It's finally official: this year's PMC raised a record $37 million which will be donated to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund for cancer research and treatment.
My deepest thank you to every one of you who sponsored me on this year's ride. And remember this: 100% of the money you donated through my ridership goes directly to cancer research and patient care.
That wraps it up for this year's Pan Mass Challenge for the Jimmy Fund. Registration for PMC 2013 opens January 3, 2012. I'll be in touch. :-)
/doug
DanStrong
Monday, November 5, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
PMC 2012 Ride Report and Wrap-up
Well, this is a new record for me - and not one that I am proud of. This year I managed to procrastinate writing this PMC ride report for more than 2 months. You would think that after 9 years of this, I'd be tired of starting off with an apology. Apparently not.
So, as always, I apologize for my tardiness. In my defense: I am at least predictably, reliably tardy...
For the last few years I've been taking my "passengers" on the PMC with me: pictures and notes from people like you, in honor, support or in memory of people who have fought, or are fighting cancer. A lot of people do this sort of thing -- Dan included. Dan carries a list with him each year on his PMC ride of his own "passengers". Sandy knew that he did, and how important it was to him -- so she spoke to him about it, and he agreed to let me take his passengers along with me on my PMC ride, along with my own "2012 passengers". So as it turned out, "Dan's List" would still ride along on every inch of the PMC 2012 route -- along with my "bonus" Day Zero ride from Littleton to Sturbridge!
In addition to my PMC passengers and "Dan's List", I also had one more stow-away on the ride this year: a little stuffed Blue Jay (creatively) dubbed "Jaybird". Dan has a collection of stuffed birds at work (the plush doll type, not "taxidermied"), and Sandy thought it would be fun to bring one of them along as a photo stand-in for Dan on this year's PMC ride. So, I also packed Jaybird and made sure that he got into as many PMC shots as I could, sort of like the Travelocity gnome guy... I uploaded those to Facebook as I went, and am also including them in this trip report.
PMC 2012 Day 0 : http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830932
PMC 2012 Day 1: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830933
PMC 2012 Day 2: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830934
For the GPS data, take the speed stats with a grain of salt, but the elevations and map tracks are pretty much dead-on.
As I said, this year I did a 3-day ride for the PMC, riding my bike from my house down to the Sturbridge start on the Friday before the ride. Since I was able to finagle a hotel room (Thank you, Peter Floss!) in Sturbridge I could ride my bike down on Friday afternoon, enjoy the Friday night ceremonies and be able to get a good night's sleep before the Saturday start. As a bonus, I also didn't have to impose on anyone in my family wake up at 3AM and drive all the way to Sturbridge to drop me off or to pick up a car later on...
As you can see from the picture to the left here, the key to a successful ride is preparedness. Aside from flashlight, extra batteries and bird, that's pretty much what I carry all the time, anyway.
To the right is my bike, in repose and ready to go on Friday at 11:06 AM. You can see Dan's List on top of my trunk, in front of Jaybird. My passenger photos are on the back of my trunk. And that's my camel-bak hydration tube sticking out the top -- there's also a 50oz water bladder in the trunk, too.
I had to work Friday morning. Fortunately, I was able to work from home so I could actually work in my biking clothes and hit the road as soon as I was done. Unfortunately, I ended up stuck on a conference call until 11 AM, and by that time the temperature was already nearly 90F. By 11:06 I was out the door. The sky was clear, but the sun was already hot and I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a tough ride out to Sturbridge...
The ride from Littleton to Sturbridge is about 55 miles -- if you do it right. However, as my mind was apparently still at work, I ended up taking a wrong turn around Harvard that tacked about 4 miles onto my ride at the start. The error was compounded since it meant I had a long downhill going back into Harvard, and smack-dab into a stretch of road that had just been prepped for re-surfacing -- you know, the way they make it all rough and bumpy so the new asphalt gets a good adhesion ? It was a lot of fun hitting that at around 40 mph on a fully-loaded bike. Eventually, I got my mind off work and my bike on the right path, then settled in for a long, hot but scenic ride.
Some may recall from my previous posts that the ride to Sturbridge from Littleton is a hilly one. (The GPS elevation data from my ride will clearly confirm that.) The route is also extremely popular with my bitey little friends, Chrysops Atlantica (aka Deer Flies).
There's no other way to put this: these little buggers are insanely annoying. Any time my speed would drop below 10 mph (as in climbing one of the uncountable tough hills), these guys would come from seemingly out of nowhere and start orbiting me, looking for a place to land and sink their nasty drilling proboscis into my flesh.
Scott Chamberlain, a friend of mine, recommended I look into a product called "Deer Fly Patches", which are essentially fly paper that you can stick on the back of your bike helmet. Apparently, deer flies typically target the back of the head/neck area as a landing spot and end up getting stuck on the tape. I checked out the product online and based on what I saw, I will DEFINITELY be buying some for next season, and you can bet I'll post pictures if it works for me.
Back to the ride: by 2 PM I'd made it to Holden for my usual stop at the Mobil station at routes 31 and 122A to refuel & stretch and was back on the road after about 15 minutes. The sun was really hot, but fortunately the route had plenty of shade available, with relatively few wide-open stretches. At about 42 miles in, around 3PM, one of my legs started to cramp up pretty hard. Fortunately there was a nice big shady tree off to the side of the road and I was able to pull over, work out the cramp and rest for a few minutes and before heading off again. I took it a little easier after that, and that was the last cramp of the day. The remainder of the ride into Sturbridge was uneventful, and I ended up rolling up to my hotel by 4:30 for check-in.
As I was riding my bike up to my room, I noticed a consistent "ticking" sound in my front wheel. I stopped, got off and checked out my front wheel to find that one of my spokes had come un-attached at the rim and was flapping around. The retaining nut had backed out and was clicking around in the interior part of my wheel. This was unsettling -- I didn't want to start a 192-mile ride tomorrow with a spoke missing. Fortunately, I knew that there would be bike repair services available at the Sturbridge Host Hotel. So, after I went to my room and showered, I hopped back on the bike and toodled across town to the Sturbridge Host Hotel to do my registration, see if I could get my wheel repaired and get some dinner...
By the time I got to the Sturbridge Host Hotel, registration was in full swing and there were already tons of bikes parked all around the hotel, with people milling around all over the place. I parked my bike and went inside to register and get my jersey and wristband, then removed my bike wheel made a bee line to the mechanical support tent.
I figured that there'd be a long wait for mechanical assistance there, but I think I managed to sneak in at a lull while people were getting dinner -- I only had to wait about 15 minutes before I was able to hand my wheel over to a mechanic from Landry's.
