturbridge for the pre-ride ceremonies and what-not.  Hopefully, this ride will not be a repeat of my previous Littleton/Sturbridge ride from a few weeks back (aka "the Fiasco Semi-Century"). 

The Corsa is all set and my bag is packed with more tools, tubes, CO2 and clothes than I need. (I hope.)   As you can see on the picture to the right, my passengers are safely attached to my bag for the best view of the people as I pass them.  Hey, I can dream.

In the below pic, you can see that I managed to mount my Garmin GPS (not a bike GPS) on my handlebar riser.  You can also see my cracked mirror on the left, which is still functional and doubles as my memento mori.

Finally, here's a better shot of my passengers collage (click on it for a better view): 

All the weather reports show that the weekend weather should be spectacular, and I am antsy to get going.   I hope I can sleep tonight.

See you soon! 

PMC 2010 Passenger Profile: Bob Rowell

My final passenger for this year's PMC is the gentleman to the right: Robert L ("Bob") Rowell. Bob passed away from prostate cancer last year, but his story and picture will be riding with me on this year's Pan Mass Challenge.

Bob's prostate cancer was detected at a late stage, by which time it had metastasized. The prognosis was that he would have only 3 years.  Bob sought treatment at Dana-Farber and thanks to their help and Bob's tenacity, they were able to stretch that to six years.  But ultimately, the cancer won and Bob passed away in January of 2009.

Bob's story and picture came to me from my friend Rusty Rowell, Bob's son.  In his life, Bob Rowell was probably better known by many as "Robert Rowell, PhD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst", an internationally-respected professor of Physical Chemistry.  Rusty remembered him to me as a not only a great teacher but also a dad who enjoyed "laughing at a good fart", and spending time with his family relaxing on Cape Cod at their house in Wellfleet.  

So, this Sunday morning I'll be extra mindful to pull out Bob's picture while I'm riding next to the dunes at Wellfleet, so we can both enjoy a nice ride on a sunny Cape Cod morning.

PMC 2010 Passenger Profile: Kelly Peden

The woman in this picture is Kelly Jones Peden, another one of my brother-in-law Wesley's cousins. (Yes, the Freeman family is rather large...)  

The two gentlemen to her left and right, respectively are her brothers, Tim and Jason Jones.  Kelly also has two children (not shown here), Zachary and Jeremy.  

In June of this year Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer (ductal carcinoma, in situ).  That would be enough bad news for most. However, on her first follow-up visit to discuss treatments, Kelly was informed that -- apparently unrelated to the breast cancer -- she had an additional diagnosis of multiple myeloma, something requiring even more urgent attention.

Kelly  was started on chemotherapy treatments for the multiple myeloma on July 9th.   As of today, Kelly has started her second round of chemo.  So far, the treatments have not been making her too sick or suffer too many side-effects, so that's one Good Thing, I suppose.   If Kelly reads this, I hope she takes some strength in knowing that there are an awful lot of people out there working hard to make cancers like hers just a memory.  Hang on.

PMC 2010 Passenger Profile: Joey Freeman

This fellow here is Joey Freeman, another one of my brother-in-law Wesley's cousins.

Joey is Robbie Freeman's older brother and was diagnosed with colon cancer a few months ago after his first  colonoscopy.   He has 2 sons and a daughter and works for Texas Eastman in Longview, TX.

As of now, Joey is somewhere in the middle of a series of 12 chemotherapy treatments.

Hang in there, Joey. With this Pan-Mass Challenge there are a few thousand people you've never even met who're riding to raise money for cancer research and and better treatments.  Hopefully chemotherapy treatments and their side-effects will soon be a thing of the past.

PMC 2010 Passenger Profile: Robbie Freeman

The gentleman on the far right is Robbie Freeman,  my brother-in-law Wesley Freeman's cousin.  Robbie was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma in the Fall of  2008, and died February 23, 2009.  Cholangiocarcinoma  is a cancer of the bile ducts between the liver and gall bladder, and although somewhat rare, is generally considered incurable and rapidly lethal.

Pictured here with Robbie are his wife of 29 years, Betsy, and their 2 daughters and a granddaughter, Kiera.  A grandson was born the summer after he died.

Robbie was a Master Plumber and co-owner of a plumbing business in Longview, TX.  He loved to fish and hunt, and loved NASCAR racing.

PMC 2010 Passenger: David Haynes

The gentleman in the picture to the right is David Haynes with his wife, Nancy.

