My Latest-Ever PMC Trip Report: PMC 2015

Intro and (the usual) Apology

How about that.   I broke my record for procrastination this year... My goal is to now get this ride report published BEFORE they announce the final numbers for this year's fund-raising.

Note:clicking on any of the pictures in this article will take you to a full-size version. You can hit "ESC" to get back to the main blog post.

Preamble - A Review of why I do this.

This was my 12th PMC ride, and it was -- as much as I am able to recall 3+ months after the fact  -- a pretty "textbook" PMC...   Lots of folks have told me they like to read about the ride, and that's why I make it a point to do this write-up religiously, although not in the most timely fashion.  Sandy and I always looked forward to reading Kathy Fahy's ride write-ups, many years ago.  Her ride reports are a huge part of what eventually got me engaged in the PMC's mission. So I feel like there's real benefit to be had from writing this up.  Maybe I'll be able to inspire someone reading this to join us in the fight. Who knows?

This year I carried my usual list of names that I ride for, on the increasingly-crumpled piece of notebook paper. I hate that that list gets longer with time, but unlike all the email, Facebook and other electronic jibber jabber, that list is a very real thing I can hold, re-read and remember each year. Then it gets folded up and tucked away till the next ride.  It's a comforting, if a little sad, thing that's sorta become part of this yearly thing.

Dan The Man

In addition to the usual list, I also took some special memorabilia for our friend Dan Field. I've written a couple of times in my blog about Dan (October 2012, May and October 2013 and finally July 2014.)  Dan passed away from brain cancer in July of 2014.  He was a long-time PMC rider and cancer survivor and an inspiration to everyone who ever met him.  His friends and fellow PMC riders miss him still. When Dan's recurrent brain tumors made it impossible for him to ride in the 2013 PMC,  I ended up carrying his "PMC list" on his behalf.  I'm proud to still carry it for him.

Next, I also wanted to make sure my cousin Dusty's wife, Nicole Rasile McPherson, knew that people way up North were rooting for her to "bust it" with her latest rounds of chemo. I introduced Nicole with a blog post back in July.  She's been fighting Hodgkins lymphoma for more than 2 years now--  and (as of a couple months ago) she's clean and in remission.

Nicole

Finally, I also took along a special rider, Princess Aurora, who was proxying for little Miss Madison Burt. Madison just had her 5th birthday not too long ago, while undergoing chemo and radiation treatments for brain cancer (group 4 desmoplastic medulloblastoma).   She's finally back home in Texas and settling back in.

Madison

I'll get on with the ride notes and pictures in just a minute, but I didn't want to write another sentence without thanking all of you who sponsored me (or any other rider) on this year's PMC.  All the research, studies and treatment for cancer that go on at Dana-Farber requires money.  Lots of money.  It's the primary ammunition in this fight.  And it's PMC's mission to raise as much as we can to help Dana-Farber in their research and treatment programs. Your support for PMC riders provides them the ammunition that they need, in order to keep up this fight.  So again: thank you. 

Now on with the Latest, Greatest (?)  PMC 2015 ride report...

Friday Night

Fridays before the PMC are always full of nervous energy for me.  That's the day I pack all my stuff for the weekend and prep with double- and triple-checks of various lists.  Getting to sleep is tough -- almost not worth going to bed.  There's virtually no way I can get to sleep before 11 PM anyway, and I have to get up at 3:30 AM just to get up and out to Sturbridge on time.

Stuff that's going with me on the bike.

The picture on the left here shows most of the stuff that I carried with me on the bike for the entire weekend.  Princess Aurora ended up riding on the front of my bike, keeping an eye out on the traffic and waving to folks for me.   Dan's list (foreground) went on the back of the bike and I also packed some "Bust It" signs for Nicole.
There were also a few other boring items like tubes & tools for simple repairs, and I was packed.   (Anything else got stuffed into a bag that met up with me at the end of each day's ride.)   Off to bed by 11 PM -- for basically just a nap.

Saturday

Rise and Shine!  PMC Day One started at 3:30 AM in Littleton.  After a 3-hour or so nap, I showered, dressed and was ready for the drive to Sturbridge.    This year, Sandy was nice enough ride out with me, so that she could just bring the truck back home and we wouldn't need to coordinate traipsing back out the Sturbridge to pick it up after the PMC.  Fortunately, she was able to sleep (more or less) in the truck on the drive out (about an hour), before she had to wake up "for real" and drive back home.  