It took him about another 15 minutes to fish out the loose nut, re-attach my spoke, true the wheel and hand it back to me. At which point, I was free to go and get some dinner (after I put the wheel back on my bike, of course.)
At dinner, I ran into Steve Bernacki, a former co-worker and friend who's been riding the PMC for the last several years as well. I chatted with him and his wife over dinner, before I decided to make my way over to watch the ceremonies.
The seating inside the auditorium was crowded and hot, so I opted to watch the closed-circuit feed of the show outside in a tent. (It was much more comfortable standing outside in the breeze than in that crowded, under-air-conditioned gymnasium-like room...)
Even at 4:30 AM in the pitch dark, it was already 70F or so, and the humidity was getting up there, as well. It felt like it was going to be a 'sporty' day, weather-wise. Oh well... nothing to be done about that, so I just focused on making sure I had enough coffee in me and water in my bottles before I started.
Speaking of coffee, I would like to point out that Dunkin' Donuts is a long-time PMC supporter and donates an awful lot of coffee, comestibles and personnel. For the benefit of those among you who may not know of Dunkin' Donuts, they've been running an ad campaign for several years along the lines of "<insert name here> runs on Dunkin'". I will absolutely confirm that large parts of the PMC ridership (myself included) do in fact "run on Dunkin". If you don't get to the coffee area at Sturbridge early, you will end up standing in a loooong line of forlorn, half-awake people. (If you can imagine a line of Lycra-clad addicts waiting outside a methadone clinic, you start to get the picture.)
After choking down a bagel and 2 coffees, I filled up my water bottles and camelbak, then headed out to the parking lot to claim my spot in the starting area.
While I was standing around waiting for the start, I took a few pictures, tried to relax and hoped silently that at least there'd be no rain today. 5:30 finally arrived, and within seconds of finishing the National Anthem, riders started to pour off onto Route 20, headed East, 8 or 10 abreast. Even though the sky was overcast, he start was amazing, as it always is...
The hills around Charleton were a little rough. And that's where the riders start to break up a little, with the hill-sprinters pulling ahead and everyone else chugging along. With the high humidity and everything, I had to stop and work out cramps twice before 7AM. Between those little episodes and stopping to help a guy fix his bike, I really wasn't making very good time. For some reason I often find myself on the PMC thinking about "making good time" instead of just enjoying the ride. When I do, I try to remember why I'm there, make the mental correction and just look around. It always works. I reached the first waterstop at Whitinsville at around 7:30, and the sun was out in full.
I only stuck around Whitinsville long enough to "change my fluids", grab a bite and let Jaybird out for a picture. You can see him here with Jesus, one of the MANY wonderful water stop volunteers. Jesus was a little uncomfortable holding a doll, but he was a good sport. ;-) By 7:45 I was back on the road and headed to Franklin.
At 9:09 AM I rolled into the Franklin water stop. The Franklin stop is always crowded for some reason. I don't know why, since the number of riders is constant. I think it's probably because it's easy to get to by car and riders' friends and families come there to meet up with them. (My wife, son and even my mom helped out at the Franklin water stop one year.) At any rate, it's always a hoot. This year's theme for the volunteers appeared to be "Hawaiian Luau", as there were a lot of them in grass skirts with leis. I didn't tarry too long at Franklin, but you can certainly get mesmerized by the constant arrival and departure of cyclists -- and all the ensuing spectacle.
After tending to my physical needs, I brought Jaybird out for a photo-op, introduced him around then packed and was back on my way before 9:30.
The next stop on the trip was the lunch break at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School. Just a couple of miles before the Dighton-Rehoboth stop is where the "Sturbridge Start" riders converge with the PMC riders who start at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Historically, this confluence (or soon after) is where accidents often seem to happen. Happily, I didn't see any here this year, and the merge seemed to occur smoothly. I ended up rolling into the D-R parking lot at around 11:20 for a quick re-hydration and some food, then was back on the road by 11:35 AM.
The next stop on the Saturday ride was the Apponequet Regional School in Lakeville. The Lakeville stop is the next-to-last stop before ending the day at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne. The Lakeville stop is also the designated water stop for PMC riders to meet their Pedal Partners. I had arranged to meet up with Dan and his wife at the Lakeville stop so I could finally meet him in person (Did I mention that I'd never even met Dan ?), chat and get a photo. When I got to the stop, it was after 12:30 and the sun and heat were in top gear. It's a very busy water stop, and I figured I'd have to walk around searching for Dan so figured I'd try to find a shady place to park my bike and look. (The Apponequet School stop is pretty much just an enormous open parking lot in front of a school with about 2 trees, so there were only a couple of shady places to go to.) As it happened, I ended up practically running Dan over with my bike, since he and his wife Donna were also looking for shade... Dan and Donna were meeting up with the "Team LEGS" cyclists that Dan has ridden with for several years. They were all extremely supportive of Dan and were sad that he wasn't going to be able to ride with them.
I chatted with Dan and Donna for a while, and asked Dan to pose with Jaybird. He was a little surprised, but a really good sport about it all. I decided it was time to hydrate up and get on the road again, once someone grabbed the microphone at the DJ tent and started singing Springsteen at the top of their lungs...
Onward to MMA. The rest of the ride from Lakeville to MMA in Buzzard's Bay is reasonably flat. And that's a good thing, because after biking 100 or so miles on a hot day, you really don't greet hills with as much "enthusiasm" as you might think... By the time I leave Lakeville, I'm ready to just "be there" and looking forward to a shower, massage and a beer. In no particular order. In fact, there's even one more water stop after Lakeville at Decas Elementary School in Wareham that I (and a lot of other riders) don't bother stopping at, since it's only 10 miles from end at MMA. It hardly seems worth the time and effort to get off and on the bike when there's only 10 more miles to go. So, as usual I just hammered down and skipped the Decas stop, headed straight for MMA. After all the stops and slower pace (trying to avoid more cramps in the heat) I ended up at MMA at 2:30 PM -- about an hour and 15 minutes later than my arrival last year. I parked my bike in the paddock with all the others, prepped it for the night and set off to find my son and my luggage...
Did I mention that Ben and his girlfriend Sarah were volunteering at MMA this year ? Ben and Sarah were volunteering at MMA this year, so Ben also volunteered to bring down my overnight gear for Saturday (otherwise I would've had to carry it all on my bike from Littleton to Sturbridge on Friday). So, I called Ben's cell as soon as I arrived and we managed to find each other after about 15 minutes.
We hugged (even though I was sweaty as all hell) and chatted for a while. Their shift was done and they were just hanging out, enjoying the scene at MMA as people arrived. We chatted for a little and they walked with me to the ship, where I established my bunk for the night and got a nice hot shower.