David is a family friend who passed away from cancer in February of 2009.  He was first diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2004 and fought it right up to the end, dealing with subsequent lung cancer and vertebral tumors along the way.

David worked in the family business, Notheast Water Wells, drilling and repairing water wells all around MA and NH.
The Hayneses are a very close family and were with David every step of the way.  I still have all of his Mom's emails [ ALWAYS IN ALL CAPS  ;-) ], with updates on the ups and downs of David's treatments, surgeries, victories and setbacks. Looking back on them, I still can't imagine how David found the strength to just keep getting back up and going to work, with all those toxic chemo and radiation treatments with their ensuing pain and exhaustion.  Somehow, he just did.

It's an honor to take David's picture and memory along as a passenger on this year's PMC. David will be my personal and present reminder of how important it is to just keep pushing.   David, I thank you for that lesson.

Sunday ride: 65 miles.

Decided to get out on Sunday and get in a quick 32-mile ride out to the Nashua River Rail trail, up to NH and back.   The sun was hot, but it was breezy and there was plenty of shade along the way.

By the time I was almost home, I decided the weather was too good to waste the day.  So, I phoned Sandy to let her know I'd be out a little longer and headed East up to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.  The temperature on the major roads was REALLY hot (due to lack of shade) but the bike trails and side roads were nice and shady, making for a very relaxing ride.   Rode the BFRT all the way up to the Lowell end, did a loop around the Crosspoint Towers, then headed home.

The total ride mileage was 65 miles. When I got home the tops of my legs were a little sunburned (side effect of recumbent biking) and I didn't set any record pace.  However, I had a great time and felt like I could've done another 40 miles, no problem.

Looking forward to riding around Franconia Notch, NH next week!

/doug

Ride Re-cap for Saturday July 10 (aka "the Fiasco Semi-Century")

Last week I was off from work and decided that I was finally going to get a century ride (100 miles) in on my bike.    I also wanted to pick out a route from my house in Littleton out to Sturbridge (start of the PMC), and as it turned out, a basic "out-and-back" route came out to about 110 miles (give or take).   Great!  All set! 

So, I set out on my ride on Friday morning, July 9.  At one mile from my house, my left shifter stripped out, disabling my ability to shift on my front chain rings, rendering my 27-speed bike a 9-speed.  Knowing that I had an *awful* lot of hills ahead between Littleton and Sturbridge, and since it was still early in the day, I decided to see if I could get my shifter fixed in time to try again on Saturday. So, I threw the bike on the back of the Prius and headed to the good people at Belmont Wheelworks. There at Belmont Wheelworks Scott Chamberlain, (friend, renaissance man and expert on all things bike)  replaced my shifter without incident and I was able to regroup and try again Saturday. No biggie.

I got up early Saturday morning, planning to be out on my way by 6AM as some nasty storms were supposed to be coming in the afternoon and I wanted to be back home before they hit.  The weather that morning was nice, since the heat wave we'd been under all week was finally breaking.  The ride was quite relaxing and uneventful all the way down past Clinton and West Boylston around the Wachusett Reservoir.  Even though I'd researched the route elevations online when I planned the route, it seemed that I really mis-read just how hilly it gets out toward Holden and Spencer.   I mean I REALLY must've mis-read the elevations.

After about 34 miles I stopped in Holden to pick up some Gatorade and stretch my legs, then took off again.  Less than a mile later my brand new left shifter stripped out.  Again.  At this point I had to make a choice: I could call Sandy at home and ask her to come pick me up in Holden, OR I could just fix my chain on single front chain ring (no more shifting) and try to gut it out the remaining 20 or so miles to Sturbridge.  Once at Sturbridge, I could decide whether to call Sandy.  I opted to just "man up" and soldier on to Sturbridge without my full range of gearing.  Thusly commenced the cascading fiasco array...

Like I said, I under-estimated the hills on the section of the ride around Holden and Spencer.  They weren't especially long hills; there was just a lot of them and they were pretty steep grades.  In order to have access to my lowest gear ratios (for hill climbing) I should have fixed my chain on my smallest front chain ring. However, that makes for an awkward ride the rest of the time (spinning way too fast on the flats and downhills), so I opted to leave my chain on the middle ring, figuring I could just bear down on it and "gut it out" on the hills for the next 20 or so miles.  Yeah, right.   [Note: you have to remember that my bike is a recumbent bike. (I sit in a fairly reclined position with my pedals out in front of me.)   So, I can't "come out of the saddle and stand on it" like a an upright bike rider can on tough hills.  On a hill with a recumbent, there is nothing you can do but push from your hips -- i.e. you can't recruit gravity and your body weight to move the pedals; it's just all pushing.]