Here we are, standing around in the dark at the Sturbridge Host Hotel parking lot... waiting.

Even though I had a long day Saturday, Sandy's was just as long. She had to get back to Littleton and then drive down to Bourne, MA to work as a volunteer at Mass Maritime Academy.  (More later on that.)

Saturday Morning Ride

The ride got off to a good start.  The weather this year was perfect -- a far cry from the freak hypothermia-inducing rain-ride we had last year!      I managed to make sure that Princess Aurora got off the bike and had her picture taken with some of the friendly folks along the way.

Princess Aurora poses with the nice policeman.

I ended up at the first water stop in Whitinsville at about 7:10 AM.   Just the usual 'change of fluids', a couple of pictures, then back on the bike for a few more miles..

As some of you may recall, last year I started the PMC at Babson College in Wellesley MA.  It was lovely, lovely route and it ends up merging with the Sturbridge riders close to the lunch stop at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School.  It was nice to be back on the Sturbridge route this year, even though the hills for the first 30 or so miles of that route can be a little taxing...   Take a good look at this picture:

"Inspirational" sign on a hill in Hartford Ave, Mendon.  (Around 7:40 AM Saturday)

I've seen these signs before, and they always make me smile.  I wanted to make sure I got a photo this time to share with you guys.  It also gave me an excuse to stop and shake off a cramp. ;-)





   

A Franklin volunteer at the maintenance area helps "Bust It" with me.

The next water stop was in Franklin, MA, at about 8:30 AM.The school at Franklin is a huge, busy stop.  I managed to get some of the volunteers to pose in a few shots for me...




















Around 9:45 AM, I saw a "DANSTRONG" sign in front of a house in Attleboro and noticed some of Dan Fields' friends from Team LEGS had pulled off.   I stopped to say "Hi" and shake hands. Tim Colligan, a close friend of Dan's, took this picture of me on my bike in front of the sign.   It felt great to see those people remembering Dan in such a positive way. 

Me, next to a sign for Dan on Tiffany Street

I'd made it to the Dighton-Rehoboth School by about 10:40 AM.  Time for lunch.   

Just like last year, I remembered to ride past the "real" entrance and continue to the exit side of the school. That way, I was able to just lean my bike against a wall in the shade, then bypass the meandering crowd of bikes and pedestrians wandering the "Dighton Dustbowl".  I strolled in through the exit to grab some food & drink and rest for a minute.

The view from under the trailer at the D-R Lunch stop...

Unless you're lucky enough to find some space under the "big top" food tent, there is virtually no place at this stop where you can rest in the shade. This year, however, I discovered a quiet, shady patch of paradise sitting underneath a huge refrigerated trailer they used to store perishables.  It was just me and a few other cyclists, trying very hard not to draw attention to ourselves as we ate and relaxed in the cool soft grass beneath the trailer.



The ride after lunch was relatively unremarkable.   The sun got a little hot, since there were no clouds in the sky and no breeze -- but it could have (and has) been much, much worse.    The last stop that I take before MMA is the "Pedal Partners" stop at Apponequet High School in Lakeville. (I say "last stop I take" because there is actually one more, but since it's only about 9 miles before MMA, it's not worth stopping.)

Princess Aurora poses on the asphalt at Apponequet
High School in Lakeville, MA.

Princess Aurora and I dismounted the bike for a "selfie" at the Lakeville water stop a little after noon.  In the photo, you'll see that the background is pretty much just one huge parking lot.

It turns out that when you're working through the logistics of siting water stops for about 6,000 cyclists, your primary concern is open space and good access. Hence: a parking lot.  You need lots of space for all those cyclists and bikes, porta-potties, liquids, food, etc.

So a parking lot is perfect -- unless you're trying to find some respite from the sun or rain. In that case, the parking lot is not your friend.  At 12:15 PM, the heat coming off that asphalt was in the high 90s, and there are probably only three trees in front of the Apponequet School.  So, the Princess and I took care of business and got back on the road as soon as possible. At least while you're moving there's a little breeze.

We rolled into Mass Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay some time around 2:30, I think.  (I don't have good notes here and didn't bring my GPS to track, so I'm estimating  based on photo timestamps.)   I had my bike put away and met up with Sandy pretty quickly, then did my "usual" to get showered and in the massage line as soon as possible.   Team McPherson had an excellent showing for volunteers at MMA.   Sandy, Kevin, Ben and his girlfriend Sarah were there as volunteers. We also had extra representation from Ben's friends Brian (rider), Sam,  Kristiana and Katie.