Once showered, I made a bee-line for the massage area, stopping only to pick up a pint at the Harpoon Brewery tent along the way (important for balanced electrolytes). Ben and Sarah came over and chatted with me while I waited in line for my massage (it was about a 45 minute wait). They even offered to fetch me another beer while I waited! I reminded Ben that we were spending his inheritance, but he got one for me, anyway. ;-) Ben and Sarah left soon thereafter, and I was on the massage table within minutes of finishing my drink. Perfect. It's amazing how much difference a good massage makes after a long day on the bike. Interestingly, the benefit (for me anyway) is not so much in the immediate relief, so much as the pronounced improvement in mobility the next morning. My first PMC, I didn't get a massage and could barely move the next morning. Every year after, I made sure I got a post-ride massage and never had any more issues. The people who donate their time and effort to provide rider massages are all licensed professional masseurs and masseuses. They work non-stop for 4-hour shifts, massaging cyclist after cyclist -- a new one every 15 minutes. They are a God-send.
After a good massage, it was time to get some food. The food tent "big top" area was in full swing. There was just about any food you could want there. I can't recall what I ate, but I know I ate plenty. Nobody goes hungry at this place.
Happily "fed and watered", I found a place to sit out in the grass and listened to the band play for a while. By about 7:00 I was starting to feel tired, so headed for the ship. I was in my bunk by 7:30 PM, and out like a light soon thereafter.
After filling my tummy and my water bottles, I dumped my back on the truck for P-Town and headed out to find my bike. By 4:30 AM, I was back on the road, headed for the Bourne Bridge. By about 4:50 AM I was stopped at the approach to the bridge, waiting for the OK from the State Police to proceed. (We have to wait for them to finish sectioning off the Southbound lane for bike traffic, which they're supposed to have done by 5AM.) As we sat there in the dark, I looked over at the big "time & temperature" billboard on the right side of the road and noticed that the temperature at 4:55 AM was already up to 74F -- and it was still dark. By 5:03, we got the OK to proceed and everyone headed up the long incline of the Bourne Bridge.
By 5:13 AM I was cruising along the Cape Cod Canel at a steady 18-20 mph, enjoying the warm, dark morning breeze in my face. I arrived at the Barnstable water stop at 6:28 AM, had another cup of coffee and refilled my water bottles with gatorade. Less then 10 minutes later I was back on the road.
Starting in Brewster, MA there is a long stretch of the PMC that goes along the Cape Cod Rail Trail. There's a water stop just before we get on that stretch of the ride, and when I rolled in around 7:30 AM, the place was hopping. I think the "theme" at this water stop was "Margaritaville" since everyone seemed to be dressed like they were headed to a Jimmy Buffet concert, and that song happened to be playing. Jaybird posed for a photo and I tended to refueling/dumping, then we were back on the trail by 7:45. So far, the weather was holding for me, and I was making decent time.
The Cape Code Rail Trail is an absolute joy to ride on. It winds through some really gorgeous marshes and wooded areas, and is pretty darn flat. (Railway beds have very mild grades.) However, the PMC ride really only uses a small section of it -- I'm not sure why, but I think it may be that the volume of PMC riders might cause too much crowding on the trail, combined with the usual "weekend cyclists" on the trail. (I did notice a lot of signage on the trail warning people about "increased cyclist volume" expected for Sunday morning.) By 8:35 I'd arrived at the Cape Cod National Seashore and the long hill up Ocean View Drive. Even though it's a bit of a slog getting up that long hill, there are several places on the climb where you get such a great view of the ocean off to your right, you can't help but smile.
After Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet, there are a still a few more hills. ;-)
At the top of one of those hills I always look forward to seeing our two "PMC Over the Hill Cheerleaders". These two women have been there in the same get-ups every year that I've been doing the PMC. This year I stopped and talked with them for a while and had Jaybird pose for a picture with them for posterity. They did tell me how long they'd been doing their cheerleading thing, but I'm sad to say I forgot -- but I do know that they've been doing it longer than I've been riding the PMC. Interestingly enough, they remembered me from prior years because my bike is unusual. (Out of the thousands of cyclists on PMC weekend, there are usually less than a dozen or so recumbent bikes, so we tend to stick out a little more.)
After they kidded me about "lying down on the job" with my bike, I figured we'd run out of things to talk about, so Jaybird and I mounted up and headed on to the Wellfleet water stop -- the last one before P-Town. We arrived at the Wellfleet water stop at 8:51 AM, stopping just long enough to do the needful and snap a pic, then we were off on the last leg of the Sunday ride.
The ride from Wellfleet to Truro was beautiful, but uneventful. There are a few spots where the sand from the dunes drifts out into the shoulder of the road, so you have to watch out for those areas. (I get more nervous riding with sand or ice on the road more than I do with broken glass.) Jaybird and I arrived triumphantly at the Provincetown Family Finish at 10:26 AM, after 3 days and 251 miles of cycling. I still had plenty of time to pose for a picture, have a shower, eat and then make a leisurely walk down to the 12:00 "fast ferry" to Boston.
So here we are at the end of my 9th PMC ride and trip report. Thanks to everyone's support, I was able to meet my personal fund-raising goal of $7,000 for the year. (My final amount was $7,245.) We won't know for another few weeks if we were able to meet our overall goal of $36M for 2012. When the results are in, I'll be sending out an email.
FYI. I will be riding in the 2013 PMC next year, so you'll be hearing from me again in 2013. (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.)
And finally, I would like to thank each and every one of you one more time for your support, comments and encouragement.
Thanks and bye for now.
/doug
So, as always, I apologize for my tardiness. In my defense: I am at least predictably, reliably tardy...
Framing this year's ride: Dan and Jaybird
Going into this year's ride, I expected that it would be pretty much like any of the previous years' rides. And up until about 3-4 weeks prior to the ride, that expectation was correct. Dan Field, a long-time PMC rider, brain cancer survivor and co-worker with my wife Sandy at EMC had a re-occurrence of brain tumors a couple of months prior to this year's ride. Dan had recently noticed some motor control issues, and a trip to Dana-Farber confirmed that his cancer had returned. He started treatment immediately, but since the muscle control symptoms would have made it far too dangerous for Dan to ride, he had to sit out this year's PMC -- at least bike-wise. |
| Dan and Jaybird |
In addition to my PMC passengers and "Dan's List", I also had one more stow-away on the ride this year: a little stuffed Blue Jay (creatively) dubbed "Jaybird". Dan has a collection of stuffed birds at work (the plush doll type, not "taxidermied"), and Sandy thought it would be fun to bring one of them along as a photo stand-in for Dan on this year's PMC ride. So, I also packed Jaybird and made sure that he got into as many PMC shots as I could, sort of like the Travelocity gnome guy... I uploaded those to Facebook as I went, and am also including them in this trip report.