Anyway, my strategy worked for a couple of miles on the way to Spencer, until my legs started to cramp up from the extra pushing.  I had to stop a couple of times to work out some painful (and awkward) leg cramps.  At this point of our fiasco, Mother Nature decided it was time to chime in, sending legions of kamikaze biting flies to greet me.  Now, a person exerting himself strenuously must exhale an awful lot of carbon dioxide -- much like I did huffing and puffing and cramping my way up those hills.  So I must've been absolutley irresistible to those crazed biting buggers, all that CO2 giving off a signal to them like an ice cream wagon at the beach...

Now, the good thing about being on a bike (as opposed to running or digging a ditch) is that you can hit speeds over 10mph, which apparently was the posted speed limit for those particular biting flies. The faster you go, the less likely flies are going to be able to find/follow/bite you.  So as long as I was able to get my speed above 10mph or so, no problem.    However, the Spencer hills, combined with my crippled gearing and fatiguing legs conspired against me. The minute I started up an incline those flies were on me like, well... flies.  Those flies and their relatives were my constant companions until I got to Charlton and route 20 -- about 7 miles from my stop in Sturbridge.   [Note to self: sunscreen and DEET on next ride.]

By the time I was about 8 miles from Sturbridge I concluded that there was no way I was going to be able to ride all the way back home on my wounded bike.  So, I called Sandy and she agreed to pick me up at the McDonalds next to the Sturbdridge Host Hotel.   I made it to the McDonalds without incident, effectively ending my aborted century ride at the 56 mile mark. After about an hour, Sandy picked me up and we were on our way home.  Just as we were on the road, Mother Nature (apparently moving on to phase 2 from the biting flies) decided to finally loose the storms on us and it began to rain. Hard. I was so glad not to be out on the bike in that mess.  A few minutes later there was a *whoomp* and I felt the bike bounce on the back of the Prius.  The bike rack was broken -- in the middle of a pounding, blowing rainstorm.   

We put on the emergency flashers, pulled over and I got out to see how bad things were.  Mercifully, the bike hadn't fallen completely off, but the rack was useless.  Not so mercifully, while I was assessing the situation the rain was coming down so hard that it *hurt*... Surprisingly, with Sandy's help we were able to fit the bike into the back of the Prius with the seats down. (Fortunately there were no other passengers or cargo on that trip!)   And *now* we were finally off.

My hopes of a century ride that week were history.  However, I did manage to get in a 56-mile ride through some beautiful country.  And while things didn't turn out like I had hoped, I did learn a few things about planning a route, bike chains, and average airspeed of biting flies.("Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.")

Talking with Scott at Wheelworks the next day (when he patiently replaced my shifter for the second time),  we decided that it was probably the "worst" rides that yield the best stories.  I mean, I've been on some wonderful rides but I have to say the stories about them are nowhere near as memorable or interesting as the ones from the fiasco rides that "didn't quite go as planned..."    And you know, although I was fit to be tied that Saturday morning,  by that night I was able to look back on the day and laugh about it.  There's probably a lesson for me in that somewhere... :-)

PMC 2010 Passenger: Jimmy O'Bryant

The handsome couple in this picture is Jimmy O'Bryant and his lovely wife, Freddie.   I've only ever known him as "Mr. O'Bryant" from when I was a kid back in Hallsville, having gone to school with his sons and daughter.   Jimmy was diagnosed with colon cancer a year or so ago.  Since diagnosis, he's undergone surgery and chemotherapy for the cancer.

As if the cancer weren't bad enough, Jimmy just recently had to recover from a post-surgery C.diff infection. C. diff infections can be particularly nasty, but Jimmy has fought his way back and now is even able to drive himself to Houston (about 200 miles each way) for his treatments.  Chris, his daughter, tells me that he's been responding well to chemo treatments and is as stubborn is ever.  And that is a Good Thing.   The cancer isn't gone but it's not growing.

I haven't seen Jimmy or Freddie for probably 30 years or so.  I sure hope he doesn't mind me toting his picture along on my ride in August.  Hopefully when I go home to Hallsville at Chistmas,  I'll be able to stop by the O'Bryant's house and say "Hi" again.

PMC still needs volunteers for the weekend of August 7th!

