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