McPherson Family is Bustin' It at MMA

Ben's friends volunteered at MMA.
L-R:Kristiana's knees, Sarah, Ben, Sam, Katie's knees.
Brian is MIA, getting me a beer.)

We made it a point to make sure everyone knew to "Bust It" for Nicole while we were relaxing at the end of the day.  I had a beer for Dan (and 800mg Ibuprofen) then made sure that Princess Aurora got out to say Hi to the folks at MMA.  She posed in front of the "I PMC For..." sign.   Look closely above her left hand.

Princess Aurora tells us who she PMC's for...

 Some PMC Riders relaxing at the end of the day
on the grounds at Mass Maritime Academy

After a fair amount of eating, drinking and lying around in the grass, it was time to say goodbye to Sandy and the kids. They still had to drive all the way back home, after a long morning helping out at MMA. (Remember: Sandy was up at 3:30 that AM with me and had already had to drive out to Sturbridge with me, for the start.)  I walked with them out to where they caught the shuttle bus, said our goodbyes until tomorrow.



I did a last-minute check on my bike at the bike paddock and started walking back to the ship.   I was in my bunk by 7:30,  I believe.  PMC 2015 Day One was done.

Sunday

Day 2: A Start In the Dark

Breakfast poker: I open with 2 coffees...

Per usual, I try to get up around 3:30.  Mostly to beat the crowd to the Dunkin Donuts coffee.  But mostly because I move very slowly and don't like to rush in the mornings...     Once I got dressed & packed, I headed off the ship down to the "big top" (food tent), where our awesome PMC volunteers were busily preparing all sorts of breakfast goodies.   Once I got fed 'n watered, it was time to throw my bag onto the truck  (I would see it again in P-Town) and head off to find my bike.

At 4:30 AM, it's still quite dark, and there are a minimal amount of outside lights on around MMA, since there are lots (LOTS) of people camping in tents.  It's also pretty dark around the big "bike paddock" where riders park overnight.  (It takes up most of the outfield of one of the practice ball fields at MMA.)  So, it's important that you take extra care to remember the road and unit you left your bike at.   With 4,000 or so bikes lying around, they all start to look alike -- even more so in the dark.   I'm fortunate that my bike is very different from almost any others out there, and nobody is likely to grab it by mistake.

So dark. "I know my bike is here somewhere..."

I found my bike in short order, strapped on my stuff, powered up my FOG light, then Princess Aurora and I were on our way out of Mass Maritime Academy and off to the Provincetown.    We arrived at the Bourne Bridge at 5AM sharp, almost immediately after they opened up the 'bike only' lane.   I made a point of stopping at the top to take a couple of pictures.

"Rider Ascending Bridge"

Several times I crossed the Bourne  Bridge on previous PMC rides, it was either foggy, completely dark, or draped with with tarps due to maintenance on the fencing etc.   None of those impairments were in play this year, so I stopped to snap some pictures of the riders and the view.

View to the East, from the top of the Bourne Bridge

It's a shame that the path over the bridge is on the West side, as it means that the only view to the rising sun is through the bars and fencing on the opposite side.   I suppose if I'd had the guts to run across the road and get my camera up between the bars on the fence, I'd have gotten an unobstructed shot of the canal in sunrise.   I will think about trying that next year.

Shiny Happy PMC Volunteer

Grand Imperial Poobah Busts It

On the left here is a picture of a happy PMC volunteer making sure that PMC riders are making it safely across the bridge.  I wonder it he would have stopped me from trying to cross the road on the bridge and take pictures....

And to the right, we see another of our wonderful PMC volunteers: the Grand Imperial Poobah of the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo... The Grand Poobah is encouraging us to "Bust It, Baby", as well as directing PMC riders safely onto the Cape Cod Canal Bike Path, beneath the Bourne Bridge.

Once over the bridge and onto the canal path, it's a bracing ride. It's incredibly flat, so it's a nice way to warm up for the next 80-some odd mile ride.

Sunrise on the Cape Cod Canal is such a magical time --  I wish I were a better photographer. None of the pictures I took did this view justice.

Sunrise on the Cape Cod Canal Bike Path.

Barnstable

The ride out to and over Service Road was pleasant as always, and I rolled into the first water stop  at Barnstable around  6:30 AM.  By that time the sun was fully up and Princess Aurora wanted to pose while I got some coffee.