The nuts and bolts (and chains and spokes) of the ride...
For this year's PMC I did a "3-day ride", like I did in 2010. That's why I have the "Day 0" that starts before the actual "official" 2-day ride. If you want to see my actual GPS logs, you can tune your browser to the following links:PMC 2012 Day 0 : http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830932
PMC 2012 Day 1: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830933
PMC 2012 Day 2: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830934
For the GPS data, take the speed stats with a grain of salt, but the elevations and map tracks are pretty much dead-on.
As I said, this year I did a 3-day ride for the PMC, riding my bike from my house down to the Sturbridge start on the Friday before the ride. Since I was able to finagle a hotel room (Thank you, Peter Floss!) in Sturbridge I could ride my bike down on Friday afternoon, enjoy the Friday night ceremonies and be able to get a good night's sleep before the Saturday start. As a bonus, I also didn't have to impose on anyone in my family wake up at 3AM and drive all the way to Sturbridge to drop me off or to pick up a car later on...
Friday, Day Zero: A late start on a hot day...
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| You can never be too prepared. |
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| Bike is ready to rock. |
To the right is my bike, in repose and ready to go on Friday at 11:06 AM. You can see Dan's List on top of my trunk, in front of Jaybird. My passenger photos are on the back of my trunk. And that's my camel-bak hydration tube sticking out the top -- there's also a 50oz water bladder in the trunk, too.
I had to work Friday morning. Fortunately, I was able to work from home so I could actually work in my biking clothes and hit the road as soon as I was done. Unfortunately, I ended up stuck on a conference call until 11 AM, and by that time the temperature was already nearly 90F. By 11:06 I was out the door. The sky was clear, but the sun was already hot and I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a tough ride out to Sturbridge...
The ride from Littleton to Sturbridge is about 55 miles -- if you do it right. However, as my mind was apparently still at work, I ended up taking a wrong turn around Harvard that tacked about 4 miles onto my ride at the start. The error was compounded since it meant I had a long downhill going back into Harvard, and smack-dab into a stretch of road that had just been prepped for re-surfacing -- you know, the way they make it all rough and bumpy so the new asphalt gets a good adhesion ? It was a lot of fun hitting that at around 40 mph on a fully-loaded bike. Eventually, I got my mind off work and my bike on the right path, then settled in for a long, hot but scenic ride.
Some may recall from my previous posts that the ride to Sturbridge from Littleton is a hilly one. (The GPS elevation data from my ride will clearly confirm that.) The route is also extremely popular with my bitey little friends, Chrysops Atlantica (aka Deer Flies).
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| "Say hello to my bitey little friend..." |
Scott Chamberlain, a friend of mine, recommended I look into a product called "Deer Fly Patches", which are essentially fly paper that you can stick on the back of your bike helmet. Apparently, deer flies typically target the back of the head/neck area as a landing spot and end up getting stuck on the tape. I checked out the product online and based on what I saw, I will DEFINITELY be buying some for next season, and you can bet I'll post pictures if it works for me.
Back to the ride: by 2 PM I'd made it to Holden for my usual stop at the Mobil station at routes 31 and 122A to refuel & stretch and was back on the road after about 15 minutes. The sun was really hot, but fortunately the route had plenty of shade available, with relatively few wide-open stretches. At about 42 miles in, around 3PM, one of my legs started to cramp up pretty hard. Fortunately there was a nice big shady tree off to the side of the road and I was able to pull over, work out the cramp and rest for a few minutes and before heading off again. I took it a little easier after that, and that was the last cramp of the day. The remainder of the ride into Sturbridge was uneventful, and I ended up rolling up to my hotel by 4:30 for check-in.
As I was riding my bike up to my room, I noticed a consistent "ticking" sound in my front wheel. I stopped, got off and checked out my front wheel to find that one of my spokes had come un-attached at the rim and was flapping around. The retaining nut had backed out and was clicking around in the interior part of my wheel. This was unsettling -- I didn't want to start a 192-mile ride tomorrow with a spoke missing. Fortunately, I knew that there would be bike repair services available at the Sturbridge Host Hotel. So, after I went to my room and showered, I hopped back on the bike and toodled across town to the Sturbridge Host Hotel to do my registration, see if I could get my wheel repaired and get some dinner...
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| Some of the bikes parked at the Sturbridge Host on Friday afternoon. |
By the time I got to the Sturbridge Host Hotel, registration was in full swing and there were already tons of bikes parked all around the hotel, with people milling around all over the place. I parked my bike and went inside to register and get my jersey and wristband, then removed my bike wheel made a bee line to the mechanical support tent.
I figured that there'd be a long wait for mechanical assistance there, but I think I managed to sneak in at a lull while people were getting dinner -- I only had to wait about 15 minutes before I was able to hand my wheel over to a mechanic from Landry's.
At dinner, I ran into Steve Bernacki, a former co-worker and friend who's been riding the PMC for the last several years as well. I chatted with him and his wife over dinner, before I decided to make my way over to watch the ceremonies.
The seating inside the auditorium was crowded and hot, so I opted to watch the closed-circuit feed of the show outside in a tent. (It was much more comfortable standing outside in the breeze than in that crowded, under-air-conditioned gymnasium-like room...)
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| Watching the Opening Ceremonies where it was less-crowded. |
By about 7:00 PM, I decided I'd had enough, so I said goodnight, and biked it back to my hotel to get some rest....
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| Bike in my hotel room. (My bike also doubles as a drying rack and a bird house.) |
Saturday, Day 1: Hot
PMC Day 1. Saturday morning came early. So much so that it was pitch dark when I packed up, flipped on the F.O.G. and mounted up for the short ride over to the starting area at the Sturbridge Host Hotel. The bikes were starting to accrete in the starting area and people were throwing their bags onto the appropriate (hopefully) trucks, to meet them at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne at the end of the day. |
| Early AM: staking a place at the start. (You can see the WCVB TV truck in the background.) |
Speaking of coffee, I would like to point out that Dunkin' Donuts is a long-time PMC supporter and donates an awful lot of coffee, comestibles and personnel. For the benefit of those among you who may not know of Dunkin' Donuts, they've been running an ad campaign for several years along the lines of "<insert name here> runs on Dunkin'". I will absolutely confirm that large parts of the PMC ridership (myself included) do in fact "run on Dunkin". If you don't get to the coffee area at Sturbridge early, you will end up standing in a loooong line of forlorn, half-awake people. (If you can imagine a line of Lycra-clad addicts waiting outside a methadone clinic, you start to get the picture.)
