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