My 2011 PMC Wrap-Up

As is tradition for me, I've put off my PMC "wrap-up write-up".   Although this year has to be a record, now that almost 2 months have passed since the ride from Sturbridge to P-Town...   Better late than never, etc -- at least I hope so.   There's a lot I want to say, but I haven't figured out how to say it -- so I'll just stick with the snapshots of the PMC weekend itself and save the other thoughts for later..

Fund-raising status
First off, another round of sincere "thank you's" to all of you who sponsored me, or any other rider, or helped out with this year's PMC for the Jimmy Fund.   As it happened, I was just able to meet my personal fund-raising goal of $7,000 for this year, but it's still lower than last year's by a couple of hundred dollars.  The last email I received from PMC indicated that overall fundraising for this year had approached $28 million. That's a lot of money, but still quite a ways off from the 2011 goal of $34 million.  The cutoff date for PMC 2011 fund-raising was Friday October 1, so all we have to do now is let them sift through the books and we should know soon if we made our 2011 goal.

Map and Ride Stats
For those of you who simply must know, here are my routes and times for the weekend ride.  I'll elaborate a little more below.   

Saturday Aug 6th schedule:
5:37 AM - Depart Sturbridge
6:58 AM - Whitinsville water stop
8:19 AM - Franklin water stop
10:50 AM - Dighton-Rehoboth HS lunch stop
11:19 AM - Apponequet School water stop
1:12 PM - Arrive at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne.









 

Sunday Aug 7th Schedule
4:32 AM - Depart MMA
6:09 AM - Barnstable water stop
7:18 AM - Brewster water stop
8:23 AM - Stop at Cape Cod National Seashore in Wellfleet
8:32 AM - Wellfleet water stop
10:00 AM - Arrive at Family Finish in Provincetown

You can follow detailed ride maps based on my GPS track logs (times, altitude, speed, etc) online here:
Day 1: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/346198
Day 2: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/346199




Saturday notes.

Wakey wakey, still a little shaky...   I wasn't able to ride my bike out to Sturbridge on Friday like I did last year, so I had to talk our son Kevin into getting up at 3:30 AM and dropping me off in Sturbridge  to register etc in time for the 5:30 AM start.

Early Saturday at the Sturbridge Start

Kevin was a good sport about it, and he was able to snooze most of the way in while I drove.  Once we got there I hurriedly got my bike and gear off the car so he could drive out of there before getting trapped behind the cyclists.   (As it turned out, Kevin made it out and back home without any incident.)  

I was able to get registered, get my Jersey etc and find a place in the starting crowd.   As it got a little closer to sunrise it was clear that it was going to be a "gray" start: overcast, but no rain.  This year, Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor himself,  rode in the PMC starting at Sturbridge.   I never saw him, though.
In addition to Lance Armstrong's star-power, the Sturbridge start also had both Massachusetts Senators, John Kerry (on the left) and Scott Brown (on the right, wearing the uber-dorky time trial helmet.)

Lance Armstrong trying very hard not to laugh at Senator Brown's choice of helmet...

The ride started uneventfully.   I did notice several other recumbent cyclists on the ride. Most of them were Bacchettas (same manufacturer as mine), but  there were a few others.   (I'll post more about my choice of bike some other time.)

Rain was predicted for Sunday, but Saturday was blessedly rain-free, with enough cloud cover that sunscreen wasn't really a big deal.  (Seems like I almost always get a sunburn on the top of my thighs, no matter how much sunscreen I put on.)  

Here I am cruising by a corn field somewhere out around Attleboro on Saturday.  The Saturday ride was inspiring and uneventful, save for a brief cramp episode after lunch, when I got a little frisky racing with another recumbent rider.  (You'd think I'd know by now...)   Regardless, the big payoff for Saturday was getting to Mass Maritime Academy.

MMA, and the McPhersons await.

My mother, Ann McPherson, was up from Texas visiting us for the week prior to the PMC.  We ended up roping her into working as a volunteer at  Mass Maritime Academy, along with Sandy (my wife) and Ben (our older son), and Ben's friends Brian and Sam.    

Here's the "big top" tent where approximately 3,000 riders and volunteers are fed at Mass Maritime Academy.

There's just so many people milling around and stuff going on at MMA that I just assumed once I arrived I'd give Sandy a call on the cell to locate them.  You can imagine my surprise when I practically ran over Sandy and Mom after I crossed the Day 1 finish.  

I gave Sandy and Mom a sweaty hug and kiss, then posed for a picture with Mom.     