The PMC still needs volunteers at all hub sites and waterstops.

If you'll be in the New England area and don't already have plans for the weekend of August 7th (Sat or Sunday), then I urge you to volunteer for a few hours.

You'll be taking an active role in the fight against cancer -- and will have a great time, to boot.
I promise.     Don't worry if you don't ride or know anything about bikes.  All you need is a willingness to help.

Register online at www.pmc.org through July 16th.
For more information on volunteering, email Sarah: sarah@pmc.org
Or drop me a line if you have questions, too.

/doug

PMC 2010 Passenger: Jeff Pulliam

The gentlemen in the picture to the right is Jeff Pulliam.  A year ago today, June 12,  Jeff died from an aggressive form of thyroid cancer.  Jeff was one of my "passengers" for the 2009 PMC and I'm taking him along this year, too.

I met Jeff a few years ago, and wound up working on a large project with him a year or so later.   I liked
Jeff almost immediately.  Jeff was smart, funny and an unabashed geek.  He worked in DoD-related work, but wasn't your usual "Defense Contractor Lifer" -- he wasn't afraid to call bullshit when something didn't pass the sniff test.  At first I thought that Jeff was smart because he surrounded himself with smart, hard-working people.  After a while, I began to realize that he didn't surround himself with them; they were drawn to him.

It's hard to believe that Jeff's been gone for a year now.    I only knew Jeff for a couple of years before he died, but I find that from time to time I'll think about him, for no particular reason. So, I think I'd like to take Jeff along with me again on this year's ride. I don't think he'll mind.

/doug.

PMC 2010 Passenger: Heidi Yehling

This is Heidi Yehling, the sister of a friend if ours, Judy Grande.  Here's what Judy would like everyone to know about her sister:

"Heidi had non-small cell lung cancer - diagnosed about 3 years before she died.  She went through an extensive round of chemo (but told her doctor that it had to be done by January because she had a trip to the Holy Land planned, and she wasn't about to let anything interfere with it!).   

Heidi went on that trip, then into remission --  taking still more trips to places like Egypt, Europe and Bali, before the cancer came back.   She was planning more chemo, but had to have abdominal surgery because of a blockage (caused by the cancer) and never did recover from that, so she couldn't go back on chemo.  She fought all the way, and I miss her every day."

I never met Heidi, but if she was anything like her sister, then she must've been some force to be reckoned with.
There's a quote that's been appropriated by many people over the years and I'm not sure who first said it, but it rings in my ears every time I talk (or email) to anyone who's dealing with or dealt with cancer:    "Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it."    As someone so emblematic of that life-affirming character, it's an honor for me to carry Heidi along with me on this year's ride.

PMC 2010 Passenger: Rev. Bob Duncan

The gentleman in the picture here is Rev. Bob Duncan. (The woman next to him is his wife, Polly.)  Reverend Duncan is our good neighbor Colin Duncan's dad and I'm proud to be taking his picture along with me as another of my "passengers" on this year's Pan Mass Challenge ride.

After being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of bone marrow plasma cells), Rev. Duncan was treated in Boston at Dana Farber and Brigham & Women's Hospital over the last year or so.  Today, Rev. Duncan is at home with Colin's mom in Kingston, MA, making the most of each day God gives him.

I'm more than happy to add Rev. Duncan to my "passengers" so  people can see the faces and maybe learn a little about the actual people dealing with their diagnoses.  

I look forward having Rev. Duncan along on my ride, and only hope that should I get a flat, the Reverend will forgive any ensuing profanity...

Memorial Day Weekend: 2 Rides, 111 miles, Involuntary Yee-haas and Dead Guy Ale...

Just a quick training update... I managed to get in 2 rides this Memorial Day weekend: a quick 36-mile ride on Sunday and somewhat more strenuous 75-mile ride on Monday.   The Sunday ride was a quick out-n-back to Nashua NH, mostly on the Nashua River Rail Trail.  The weather on both days was remarkable, but the Memorial Day ride was the more memorable of the two...

The Memorial Day ride started with some nasty hills in Harvard.   Even though the hills around the Harvard/Berlin area can be brutal climbs, the downhills are thrilling enough to more than make up for the pain.   Case in point: after a mile-long ascent up Pinnacle Road to Oak Hill Road,  it's another mile downhill into Harvard Center on Oak Hill Road.   You can build up an awful lot of speed on a 1-mile downhill grade like that, especially on a recumbent bike like mine.   I got my top speed for the season (so far) on that stretch: 51 mph.  Speeds in excess of 50mph on a bike are known to induce an involuntary "yeeeee haaaaa" response from the rider. This weekend was no exception; the folks in Harvard out getting ready for their Memorial Day parade heard me coming...