After choking down a bagel and 2 coffees, I filled up my water bottles and camelbak, then headed out to the parking lot to claim my spot in the starting area.
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| The "fast riders" are grouped to the left of that orange barrier. |
While I was standing around waiting for the start, I took a few pictures, tried to relax and hoped silently that at least there'd be no rain today. 5:30 finally arrived, and within seconds of finishing the National Anthem, riders started to pour off onto Route 20, headed East, 8 or 10 abreast. Even though the sky was overcast, he start was amazing, as it always is...
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| Jaybird guarding my bike at the starting position... |
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| Jesus, a volunteer at the Whitinsville water stop meets Jaybird. |
The hills around Charleton were a little rough. And that's where the riders start to break up a little, with the hill-sprinters pulling ahead and everyone else chugging along. With the high humidity and everything, I had to stop and work out cramps twice before 7AM. Between those little episodes and stopping to help a guy fix his bike, I really wasn't making very good time. For some reason I often find myself on the PMC thinking about "making good time" instead of just enjoying the ride. When I do, I try to remember why I'm there, make the mental correction and just look around. It always works. I reached the first waterstop at Whitinsville at around 7:30, and the sun was out in full.
I only stuck around Whitinsville long enough to "change my fluids", grab a bite and let Jaybird out for a picture. You can see him here with Jesus, one of the MANY wonderful water stop volunteers. Jesus was a little uncomfortable holding a doll, but he was a good sport. ;-) By 7:45 I was back on the road and headed to Franklin.
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| Yours truly, headed into Franklin. |
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| Franklin water stop volunteer. (Chicks dig Jaybird.) |
The next stop on the trip was the lunch break at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School. Just a couple of miles before the Dighton-Rehoboth stop is where the "Sturbridge Start" riders converge with the PMC riders who start at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Historically, this confluence (or soon after) is where accidents often seem to happen. Happily, I didn't see any here this year, and the merge seemed to occur smoothly. I ended up rolling into the D-R parking lot at around 11:20 for a quick re-hydration and some food, then was back on the road by 11:35 AM.
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| Jaybird chillin' at DHRS while I eat lunch. |
The next stop on the Saturday ride was the Apponequet Regional School in Lakeville. The Lakeville stop is the next-to-last stop before ending the day at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne. The Lakeville stop is also the designated water stop for PMC riders to meet their Pedal Partners. I had arranged to meet up with Dan and his wife at the Lakeville stop so I could finally meet him in person (Did I mention that I'd never even met Dan ?), chat and get a photo. When I got to the stop, it was after 12:30 and the sun and heat were in top gear. It's a very busy water stop, and I figured I'd have to walk around searching for Dan so figured I'd try to find a shady place to park my bike and look. (The Apponequet School stop is pretty much just an enormous open parking lot in front of a school with about 2 trees, so there were only a couple of shady places to go to.) As it happened, I ended up practically running Dan over with my bike, since he and his wife Donna were also looking for shade... Dan and Donna were meeting up with the "Team LEGS" cyclists that Dan has ridden with for several years. They were all extremely supportive of Dan and were sad that he wasn't going to be able to ride with them.
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| Dan in his Team LEGS jersey at the Lakeville water stop, posing with Jaybird. |
Onward to MMA. The rest of the ride from Lakeville to MMA in Buzzard's Bay is reasonably flat. And that's a good thing, because after biking 100 or so miles on a hot day, you really don't greet hills with as much "enthusiasm" as you might think... By the time I leave Lakeville, I'm ready to just "be there" and looking forward to a shower, massage and a beer. In no particular order. In fact, there's even one more water stop after Lakeville at Decas Elementary School in Wareham that I (and a lot of other riders) don't bother stopping at, since it's only 10 miles from end at MMA. It hardly seems worth the time and effort to get off and on the bike when there's only 10 more miles to go. So, as usual I just hammered down and skipped the Decas stop, headed straight for MMA. After all the stops and slower pace (trying to avoid more cramps in the heat) I ended up at MMA at 2:30 PM -- about an hour and 15 minutes later than my arrival last year. I parked my bike in the paddock with all the others, prepped it for the night and set off to find my son and my luggage...
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| My steed, tucked in for the night at MMA. (At least it won't get lonely.) |
Did I mention that Ben and his girlfriend Sarah were volunteering at MMA this year ? Ben and Sarah were volunteering at MMA this year, so Ben also volunteered to bring down my overnight gear for Saturday (otherwise I would've had to carry it all on my bike from Littleton to Sturbridge on Friday). So, I called Ben's cell as soon as I arrived and we managed to find each other after about 15 minutes.
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| Jaybird guarding my bunk aboard the USTS Kennedy. |
Once showered, I made a bee-line for the massage area, stopping only to pick up a pint at the Harpoon Brewery tent along the way (important for balanced electrolytes). Ben and Sarah came over and chatted with me while I waited in line for my massage (it was about a 45 minute wait). They even offered to fetch me another beer while I waited! I reminded Ben that we were spending his inheritance, but he got one for me, anyway. ;-) Ben and Sarah left soon thereafter, and I was on the massage table within minutes of finishing my drink. Perfect. It's amazing how much difference a good massage makes after a long day on the bike. Interestingly, the benefit (for me anyway) is not so much in the immediate relief, so much as the pronounced improvement in mobility the next morning. My first PMC, I didn't get a massage and could barely move the next morning. Every year after, I made sure I got a post-ride massage and never had any more issues. The people who donate their time and effort to provide rider massages are all licensed professional masseurs and masseuses. They work non-stop for 4-hour shifts, massaging cyclist after cyclist -- a new one every 15 minutes. They are a God-send.
After a good massage, it was time to get some food. The food tent "big top" area was in full swing. There was just about any food you could want there. I can't recall what I ate, but I know I ate plenty. Nobody goes hungry at this place.
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| Saturday afternoon dining in the Big Tent at Mass Maritime Academy... |
Sunday, Day 2: Steamy start.