Mom & Me.   (Look closely and you can see my Third Eye.)

Once I made arrangements for reconvening with Sandy, Mom and the rest I rushed off to reserve a time slot for a massage and get a shower.

A brief word about PMC overnight accommodations at Mass Maritime Academy:  Those PMC riders who elect to stay on the MMA campus -- and most 2-day riders do -- have options for staying overnight in a tent, in the non-air-conditioned dormitories, or  (as the song goes) ON A BOAT.  The first several years I rode the PMC, I opted for the dorms, until I found out that the MMA training ship, the USTS Kennedy, is fully air-conditioned.   I was sold.  Now, every year I always make sure to sign up early and request a room aboard the USTS Kennedy.

I'm on a BOAT!  (This is where I slept at MMA)

The only down-side to sleeping on the USTS Kennedy is that the shower/bath areas always seem to flood -- not something you like to see on a ship... However,  it doesn't seem to be a sea-worthiness issue.  Yet.   As long as you pack ear-plugs (you're bunking in an area with about 30 others),  get a massage and re-hydrate, a bunk on the ship gives some of the most restful sleep I've had -- at least on the PMC.





After I showered and got my massage, I was able to get some food and hang out with Sandy, Mom,  Ben and his friends.

Volunteers support a rider... (Left to Right: Me, Ben, Brian and Sam_

I had some dinner and chatted (as much as possible -- the band was a little loud) but between the ride, the sun and the beer (balancing my electrolytes)  I was pretty well pooped.and in my bunk by 7PM.  I.didn't wake up until about 3:15 AM on Sunday.

True dat. (This sign from MMA pretty much sums it up.)  

Day 2: Sunday, Muddy Sunday...


"It was a dark and stormy morning..."   I woke up at 3:15 AM Sunday morning, packed my stuff quietly and started to get off the ship for some coffee.   Reveille for day 2 isn't until 4:30, but I always seem to get an early start on Sunday.  The rain that was promised for Sunday arrived with a vengeance overnight.  It was a soaking rain as I walked in the dark from the boat across the field to the "big-top" food tent.  I think I was about the 2nd cyclist, but there had been volunteers actively working overnight to clean up from Saturday and get the food ready for the bikers who were still sleeping. I dropped my bag and gear on a table and shuffled over to the Dunkin' Donuts truck for caffeine.

Bladder issues.  After I had a couple cups of coffee and some breakfast, I grabbed a few bottles of water and emptied them into the "CamelBak" resevoir that I keep in my bike's "trunk" for hydration along the ride. (The hydration tubes are easier to get at than bottles while you're riding.)  That done, I zipped up my trunk bag and set off in the rain to get my luggage loaded onto the truck for PTown.

Sunday AM: Loading luggage on the trucks in the rain.

After dumping my luggage I went back to the table to get my trunk bag and noticed that water was dripping out of it onto the table.  I initially thought it was just dripping wet from the rain that got on it that morning (it was still raining).  But it immediately hit me what had really happened:  my CamelBak bladder had sprung a leak.  I opened up my bag to find all the things I'd carefully packed away from the rain were now sitting in an inch of water.  The bladder had completely failed with a gash on the seam and emptied all 1.7 liters of water into my trunk bag.  Fortunately, I still had 2 usable water bottles on my bike, so I dumped the water out, re-sorted all my formerly-dry items, filled my bottles and headed out into the dark and wet to find my bike.

Riding with the F.O.G.  By the time I located my bike and was ready to mount up, it was about 4:30 AM. The rain had subsided to an intermittent drizzle, but it was still pitch dark, so I fired up my "blinkies" and headlamp and headed out.   It was a good thing that I'd ridden the route 7 times before, since it's hard to see the route markers in the dark (even with a good light).  But I found my way to the Bourne bridge with no problem and only had to loiter there for about 5-10 minutes to wait for them to finish opening up the "bike only" lane that they set up on the bridge until 8AM on PMC Sunday. I was soon over the bridge and cruising down alongside the canal in the dark.