After the hills of Harvard, Stow and Berlin I made it down to Northboro for a quick visit with my in-laws.  I topped off my water and got back on the road east to Marlboro.  In Marlboro I rode by the church where Sandy and I were married -- it hasn't changed a bit -- then found the terminus for the Assabet River Rail Trail to Hudson.  

The ride into Hudson was shady and seemed like it was mostly downhill.  Once in Hudson I stopped at my favorite lunch place: The Horseshoe Pub.  The Horseshoe has one of the best selections of  beers on tap (about 100, I think ) and I was pleased to find that they had Dead Guy Ale (from Rogue Ales in Portland,  WA) on tap.  So, sat down a the back bar for a burger and a couple of pints of Dead Guy Ale (just to balance my electrolytes) and another 2 pints of ice water (to counteract dehydration from the Dead Guy), then got back on the road a little after 2PM, refreshed and ready.  

I made my way north up route 62 to Stow then up to Acton and up Pope Road to route 225 where I got on the Bruce Freeman Rail trail.  I rode the BFRT up to Lowell and back down, stopping at Chelmsford Cyclery (nice shop) to pick up some chain lube for the bikes.  Then I biked home from Chelmsford, racking up a total of 75.27 miles for the day.   So, no "century ride" that day, but it was still a gorgeous day to be out and on a bike, so no complaints.

PMC 2010 Passenger: Ann McPherson

This is a picture of my mom, Ann McPherson.   I'll be taking Mom as one of my "passengers" on this year's ride.  Mom is a breast cancer survivor, and has been cancer-free for about 10 years or so.

What's most remarkable about my mom's battle with cancer is this:  While Mom was undergoing radiation and chemo, she was also taking care of her own mother's health issues  (late stages of dementia) -- all the while never letting on to my grandmother that she was even ill.

The picture on the right was taken at Salisbury Beach few years ago when Mom came up from Texas to visit us here in New England.  It's one of my favorites. I'll be proud to take Mom along as one of my passengers on this year's Pan Mass Challenge in August.    I'm proud of you and I love you, Mom!

/doug

38 mile ride today, followed by a half-mile walk...

Biked out to Berlin and back today.  The hills around Harvard and Bolton were pretty punishing, but the day was so beautiful and the pain is just a memory.   About a mile from home, I hit something in the road (didn't see *anything*) going about 30mph down Hartwell Ave and caught a front flat. (Flats at 30mph can be a little hairy.)

By that time I was within a half mile of the house so I just walked my bike home from there.   Less-than-perfect end to an otherwise great ride.

/doug

Here are this year's PMC routes. "Ride along" in your browser!

Here are some really nice online maps (including elevations, cue sheet data etc) that some nice person entered.   For me, Day 1 will be the "Sturbridge-Bourne" and Day 2 is "Bourne-to-Provincetown".   Check 'em out:

• Sturbridge-to-Bourne: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/75550
• Wellesley--to-Bourne: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/75678
• Bourne-to-Provincetown: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/75558

Logged 75 miles on Saturday... Great day!

This weekend was an awesome one to be out on a bike!   On Saturday I managed to log 75 miles worth of  riding for the day, although I probably shouldn't call it a "training ride."   It was more like an extended meander/gawk/goof-and-drink-beer day on the bike...    

I trucked my bike to the Bedford terminus of the Minuteman Rail trail around noon then biked eastbound to Harvard Square to meet up with my buddy Dave Curado.  After a couple of wrong turns and phone calls, I finally found Dave, then we headed off into Boston.  We rode all around town: close to the Commons then down to the South End, then up along by the Rose Kennedy Greenway and up to the North End.  Traffic wasn't too bad, and Dave got to play "tag" with one of the "Duck Tour" amphibious bus things.  After stopping in the North End for a calzone at Bova's bakery (great place! open 24 hours), we started back West toward Belmont, where we would commence "part 2" of the day's ride...