Brewster

We passed "Da Hedge" (Cape Cod Sea Camps) in Brewster around 7:40 AM.   I stopped and "Busted It" with some of the kids from CCSC. Those kids are awesome.

CCSC kids yelling their brains out for PMC riders!

CCSC Kids Know How To Bust It, Baby.

Nickerson / Wellfleet

Almost immediately after CCSC, we pulled into the water stop at Nickerson State Park. 

Welcome to Nickerson State Park!

That couch is actually bags of ice,
covered in cloth.  

I refueled while Princess Aurora kibitzed with some riders in the Ice Couch. (She's in the photo to the right, but is easy to miss..)

As has been my habit for the last several years, I stopped on White Crest Beach in Wellfleet. The view there just stops me in my tracks every time I see it -- such a vista, with the sound of the surf - no photo or video I can shoot would capture it.  Despite that, Princess Aurora requested a picture at the scene, so I complied. (Who am I to question a Princess?)

Princess Aurora enjoys White Crest Beach.

Around 10 AM, between Wellfleet and Truro I ran into my favorites from so many previous PMCs: the "over the hill PMC Cheerleaders".  Their name is a joke at 2 levels: they're standing on the side of the road, just over a hill. But as a gentleman, I will not speculate as to whether or not they're over any metaphorical hill. I love these ladies and look forward to seeing them on the road every year -- just like the kids at CCSC. I was eager to hop off the bike and "bust it" with them before I moved on.

Provincetown!

Once I got to Truro, it was open road on Route 6 and a relatively flat ride until the hills around race point in Provincetown.  I rolled into the Family Finish at 11 AM.  Here's the view from a recumbent bike, rolling into the finish.

This video shows the view from a recumbent rolling into the Family Finish!

After I was scanned in at the finish, I slogged up the hill to find my bag so I could shower and put on some fresh clothes. Once I was clean and dry it was time for an early lunch and some relaxation.  So I headed over to the food tent for some well-deserved food and drink.  I was much-gratified that the Beer Garden at the Family Finish was expanded, and took full advantage.

Mangia bene!

Princess Aurora at the end
of the ride -- iconic Provincetown
Pilgrim Monument in the background.

I'm sure that over the next few years, more and more riders will be ending at the Family Finish instead of the Hotel, now that there's a decent beer garden available.  It is just so much more open and relaxing in the field just beneath the Monument.  Although the Provincetown Inn has a nice view of the sea, it's just a little too crowded and crazy for my tastes.

It was so relaxing and I had almost 2 hours until my 2:30 "Fast Ferry" from Provincetown to Boston, so I decided to lie down and doze in the only shade I could find: under an open table at the Beer Garden. Remember my earlier comment about PMC stops needing lots of space ?  Well, the baseball field off Winslow Street in Provincetown has plenty of space --  but a decided lack of shade.  (Shade trees are not typically found on baseball fields.)  The tent at the Beer Garden was fully occupied, but there were plenty of  unoccupied tables outside the tent -- yet still within the Beer Garden.  I took my drink and availed myself of the soft grass and shade beneath one of the tables.  Heaven. It was a good thing I didn't have a pillow or I would've missed my boat.

Anyway, rested and refueled after a half-hour or so doze, I finally made my way down the hill into town in plenty of time to get on my ferry and head back to Boston. The ferry ride back was crowded, but uneventful and on time. Once I got off the boat, Sandy was there to meet me.  We eventually got my bike from the boat then to the car.  We were home within an hour.

The Big Finish

Here endeth my 12th PMC ride.  Thanks to the generous support of my sponsors this year, I was able to raise a grand total of $8,852 -- more than 110% of my personal goal of $8,000! This was the most that I have been able to raise for the Jimmy Fund in a single year.

I have said it before  many times, but I will say this again: To my sponsors, I cannot thank you enough for being so generous this year.   Every penny of the money you donate is going directly to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research and treatment. Every penny that you donate is needed, appreciated and put to the best possible use at Dana-Farber.

The PMC staff has not yet announced if we've met our overall fundraising goal for 2015.  But as soon as I know I will let you know.

Fially -- I will be riding my lucky 13th PMC in 2016. So expect to hear from me again in 2016. (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 again, and bye for now.
/doug

Pack it up. Pack it in. Let me begin...

It's Friday of PMC weekend, 2015.  You would think that after doing this for 12 years now, that I'd be getting sort of... I dunno..  used to this whole thing.

Nope.

Did I forget anything???