PMC Sunday always starts early, but somehow I always seem to wake up before my cell phone alarm goes off. I was up at 3:30 off the ship for breakfast before they were finished setting up, which I like, because it forces me to sit down with a cup of coffee, wake up and go through my mental checklist before taking off. It was an incredibly warm and humid morning. I couldn't see any stars, so I knew the cloud cover was pretty complete. There were showers forecasted and I just hoped I'd be in P-Town ahead of any rain. |
| My fellow early AM caffeine addicts at MMA. |
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| Arriving at the water stop in Brewster on Sunday AM. (Look! One hand!) |
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| Jaybird posing at the Brewster Water Stop |
The Cape Code Rail Trail is an absolute joy to ride on. It winds through some really gorgeous marshes and wooded areas, and is pretty darn flat. (Railway beds have very mild grades.) However, the PMC ride really only uses a small section of it -- I'm not sure why, but I think it may be that the volume of PMC riders might cause too much crowding on the trail, combined with the usual "weekend cyclists" on the trail. (I did notice a lot of signage on the trail warning people about "increased cyclist volume" expected for Sunday morning.) By 8:35 I'd arrived at the Cape Cod National Seashore and the long hill up Ocean View Drive. Even though it's a bit of a slog getting up that long hill, there are several places on the climb where you get such a great view of the ocean off to your right, you can't help but smile.
After Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet, there are a still a few more hills. ;-)
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| Jaybird is a chick magnet |
After they kidded me about "lying down on the job" with my bike, I figured we'd run out of things to talk about, so Jaybird and I mounted up and headed on to the Wellfleet water stop -- the last one before P-Town. We arrived at the Wellfleet water stop at 8:51 AM, stopping just long enough to do the needful and snap a pic, then we were off on the last leg of the Sunday ride.
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| Jaybird at the Wellfleet water stop |
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| Provincetown finish line! Woo hoo! |
The ferry to Boston was uneventful. I was on the same boat as my friend Pete Floss, and when we arrived both our wives were there to meet us when we arrived. (There's something special about having someone to greet you when you get off a boat or a plane. Don't know what it is about that...) Anyway, the four of us chatted all the way back to Littleton and everyone was home and dry by 3PM.
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| "Commit. You'll figure it out." |
So here we are at the end of my 9th PMC ride and trip report. Thanks to everyone's support, I was able to meet my personal fund-raising goal of $7,000 for the year. (My final amount was $7,245.) We won't know for another few weeks if we were able to meet our overall goal of $36M for 2012. When the results are in, I'll be sending out an email.
FYI. I will be riding in the 2013 PMC next year, so you'll be hearing from me again in 2013. (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.)
And finally, I would like to thank each and every one of you one more time for your support, comments and encouragement.
Thanks and bye for now.
/doug
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
PMC 2012 is now a memory.
Three weeks have come and gone since the PMC 2012 ride. I have yet to write up my "trip report" -- but rest assured I will. In and of itself, the ride is remarkably constant. But the way the PMC weekend unfolds is still different every year, sort of like a Rorshach Test: physically and quantifiably similar, but each year is still a unique experience.
Contrary to what you might think, the PMC weekend ride is not a so much a physical challenge as it is a reward. I'm not saying that it's easy to ride a bike 192 miles -- it's not (at least not for me). But there's just no language in my lungs to articulate the depth and breadth of emotions one experiences that weekend.
Until I can get my act together enough to write up my PMC weekend trip, I wanted to share a link to a video with you all. The folks at DuVine Adventures Bike Tours were sponsors on this year's PMC and they did up a really nice video on youtube that captures a lot of the excitment of PMC weekend all the way from the Friday evening at Sturbridge, to Bourne, and up to the ferry arriving at Black Falcon Terminal in Boston on Sunday afternoon.... You can watch it here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmtzZXT8sqM The video is only 4 minutes long and really worth watching.
I would be remiss if I didn't address my Prime Objective for PMC before signing off: Money for a cure. The overall fund-raising goal for 2012 is $36M, and last tally had us at $24M. My personal fund-raising goal for this year is $7000 and I have yet to reach that. We only have until the end of September to close that $12M gap and meet our 2012 goal. I will be blunt: we don't need another Facebook posting "to show support for cancer research" -- what we need is money; money that will actually fund research and treatment and ease people's pain. Please show your support with your donation to the PMC Jimmy Fund here: http://www.pmc.org/donation.asp?eGiftID=DM0192 One hundred percent of the money you donate at that link will go to cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber. One. Hundred. Percent. I cannot over-emphasize how important funding is for cancer research and treatment, and I can't think of a more efficient way to make that happen.
I'll be writing up my PMC 2012 trip report soon. Until then, just enjoy the video and: "Commit. You'll figure it out."
/doug
Thursday, August 2, 2012
PMC 2012: Day Zer0 is nigh....
After all those hours of training and the non-stop begging for money... the day is almost here... the day I get get hop on a bike and just ride - this time for 3 days! The PMC 2012 ride officially starts Saturday, but this year I'll be doing a "Day 0 Ride" from Littleton to the start at Sturbridge on Friday.
Starting tomorrow, if you want to check in on my progress, you can check my GPS coordinates from your browser any time at this URL:
I did a last-minute check-out on my bike, ran through my gear checklist and did my initial packing already. Once I get this post out, I'll make sure my GPS is ready and try to get some sleep. I still have to work tomorrow, but will be on the road as soon as I'm done. The ride can't start soon enough for me.
Starting tomorrow, if you want to check in on my progress, you can check my GPS coordinates from your browser any time at this URL:
This should be a lot more accurate than previous years, since I replaced my steam-powered Blackberry 8700 phone with a slick DROID phone with an honest-to-goodness GPS built-in.
Depending on Verizon's coverage on the PMC route, you should be able to track my location to within about 30 meters. My location on this google maps overlay is indicated by my google avatar, something like in the picture to the right.
Go ahead. Be a stalker. You know you want to. ;-)
I think you'll agree with me that supporting cancer research and treatment is a Good Thing. So please do a good thing right now and show your support with your donation to this year's PMC. It takes less than 2 minutes to donate online here. It's a secure transaction and every penny of every dollar you donate to a PMC rider goes directly to cancer treatment and research. Period. Full stop.
So please help.
I'll be in touch.
/doug
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
My 2nd passenger for 2012: Chuck West, Jr.
My 2nd passenger for this year's PMC is Charles ("Chuck") West, Jr. Chuck's story comes to me from our good friend and Chuck's sister-in-law Judy Grande. When Judy first asked if I would take Chuck as a passenger on this year's ride, he'd been already been fighting lung cancer for about 5 months and his prognosis was not good. I was surprised when just a couple of days later, on May 29th Chuck passed away, unable to fight any longer.