For "part 2" of the day's ride, Dave C and I met up with 2 more recumbent riders at Belmont Wheelworks: Scott Chamberlain and Dave Pinal.  Scott (great guy, good friend, and all-knowing about bikes) works at Belmont Wheelworks and had organized a "Boston Bike & Brew Tour" for the evening -- a recumbents-only pub crawl all around the greater Boston area.  Dave P. (aka "New Dave") is a newly-minted convert to the wonderful world of recumbent bikes, with less than a hundred miles on his shiny new Giro. The four of us struck out from Wheelworks at about 6:30 PM.    FYI - you can also read Scott's accounting of the evening ride on his "Boston Recumbent Users Group" blog.

We rode down to Waltham along the very scenic Charles River to our first stop, a little pub called "The Gaff".   After a round of IPA we left Waltham for Newton, where we stopped at a little place called "The West Street Tavern".  By the time we'd finished our pints, it was dark, so we lit up the bikes and hit the road again.   Next stop was a new bar/restaturant in Allston called "Deep Ellum" (presumably in honor of the Deep Ellum district in Dallas).  Nice place -- need to get back there.  Finally, the last stop on our night ride was the old standby "Boston Beerworks", not too far from the Boston Garden.   After our rounds at Boston Beerworks, Dave C went on his way and Dave Pinal Scott and myself pedaled back westward to the Minuteman Rail trail terminus at Alewife in Cambridge.  At Alewife Scott split off to ride home to Dover and Dave P and I continued West on the rail trail.   I managed to catch a flat tire near Lexington on the trail, so was able to give Dave P an on-the-spot tutorial on how to change a tire in the dark.  Thankfully it was too cold for mosquitoes, and we were back underway in about 10 minutes.

We arrived at the parking lot in Bedford at 1AM, where my truck was patiently waiting.   After we strapped the bikes down, everyone was home and dry within a half hour.  

Like I said at the start of this post, I probably shouldn't call it a 'training ride', but it was a nice long day on the bike -- and I managed to log 75 miles before it was done.  Got to hang out with some great folks, riding around Boston (day and night) seeing the sights.  Regardless, it was a day worth noting and I wanted to share...  

Thanks for stopping by!
/doug
 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

"He is a poor son whose sonship does not make him desire to serve all men's mothers."
 - Harry Emerson Fosdick


Thinking of you today, as always.
Love,
your favorite son
  

A nice long sprint today!

Decided to make the most of today's beautiful weather and log some miles.  I took my usual route out to Ayer then up the rail trail to Nashua then back (a 36 mile round trip ride.)  Since it was a relatively short ride and I wanted to make the most of it, I decided I'd just "push" the entire ride and just do it as fast as I could.    The bike trail was a little busy,  but not too congested and I was able to (safely) keep my pace up without running over any roller-bladers or little kids... :-)

Final stats for the ride: 18.1 mph!!   Room for improvement, but not too bad for an old fat guy.  :-)

First 50-miler of the season this weekend.

This weekend has been superlative: sunny and temps in the 70s.   On Saturday I rode my 50-mile loop though Harvard, down to Northboro, then back up the Assabet rail trail in Marlboro/Hudson, then up to Stow, Boxboro and home to Littleton.   Average time for the ride was a little disappointing -- less than 15 mph.  The hills around here are pretty tough, so I'll use that as my excuse..  At least I have a level-set and have left myself  some room for improvement on my training... Don't want to peak too soon.  :-)

On the up-side, no soreness at all so my off-season conditioning hasn't been a complete waste.  I just need to lose some "luggage" and log more miles.   Wish I had some pix to post.  Will try to start carrying a camera with me.

/doug.

Good news today!

I just got some great news and figured I should share it.  Little Kristin Hoenshell, my Pedal Partner on last year's PMC, got a clean bill of health on her MRIs last week.    It's been a year since Kristin's last chemo at Dana-Farber and she's doing great.

Kristin will be 3 years old soon, thanks to the folks at Dana-Farber -- and thanks to all the people whose donations support the good work at Dana-Farber.

Oh! and more good news:  after about 5 days, the rain here in MA has *finally* stopped.  It looks like I'll be able to get out on the bike tomorrow!  :-)

/doug

Once more, unto the breach...

This marks the first *official* post for my PMC blog for the 2010 ride...  I just finished importing my pages from last year's blog, and trying to tidy up.
 I decided when I signed up for this year's ride that I would reprise my "PMC passengers" collection from last year. (Check the older postings in this blog, for last year's "passengers".)
If you or someone you know or love has fought or is fighting cancer, please drop me a line to tell me your story and send me a picture of them.   I'll add your picture to my "passengers" collection so I can take them along with me for a nice long bike ride across MA when the PMC rolls around this August.

I'll be posting more soon.


/doug