It's pretty much the same ride every year, so I don't sweat the logistical details of getting on the road with my bike; that's actually pretty easy. But still there's this sense of unease and excitement that starts building the Monday before the PMC weekend.  It's a little hard to explain.. it's this weird edginess I feel when I find myself obsessively watching the weather reports... checking my bike frame for cracks... doing last-minute repairs... and wondering if my friends, co-workers and family are going to be willing to sponsor me for another year...   I'll be honest: it makes it pretty damn hard to focus at work. I finally started taking the Friday of PMC weekend as vacation day, dedicated to wrapping up all those last-minute things.

But then, things just start to happen:  the donations start coming in, bike is looking good, weather looks good...
I'm gonna make a last-minute ride to Belmont Wheelworks to pick up my rebuilt wheel and have lunch with Sandy and my good friend Scott "Renaissance Man" Chamberlain.  [ I do so want to be like Scott when I grow up.  ;-) ]

All systems are go.  Donations are starting to come in and it's going to be a kick-ass weekend.

So at the risk of jinxing the weekend, at this point I really only have about 2 things left to do:
1) show up and
2) ride.

And although I started this post off with a line from a rap song, I think maybe I should really finish this with a line from a lesser-known Cheap Trick song: "Everything works it you let it."

Meet Nicole.

Nicole, from August 2013

This is Nicole Rasile McPherson. Nicole was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma a little over 2 years ago.

Nicole is married to my cousin, Dusty McPherson.  Now, I have always asserted that the McPherson men have historically and consistently married well -- and I'm pleased that Dusty clearly inherited that ability. Nicole is a force of nature; smart and funny with an 100-watt smile -- and tough as a pine knot. Good work, Dusty!

Nicole and Dusty have two beautiful kids, Laker and Lizzy -- and they're clearly the center of their universe. They love those two kids beyond words. Over more than 2 years of chemo treatments (I lost count) and two bone marrow transplants, Nicole has doggedly kept me and her extended network of family and friends up to date with Laker's excellent baseball seasons, Lizzy's doll time with Daddy, and various school goings-on.

Dusty, Nicole, Laker and Lizzy -- May 2013

I have so loved reading Nicole's Facebook posts about her family over the last couple of years. She's a straight-shooter with a sense of humor that's as broad as her strength is deep. Case in point: here's what Nicole shared recently about cancer/chemo, love and her family:

"... we hate cancer, but we love more, harder, and stronger because of it.  ...And hell, if you can get free ice cream because your momma is bald..."  

Now, I'm sure Nicole is smart enough to find other ways for her kids to get ice cream.. but she's also smart enough (and kind enough) to find a sparkle of humor somewhere in this grind of chemotherapy and it's lovely side-effects and give us the chance to laugh with her, just a little bit.

So Nicole, thank you for having the strength and taking the time to share so honestly with all of us.

Please keep BUSTIN' IT.

I promise that I'll keep bustin' it for you and will be thinking about you and your family a lot this weekend, on the road!   See ya!

Hot Hot Hot... Hilly... Then Flat. (Tire that is.)

I haven't written up any rides here in quite some time,  (Yes, I do still ride my bike.)   Today's ride was reasonably 'blog-worthy', and I made it a point to stop and take some pictures, too.   So maybe that'll make it more interesting.

Starting with the end:  I managed to get an actual century ride (i.e. 100 miles or more) in today.  Yay me!  I did my usual "Peterborough Loop" which is actually a little under 100 miles, so I end up having to tack on some random miles as I get closer to home.   I like this loop because it's simple (turns are relatively few and obvious), the 2 big climbs on the ride are pretty long and good for building stamina -- and the scenery is really nice.

Route and Elevation for today's Ride

Anyway, I knew today was going to be a hot/muggy day, so I made it a point to be on the road by 6AM.   I was, but even at 5:55 AM, it was already warm and the humidity was so heavy my mirrors were instantly fogged up.   Once I got moving and acclimated the ride started off great.   

I also knew that the day was just going to keep getting hotter, so I opted to skip some of my usual stops on the first 50  miles, knowing that I'd probably be needing to make more stops on the 2nd half -- not as much shade for long stretches.   I was certainly right.

By the time I got to Peterborough (my mid-point), I decided to check out a side road and found the Peterboro Basket Company.  They had a sign on the road proclaiming the wonders of their "famous bicycle baskets" (of which I had never heard), so I decided to check them out.  The factory is a little old and nothing to write home about -- at least as far as I could tell standing outside.  Their 'factory store' area was closed (it's Sunday) so I took this picture.