His wife, Mary, sent me a link to his obituary. I never met Chuck, but reading the obit, I couldn't help but get the impression "now, here's a man who doesn't like to stand idle." Mary confided to me in her email that the one thing she thought best described Chuck was the song "The River" by Garth Brooks. I've never been a big country music fan, so I had to look it up (thank you again, Google). I won't quote the entire song, but this little bit jumped out at me as particularly poignant and inspirational:
So I'm quite proud to take Chuck along on this year's ride to honor his life and family, and to thank them all for reminding me how important it is to get up every day, "get in the ring" and squeeze every bit out of life that we can. Hope we have good weather for you, Chuck.
His wife, Mary, sent me a link to his obituary. I never met Chuck, but reading the obit, I couldn't help but get the impression "now, here's a man who doesn't like to stand idle." Mary confided to me in her email that the one thing she thought best described Chuck was the song "The River" by Garth Brooks. I've never been a big country music fan, so I had to look it up (thank you again, Google). I won't quote the entire song, but this little bit jumped out at me as particularly poignant and inspirational:
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
What has now become today.
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied.
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance that tide
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry.
Mary's words to me were that "...Chuck's river just finally ran dry..." And you know, that will happen to each and every one of us some day. I celebrate that Chuck decided to "chance the rapids and dared to dance the tides", and didn't quit and just let the currents pass by. He is missed. And I guess that's one of the key points of living: to live fully and give enough while you're here that someone will notice when you're gone.
So I'm quite proud to take Chuck along on this year's ride to honor his life and family, and to thank them all for reminding me how important it is to get up every day, "get in the ring" and squeeze every bit out of life that we can. Hope we have good weather for you, Chuck.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
My First Passenger for PMC 2012: Ann McPherson
My first passenger for this year's PMC ride is an easy choice: Ann McPherson. Ann's been a "passenger" with me on the ride since 2010. (My original 2010 blog post for her can be found here.)
Ann is about to become a 2-time cancer survivor: Tuesday she goes in for surgery for invasive ductal carcinoma - a recurrence of the cancer she fought about 14 years ago.
Ann is way more than just another pretty lady -- she's also one of the toughest people I've ever met. Between her innate Sandridge stubbornness and the advances in cancer treatment over the last 14 years, I am confident that Ann will be 100% soon.
Oh, just one more thing: Ann is my mom and I love her more than I think I will ever be able to suitably tell her. Sorry. That was two things.
Ann is about to become a 2-time cancer survivor: Tuesday she goes in for surgery for invasive ductal carcinoma - a recurrence of the cancer she fought about 14 years ago.
Ann is way more than just another pretty lady -- she's also one of the toughest people I've ever met. Between her innate Sandridge stubbornness and the advances in cancer treatment over the last 14 years, I am confident that Ann will be 100% soon.
Oh, just one more thing: Ann is my mom and I love her more than I think I will ever be able to suitably tell her. Sorry. That was two things.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
40-mile Ride Today, and More Lessons Learned
Here in New England we finally got a break from the rain last week. In addition to biking to work every day last week, I was also able to take nice ride from Littleton down to Northborough and meet up with Sandy for dinner with my in-laws on Mothers' Day. The ride to Northborough has a few brutal hills around Harvard, but it's only about 24 miles and a very scenic ride. I had my first 'unscheduled dismount' of the season when I got too close to a soft shoulder on the Ayer/Harvard line. The bike was unharmed, and I just ended up with a little soreness and a spectacular bruise in a well-hidden place... The ride was fine, but it's clear to me that I have my work cut out for me this year, as my pace is noticeably slower than last year. I'm not happy about that, but I'm not going to freak out about it.
Since last Sunday was strictly a one-way affair (I didn't want to ride back in the dark), and today's weather was every bit as spectacular as Mothers' Day, I decided I would reprise the Northborough ride, but start earlier and do my usual loop back up through Hudson/Stow/Boxboro. Today's ride went pretty much like clockwork on the way to Northborough, and I stopped by to say "good morning" to my in-laws, then headed in the general direction of Marlborough and Hudson to start my return segment -- with the express intent of lunching and re-balancing my electrolytes at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson. Here's a map of today's ride on Google maps.
When I got to Maple Street in Marlborough, I noticed my bike was handling a little "swimmy" -- sure indicator of a tire quietly going flat. I stopped in the shade to check it out and sure enough: rear tire was flat as a pancake. Not to worry, I always carry tubes, CO2 and a pump. So, I quickly changed the tube and got back on my way, by now looking forward even more to a well-done burger an a pint of Rogue Dead Guy Ale... About 2 miles later, I was off the main roads and onto the Assabet Rail Trail -- a very nice bike trail by the way -- and once again noticed that "swimmy" sensation. I pulled over and sure enough, my rear tire had gone flat AGAIN. Now this time, things are not so great. I always carry 2 tubes with me, but today I was riding my "commuter" bike, which has a 26" rear wheel and a 20" front wheel. I only carry one of each size tube with me, so I had no more un-punctured tubes. To make matters worse, I also carry a patch kit (as my last resort), but I never keep it on my "commuter" -- I only carry it on my "fair weather, long ride bike" , which I was notably NOT on today.
Hoping I could make it to Hudson and the Horseshoe Pub, I vainly dumped my last cartridge of CO2 into the tire and got going again, riding as fast as I could. It was no use. I was completely flat by the time I got to 290/85. So, I had to use my one last "tool of last resort" -- my cell phone. I called home and managed to convince my lovely bride that she should get out of the house today! "...didn't you want pick up a few things at Wal-Mart ? Why don't you just come on down to the Wal-Mart in Hudson? Great! Oh, by the way could you please throw the bike rack in the back of the car before you leave ? And maybe swing by the Vocational School to pick me up?" So once again Sandy, my long-suffering wife, came to my rescue in Hudson and we ended up picking up a few things at Wal-Mart. (Some of you may recall that Sandy drove all the way out to Sturbridge a couple of years back to rescue me from another "busted ride". See my "Fiasco Semi-century" story for a full re-telling of that crap-fest.)
I missed my appointment at the Horseshoe Pub, but there will be other rides in the near future, I am certain.
After we got home, I went to repair the tire yet again. This time, however, I was much more careful in inspecting the tire and wheel for what might've caused 2 separate flats. After just a few minutes careful inspection I found the culprit: what appeared to be part of a staple had poked straight into the thick part of the the tire tread and was just barely sticking out through the inside of the tire. I didn't see or feel it when I swept the tire the 1st time it went flat -- probably because I was in a hurry to get to the Horseshoe Pub. When I put in the new tube, the staple probably punctured that one as soon as I put any weight on the tire. Lesson learned: Take your time changing your tire and take the time to locate the exact cause of your flat before you put your last good tube in.
I do have to say that on balance, it was still a great day:
- I did end up getting in a nice 40-mile ride
- I got some shopping done with Sandy
- I re-learned a lesson on changing flats and ended up getting both bikes tuned up by the end of the day.