Someday, perhaps I'll take PMC Day 2 a little slower. You know: sleep in until actual Reveille and go over the Bourne bridge in daylight, watching the sun come up on the canal.   But today was not one of those times.  It's quiet and peaceful riding along the canal. And very dark.  Fortunately my headlamp is a 900-lumen LED lamp and it is fiercely bright.   I have to take care when I'm on the roads with it, not to point my head directly at cars, as I will blind oncoming traffic.  I call my headlamp the "Fist of God".   As I was overtaking a cyclist on the canal path (I wasn't the first rider over the bridge) he told me as I passed,  "Jeez man, I thought you were a CAR with one headlight coming up on me!"   Yes, the F.O.G. is that bright.   If there were a car riding down that narrow bike trail along the canal, I'd be pretty darn freaked out, too.  By the time I was off the canal and through Sandwich, the sun had started to come up enough that I was able to shut the F.O.G. The drizzle had completely stopped by the time I got to the first water stop in Barnstable.

Service Road: always a treat.  One of the highlights of Day 2 is hitting "Service Road" at around the 12-mile mark.  Service Road travels alongside route 6A and starts off with a nasty little up-hill climb, hidden behind a turn (I call them "snake bite" hills.).  Anyway, if you don't know the hill is behind the turn, it can catch you by surprise.  Commonly riders end up panic-shifting, getting their chain wedged and have to stop. However, once you grind past that first hill on Service Road, you're rewarded with a 6-mile stretch of well-paved road with a series of beautifully-spaced "rollers".  On those hills, you can parlay your downhill speed into the energy needed to ascend the next one, and so on.  The effect is greatly-magnified with a recumbent bike, since you are always in an "aero" position and gain a lot more speed on the downhill than an upright bike could ever.  Top speeds for PMC day 2 are always on this stretch of road.   This day didn't disappoint.

One missed appointment; one kept.   By the time I started to get close to Wellfleet, it had started to spit rain again.  I had made arrangements to briefly split off the PMC trail to stop by someone's house and say "Hi", but I missed my turn-off and was "committed" to the Cape Cod rail trail, with no exits.  With that missed turn and the threat of more rain, I decided I'd have to ask forgiveness later for missing the coffee break and just try to hustle on to PTown before the rain started to come hard.

By around mile 53, just past South Wellfleet, the route turned onto Ocean View Drive. Ocean View Drive is bit of a hill, but it's aptly named.  There's a beautiful view of the ocean off to the right and down the dunes.  I pulled off the road at White Crest Beach for just a minute to watch the waves.  I turned my bike around so my "passenger pictures" faced the ocean, so Bob Rowell could get a good look.  Then, saying goodbye, I got back on the bike and headed on toward last water stop before PTown.

Sandy to the rescue. Again.   The remainder of the ride to PTown pretty much went by in a blur.  I was in such a hurry to beat the rain, I don't really recall that much of that stretch of the ride, aside from the last stretch of hills and the dunes at Race Point and Province Lands Road.  I arrived at the "Family Finish" in the shadow of the Provincetown Monument and within 10 minutes, I'd met up with my luggage and was headed to the showers. (No rain yet.)    After I was clean and dry, I headed down to get some lunch and relax for a few minutes.  Then I grabbed my bike and bag and strolled down the hill to the pier to get on the "fast ferry" to Boston.   On the ferry ride from PTown to Boston, the rain finally started to come down.  The timing was pretty close to perfect: I was inside the boat and dry, taking a nap.   When we docked at Boston,  Mom and Sandy were there waiting for me.   The rain was coming down pretty steady, but at least I didn't have to ride in it.   All I had to do now was get home and clean off my poor muddy bike.

Sandy (red umbrella) and Mom picking me (yellow t-shirt) up in the rain at Black Falcon.

The Wrap-up Wrap-up.
"Commit. You'll figure it out."    Thus endeth my 8th PMC weekend, and here endeth my 8th PMC trip report.  This is the longest that I've procrastinated writing one, and I'm pretty embarrassed about that.  I'm sure I've forgotten something remarkable -- there's just so much.     There is one more thing about this year's ride that sticks in my mind: this year the PMC had shirts printed up with the slogan "PMC:  Commit.  You'll figure it out."    and I think that pretty much sums up how I got here, and why I'm still here.   Riding in the PMC is a big commitment; it's a commitment for fund-raising as well as a certain level of physical commitment.  But once committed, people invariably find a way to work things out.

I'm committed to the fight against cancer.  Cancer is not a single disease, however, and I am under no illusion that there will be a "single cure".  We're figuring it out, though.   Thanks to improvements in research and treatment survival rates for many forms of cancer are up, and gene-targeted therapies are promising much more humane treatments for many types of cancer.   So: we commit, we figure it out and in the end things get done.

As I'm committed, I will be riding in the 2012 PMC next year.   So, plan on hearing from me again in 2012. (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