Once I got home I googled them and was surprised to find that yes, they do make some pretty high-end woven baskets. They're a bit twee and pricey for my tastes, but apparently they're all the rage with hipsters and Martha Stewart devotees. Guess I learned something new today.

I also came across this funny sign in Peterborough --  and uploaded it to Facebook immediately:

Bass Player Crossing

After pausing in Peterborough to change fluids and brace myself, I started the 4-mile grinding climb up and out of town, headed east on 101.   4 miles doesn't sound like a lot, but it sure feels like it when you're already 50 miles into a ride, hot and you're watching that  9% grade stretch out, then disappear around a bend. This is when I just gear down, relax and work on being patient and NOT CRAMPING UP.  

The best part of the ride is probably the nice corresponding 8% downhill grade that I get once I get past the peak at Miller State Park on 101.    I usually stop at that peak just before it breaks and then perform a full check on the bike (loose spokes, wheel/brake pads OK, nothing falling off), but this time I stopped on the uphill just before that at the turn-off for the Temple Mountain Meditation Center (a Bhuddist Temple & Gardens). 

Pre-descent bike check at the Buddhist Temple

I stopped here because there was some actual shade there -- compared to the place I usually stop: just a parking area for hikers, in full sun. I wanted to make sure that I cooled down a little and took my time on the pre-descent bike check.   

And it was so worth it.  

The bike was solid and and fast all the way down into Wilton.  If you've never gone 54+ mph on a bicycle, I highly recommend it. "You will not regret it if you live." (appropriated from Mark Twain.)   It made all that climbing so worth it. Motorcycles don't count. This is as close as you'll get to flying, short of one of those "flying squirrel" suits that those nut cases use to jump off cliffs....  

Where was I ? Wilton: I had to stop in Wilton to replenish my gatorade and have an ice cream sammich, Then it was back into full sun on Route 101 / 101A for a few miles.  I was broiling and my head was starting to hurt.   I made a tactical mistake of just relying on my camelbak with Gatorade and not bringing a water bottle.  If I'd had a water bottle -- with actual water in it, not Gatorade -- I would've been soaking my head thru my helmet periodically.  Lesson learned there.

 Once I got back onto 122 headed south, I was able to find shade.  It's a lovely stretch of road, with Silver Lake park and beautiful farms, fields and orchards along the way back to Pepperel.   In Pepperel I added a little extra on the rail trail (looped North then back) to make sure the end route was 100 mi this time.   Even on the relatively flat and shady Nashua River Rail trail, I needed to stop a couple of times to cool down -- something I don't usually need to do.   I ended up in Ayer and stopped at Kevin's house to check on his progress.  Sandy was putting up primer on the upstairs walls and Kevin was laying in hardwood flooring in his living room.  I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture. I blame the heat.  ;-)

I left Kevin's house then headed the last 5 miles home.   When I got close to the house, I was at 99 miles -- just about on track to cross over the 100 mile mark when I hit my driveway.   At 99.1 miles, my rear tire blew out.  Less than a mile from my house and I have a blow out.  Unbe@#%^@#lieveable.   At that point, I just wanted it over -- but I didn't want a repeat of last weekend's ride that was just 3.5mi shy of a legit Century.  I didn't want to change the tube in the hot sun when I was so close to home, so I just walked my bike home.   When I got home,  I was still 0.5 miles shy of 100mi.    I was not about to be denied having a legit Century ride by just 0.5 miles. So, in the relative cool of my garage,  I pulled the rear wheel off my bike, swapped the entire wheel out with a ready spare wheel I have, got back on the bike then rode down the street and back until my trip computer read 100.39 miles.  Done!   If I hadn't had that spare wheel ready, I don't know if I would've had enough willpower left to fix that flat and finish out the 100 miles.   

Yay, me.

At that point, I decided that I should write this experience up and share it.  But only after a cold shower and a soak in a cold tub.  I mean, to get 99.1% of the way through a century ride and THEN get a flat?!? 

 Here endeth the story.   My takeaways for this ride ?   

• Stop to take more pictures
• Always always always carry a water bottle -- with water in it.
• Always keep that spare wheel inflated and ready to go.
• The ride isn't over until it's over.

Meet Maddy

This is Madison Burt.  Maddy just turned 5 years old last week.   Maddy will be a special "passenger" for me on this year's Pan Mass Challenge for the Jimmy Fund - "the PMC".