So endeth the lesson. ;-)
Since last Sunday was strictly a one-way affair (I didn't want to ride back in the dark), and today's weather was every bit as spectacular as Mothers' Day, I decided I would reprise the Northborough ride, but start earlier and do my usual loop back up through Hudson/Stow/Boxboro. Today's ride went pretty much like clockwork on the way to Northborough, and I stopped by to say "good morning" to my in-laws, then headed in the general direction of Marlborough and Hudson to start my return segment -- with the express intent of lunching and re-balancing my electrolytes at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson. Here's a map of today's ride on Google maps.
When I got to Maple Street in Marlborough, I noticed my bike was handling a little "swimmy" -- sure indicator of a tire quietly going flat. I stopped in the shade to check it out and sure enough: rear tire was flat as a pancake. Not to worry, I always carry tubes, CO2 and a pump. So, I quickly changed the tube and got back on my way, by now looking forward even more to a well-done burger an a pint of Rogue Dead Guy Ale... About 2 miles later, I was off the main roads and onto the Assabet Rail Trail -- a very nice bike trail by the way -- and once again noticed that "swimmy" sensation. I pulled over and sure enough, my rear tire had gone flat AGAIN. Now this time, things are not so great. I always carry 2 tubes with me, but today I was riding my "commuter" bike, which has a 26" rear wheel and a 20" front wheel. I only carry one of each size tube with me, so I had no more un-punctured tubes. To make matters worse, I also carry a patch kit (as my last resort), but I never keep it on my "commuter" -- I only carry it on my "fair weather, long ride bike" , which I was notably NOT on today.
Hoping I could make it to Hudson and the Horseshoe Pub, I vainly dumped my last cartridge of CO2 into the tire and got going again, riding as fast as I could. It was no use. I was completely flat by the time I got to 290/85. So, I had to use my one last "tool of last resort" -- my cell phone. I called home and managed to convince my lovely bride that she should get out of the house today! "...didn't you want pick up a few things at Wal-Mart ? Why don't you just come on down to the Wal-Mart in Hudson? Great! Oh, by the way could you please throw the bike rack in the back of the car before you leave ? And maybe swing by the Vocational School to pick me up?" So once again Sandy, my long-suffering wife, came to my rescue in Hudson and we ended up picking up a few things at Wal-Mart. (Some of you may recall that Sandy drove all the way out to Sturbridge a couple of years back to rescue me from another "busted ride". See my "Fiasco Semi-century" story for a full re-telling of that crap-fest.)
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| Waiting for my rescue. Not happy. |
I missed my appointment at the Horseshoe Pub, but there will be other rides in the near future, I am certain.
After we got home, I went to repair the tire yet again. This time, however, I was much more careful in inspecting the tire and wheel for what might've caused 2 separate flats. After just a few minutes careful inspection I found the culprit: what appeared to be part of a staple had poked straight into the thick part of the the tire tread and was just barely sticking out through the inside of the tire. I didn't see or feel it when I swept the tire the 1st time it went flat -- probably because I was in a hurry to get to the Horseshoe Pub. When I put in the new tube, the staple probably punctured that one as soon as I put any weight on the tire. Lesson learned: Take your time changing your tire and take the time to locate the exact cause of your flat before you put your last good tube in.
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| This is the staple that ended my ride. |
I do have to say that on balance, it was still a great day:
- I did end up getting in a nice 40-mile ride
- I got some shopping done with Sandy
- I re-learned a lesson on changing flats and ended up getting both bikes tuned up by the end of the day.
So endeth the lesson. ;-)
Monday, May 14, 2012
My PMC 2012 Call for Passengers
I'm continuing the PMC "call for passengers" that I started doing in 2009...
If there is someone you know or love that's a cancer survivor, is currently fighting cancer or that you've lost to cancer, then I want to help honor and remember them by taking their picture along with me on this year's ride.
Hope to hear from you soon!
If there is someone you know or love that's a cancer survivor, is currently fighting cancer or that you've lost to cancer, then I want to help honor and remember them by taking their picture along with me on this year's ride.
It's really simple: just email me a picture and a word or two
about your special person. That's all you really need to do. I'll take care of the rest.
As I collect them, I like to share my "passenger profiles" here on this blog (if the submitter doesn't mind). That way, people get a chance to share their stories. If you browse the archives of this blog (see links to the right side), you'll see what I'm talking about.
By the time the PMC weekend rolls around in August, I'll have all the pictures printed and protected so I can carry them on my bike as my special "passengers" on an awesome 2-day ride across the state. I really like the feeling of having them ride along with me.
Hope to hear from you soon!
/doug
P.S. While the PMC is an awesome 192-mile bike ride, first and foremost it's a fund-raising effort for cancer research and treatment. My goal is to raise more than $7,000 this year. You are helping make a difference when you donate here. Thanks.
/doug
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A slow start -- but a start nonetheless...
My first real ride of the 2012 season was a 22 mile shake-down ride on Sunday (April Fools Day). This year has been the longest ever I've laid off the bike since I started riding in 2003 -- and it really felt like it. Between a broken seat frame, crappy weather and business travel I had basically been off the bike since Thanksgiving week.
Thankfully, riding a bike is like....well... riding a bike. You really don't forget how to do it -- you just get on and go. So... last Sunday I just got on and went. The ride was uneventful and the weather was pleasant enough. The new welds on my repaired seat frame held up fine, there was no rust on the bike, no flat tires and I returned home unscathed, if a little winded. This last week I've resumed biking to/from work, too. I didn't realize how much I missed it.
So, right now I'm not riding as fast as a few months ago, but I am back on the bike -- and that's what counts: just get back on and go. I'll also be getting back into the swing of searching for something interesting to write here as I train and raise money for this year's PMC in August.
Please post here or drop me a line in email if you have any ideas, thoughts or just want to say "Hi."
More to come.
/doug
Thankfully, riding a bike is like....well... riding a bike. You really don't forget how to do it -- you just get on and go. So... last Sunday I just got on and went. The ride was uneventful and the weather was pleasant enough. The new welds on my repaired seat frame held up fine, there was no rust on the bike, no flat tires and I returned home unscathed, if a little winded. This last week I've resumed biking to/from work, too. I didn't realize how much I missed it.
So, right now I'm not riding as fast as a few months ago, but I am back on the bike -- and that's what counts: just get back on and go. I'll also be getting back into the swing of searching for something interesting to write here as I train and raise money for this year's PMC in August.
Please post here or drop me a line in email if you have any ideas, thoughts or just want to say "Hi."
More to come.
/doug
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