A while back, Maddy was diagnosed with brain cancer: a group 4 desmoplastic medulloblastoma, to be specific. Maddy's been undergoing treatment for her cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee for several weeks now.  She's just now finishing up her 4th round of chemo at St. Judes's and will be headed down to FL to regroup and start radiation treatments.

My sister and nephew live just down the street from Maddy's grandparents and put me in touch with Maddy's mom, Jessica, a little while back. Jessica has been by her little girl's side through every second of this -- and with a lot of support from her friends and family.  Jessica and I exchanged a few messages, but mostly I just follow Maddy's experiences through her mom's Facebook posts.  I confess I do feel like a bit of a Nosey Nellie following Jessica's posts -- a well-intentioned "facebook stalker", I guess.

See, Maddy and I have never met; I've just been watching her story unfold from afar. It's made me laugh, and it's made me well up with tears something fierce from time to time. (Her recent run-in with C-Diff --a GI tract bacterial infection --  during her last round of chemo was just terrifying for me. I cannot imagine how inside-out her family was during that time.)  I respect Jessica so much for having the courage to share so much with me. Sometimes it was hard to read and see some of those pictures of a frail little Maddy. But hard as that can be, sometimes seeing that sort of thing does something to you: it galvanizes you -- makes you act.  Hopefully.

As I write this, I'm recalling that I posted something about "not looking away" here, about a year ago.  <pauses editing to find article.>  Here it is:  http://my-pmc.blogspot.com/2014/06/bill-and-melinda-gates-2014.html

Here's the 'centerpiece' quote from Melinda Gates from last June, in case you don't want to read the post or watch the video:

"In the course of your lives, you'll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don't turn away from it. Turn toward it. That is the moment that change is born."
...
"No matter how much suffering we see -- no matter how bad it is -- we can help people if we don't lose hope, and if we don't look away."

So I have not lost hope. In fact I'm more hopeful now than ever before. But while I am hopeful, I'm also thankful. I'm thankful that I can actually do more than just hope. I've been doing this "PMC thing" for the last 12 years and make no mistake: we are making a difference. The research that's been going on at Dana-Farber has been paid for in large part by the fund-raising that PMC riders have been doing. The immunotherapy research being done at Dana-Farber and elsewhere is now yielding some really promising results. Thanks to the doctors and scientists at Dana-Farber, people (including little boys and girls like Maddy) will soon be able to receive drug therapies targeted to kill cancer, without poisoning the rest of their bodies. I wish that these therapies were available NOW, especially for little Maddy, but they are coming and I have great hope.

I hope I actually get to meet Maddy and her mom in person someday soon.  If I do, I hope it doesn't weird them out.  [I hope I can keep my shit together long enough to not ugly-cry.]  It would mean a lot to tell Maddy, in person, just how privileged I am to meet her and how much I admire her bravery and her mom's generosity of spirit. That will be a Good Day.

If you're still reading this, I only ask that you also would do more than just hope: you can join with us and fight cancer with your generous donation to this year's Pan Mass Challenge. This will be my 12th year to ride and raise money for this cause and I sincerely hope that you will sponsor me with your online donation here: http://www.pmc.org/dm0192   100% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly to Dana-Farber to support their work in cancer research and treatment.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you can help.
/doug

Semi-Century Ride This Weekend: A Story About Nothing

This is a non-intro.

If you've read much of what I've written here over the last 6 years (Thanks. Apologies.), you may have noticed I tend to use a little "editorial trick" of leading with some memorable quote, then bend my subsequent blather around it.  It's just a tool. A hook. A cheap trick to make it appear that I have some clear narrative arc. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, meh.  Today I'm gonna mix it up and not do that.  I'm going to keep it simple: just share my weekend ride with you, along with some of the thoughts that bounce around in my head while I'm out by myself.

This is what happened this Saturday.

Given our extended snow season and resulting late start to the cycling season, I'm a little overdue to start logging some miles in preparation for the Pan Mass Challenge ride this August. (You don't just show up and ride a bike for 192 miles without some training. At least not this kid.) I've been biking to/from work every day, and done a few 38 mile 'out-n-backs' to the Nashua Rail Trail already... but Saturday was stacking up to be a stand-out day so I decided it was high time to "kick it up a notch" and hit the hills of Harvard for my old standby Littleton/Northboro loop (about 53 miles).

This is the route.

This is GPS track log from my ride.  (Click on it for a larger version.)

  I didn't include my max/average speed on the picture, because it's pretty dismal. But in my defense, I wasn't going for speed: just wanted rack up some miles and get some hill work in... sorta like taking a course "Pass/Fail" course. No cramps or crack-ups so I passed. Yay me.

I got a late start -- not on the road until about 9:30 AM, when most cyclists are wrapping it up. I'm just not a morning person (and definitely not like "most cyclists" anyway.)
The first thing I noticed when I crossed the line into Harvard was how the otherwise blue sky looked smoggy. The pollen blowing off the trees was so thick it looked like smoke from a nearby forest fire. Smoke would've probably been easier on my throat and eyes. I inhaled so much pollen and dandelion "floaties" that I was hacking up yellow all day. (Over-share. Sorry.)   Anyway, the pollen abated somewhat by the time I got down to Northboro, about 25 miles into the ride. I stopped a couple of times to chat in Northboro: once with my brother-in-law (rode by him helping his friend sow in some grass sees), and once at my in-laws to chat and rotate fluids.

Planus tire redux: When I left my in-laws I headed over to Marlboro then north up route 85  toward the Assabet River Rail Trail.  On route 85 in Marlboro I noticed my rear wheel felt "rumbly".   Flat.  Sonofagun.  Flat tires are a fact of life in cycling, so I was prepared.  Normally, a flat is no big deal, and hardly worth writing about unless it's a "ride buster".  However, I am compelled to mention this one, because -- and I am NOT making this up -- this flat happened within 50 feet of where I had a ride-ending flat before on May 20, 2012. So after I stopped laughing about that coincidence, I walked the bike off the main drag to a shady side street, changed the tube and was back on the ride in about 10 minutes. But this time I made double certain to sweep the inside of my tire carefully to check for any remaining sharp items.  (That 2012 "double-flat" was a mistake I definitely  learned from.)  I'm thinking I may tweak that route to avoid that stretch of road next time.

Hudson: the pause the refreshes. Once that flat was fixed, I was on to the rail trail and in Hudson within a few minutes.  I had originally planned to stop at the Rail Trail Flatbread Company to sample their wares for lunch, but I forgot my bike lock and didn't feel comfortable leaving it right out there on Main Street, unprotected. So, instead I went with my old standby around the corner at the Horseshoe Pub. (When I stop at the Horseshoe, I just throw my bike over the rail inside their patio area out of site so I don't need to lock it up.)

After a "Smittix" and a burger I was back on the road to home. By that time, he sun was out in force and I was very happy that I had doubled-down on the SP70 sunscreen (yes, 70) before I left home.
The ride back to Littleton from Hudson was textbook: No issues at all. I could just about ride that route blind-folded, by now. Sandy and the cats were there to greet me when I arrived. After a stretch, shower and some ibuprofen I was good to go. For a nap. ;-)

This is what goes through my head while I'm riding.

Early on in the ride in those hills around Harvard, I was a little discouraged seeing how slowly I was climbing.  Between wheezing, sneezing and coughing out pollen, I was cursing myself for getting fatter and already feeling the pain in my knees. I was a mess. About that time I took a drink from my water bottle, and the "PMC/Jimmy Fund" logo on it caught my eye. That snapped me out of it: Here I was, out biking on a beautiful day, but managing to get all knotted up about a little joint pain or being a little slower, older and fatter. This, when so many of my friends, family and co-workers have willingly endured the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation -- hoping the toxins and radiation will kill the cancer before it kills them. At that point I remembered why I was here in the first place, and lucky to be here, at that. A little "perspective reset" like that will put self-pity in it's place pretty quick.

So what if I'm a little slower and my knees hurt a little?  I'm out on a bike, man! Doing the next best thing to flying. I'm looking forward to more and longer training rides over the next couple of months, to get ready for the Big Ride in August.

This is the quote that I didn't open with.

"The world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming it."
-- Helen Keller

This is the end.

So if I get a nasty adductor cramp while I'm out on a ride, I'll get over it. It's hard to call that "suffering" when there are so many people legitimately suffering from cancer in one form or another  -- never mind the suffering involved in the treatments. By riding the PMC, I like to believe that I'm a meaningful part of the "overcoming" bit: that the money we raise for goes directly to Dana-Farber so they can continue research for better and more humane treatments -- to help overcome. So I like keeping my PMC water bottle and bike jerseys around: it is a constant reminder to me to shut up, get on with it and overcome. So I'm shutting up. At least for now.