So long, Dan.

Dan Field passed away last Saturday afternoon, July 17.

For the last 2 years, Dan had been fighting a recurrence of the brain cancer that he, his family and the folks at Dana-Farber had beaten back into remission almost 12 years ago.   This time around, it was just not to be.

Dan (among so many other things) was a rider for the PMC, but became unable to ride when his cancer returned in 2012.  That year Sandy, who worked with Dan, suggested that I should carry his "passengers" (the names of the people he rides for) along with me in his stead.  I've carried it ever since -- and will continue to do so.

So that was how I came to meet Dan.   And now I so wish that I had known Dan better.

Sandy and I attended Dan's memorial service in Southborough yesterday.  While I had quickly grown to admire Dan, his wife Donna and their handsome boys, I don't think I was fully prepared to experience just how broad an impact Dan had on the people around him -- for the entirety of his brief time here...

• Dan's older son, a freshly-minted high school graduate, astounded me with his grace, composure and articulate sense of humor as he recalled for everyone how Dan would read Dr. Seuss stories to him and his brother every night.  Dan clearly loved the silliness and wordplay, but the messages of love, steadfastness and sense-of-self clearly took root in his sons through those silly bed-story times.  
• A friend, co-worker and fellow PMC rider delivered what must have been the most difficult, but beautiful remembrances of Dan's humor, intellect and strength of will.  I can't imagine how tough it was to write that, let alone deliver it. I laughed and cried. We should all be so lucky to have a friend like that.
• There were also a few other remembrances of Dan over the years from his neighbors, college buddies and scouting friends that revealed even more of the depth and breadth of Dan's humor, strength and love for his family. 

So really, what does one take away from all this?   I mean, how do I properly honor and remember someone like Dan? That question has been rolling around in my mind since we left that ceremony yesterday. It just rings false to me that mourning a "Dan-shaped hole in the world" is something that Dan would really get behind.  So after a lot of thought (and re-writes of this post), I've come to this conclusion:  Just as Dan was a part of all those people's lives, Dan is still part of their lives -- and part of my life, too -- and I should build on that.  So maybe the best way for me to honor Dan's life is by simply recognizing the things that made him special, and then growing those things within my own life -- and with others: Tenacity.  Love for Family.  Respect for others. Laughter.  Strength.

So Dan, thanks for all you've ever done or said.  I wish I'd known you better, but I'm grateful you came into our lives. I'll try to remember to "..make every day my Masterpiece".   And I'll think of you and smile every time I watch "Young Frankenstein" or "Seinfeld". And I'll try to be "DanStrong".
Yes, I think that might help.

Don't Look Away

I just watched Bill and Melinda Gates' combined commencement address to the Stanford University Class of 2014 on YouTube.  URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=p1ek9s7IUdc#t=4020 . It's about 23 minutes out of the entire video. (If you click on the links above, it'll skip right to where their speeches begin.)

The things that reached out and grabbed me from this speech were quotes from  Melinda Gates.  (No disrespect to Bill -- he had quite a lot of good things to say also.)    But I just couldn't help but see everything that Melinda said through the prism of cancer: what a horror it is and how important it is that we NOT look away from the suffering it brings:

"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."

It's our responsibility as adult humans to not look away; to not turn away, and most importantly to not just wish someone's suffering away.  It's our responsibility to take action; to try our best to be optimistic --  and be optimistic because we can take action.

You and I know people who are suffering; I know that I certainly don't have to look too hard.  And maybe I can't fix their suffering -- but then perhaps that's not the entire point.  To be seen and heard by someone; to have someone at least recognize your pain instead of pretending it's not there; to have someone do a small kindness for you -- none these things are a cure, but they are powerful medicine -- that any of us can administer.

OK. So I can't cure cancer myself.  But I will be optimistic because I know that there are so many things I can still do that will help someone who may be suffering.
I can raise money to help them.
I could share a joke with them
I could buy them a fancy coffee drink from Dunkin Donuts.
I could mow their yard.
Something. Anything.  Any of these trivial things serves a purpose: to remind each of us that we are all human and deserve to be seen, heard and treated with dignity and kindness.

Just please, don't look away.

/doug

Father's Day Ride: First Century of the Season!

"Here endeth the ride."

Just back from a beautiful long bike ride out to Peterborough NH and back!   I decided to extend the last  route I biked out that way to  make it a "century" (100mi) ride.  

My route came up a couple miles short, so when I got back to Littleton I ended up taking a more roundabout way back to the house -- and still ended up having to do a couple of "victory laps" around the block to push my trip computer over 100mi.

Below is a snapshot of today's route, as recorded by an app on my phone (Strava).   I think it's "off" a little bit -- my average speed couldn't be THAT slow.  ;-)

Click here to see more route data on Strava

It felt like I didn't do anything but climb for the first 3 hours of the ride, but it's such a lovely route out to Mount Monadnock that it's hard to complain.   Clearly I had picked the wrong day for a ride with most of the climb headed North and West: the prevailing wind today was out of the North and West....   Once I heard that on the weather report, I figured that at least it'd be at my back once all the climbing was done (after about the first 55 miles).   Funny thing though: even though I was headed pretty much East and South for the last half of the ride, every single flag I noticed on the way home was blowing toward me.  Lesson here: never plan for a tail wind.

Only had one minor mechanical issue this ride: a spoke worked loose on my front wheel at around mile 64 in Milford, NH.  I was a little irate, since that exact thing has happened to me at least 4 times previously. (Always on a long ride, too.)   I was able to remove the spoke cleanly, but the nut that holds it to the wheel rattled around inside my front wheel for the remaining 34 miles.  That, and the fact that missing a spoke caused my front wheel come out of true and get a little wobbly added to my resolve that I will be getting a new front wheel ASAP, even after I fix this one. Again.

I did  make it a point stop to take some pictures this time out.   Below are a couple of quick snapshots of 2 of our Benevolent Robot Overlords hanging out in Townsend MA, off route 119.     One of them was mowing the grass, the other was holding the mailbox (out of frame in that picture. Sorry)

Robot Overlord #1 Mows Yard

Robot Overlord #2 Holds Mailbox

I'm feeling pretty good about conditioning for this year's PMC. I say this not because I'm any faster, or have managed to drop that 20lbs -- but because I'm finally not cramping up on my long rides this season.  Until now it's only ever been a question of when I would cramp up during  -- or immediately following --  any ride over 40 miles.    But since I adjusted my workouts a couple months ago, I think I've finally got the problem muscles conditioned.  Knock wood.  Not a sign of any twitches as I type this.

Anyway, like I said, it was a glorious day to be out on a bike today and I count myself extremely lucky to be able to do this.   I'm looking forward to more rides like this one, and especially the PMC ride on Aug 2nd and 3rd.

Please help us fight cancer and sponsor a rider (like me) on this year's PMC.   100% of your donation goes directly to Dana-Farber for cancer research and treatment.   (That's not a typo. One hundred percent of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to fight cancer.)

More to come.  Thanks for stopping by.
/doug

PMC Training Update - Only 52 More Days Left

PMC 2014 is only 52 days away.

I feel like I need to check in and report some training progress here -- especially since there's really only 7 more weekends available for "big rides" between now and the PMC.   In addition to riding my bike to/from work (when it's not raining) and hitting the gym at lunch, I've finally managed to get in a couple of respectable rides this month (mileage-wise anyway -- let's just agree to not discuss speed, OK?)

Mid-May I managed to get in a "split" 53-miler, with an AM jaunt to NH on the rail trail, and a PM ride from Northboro to Littleton.

On June 1, I got in a really nice 58-mile ride out to Wachusett Reservoir, down to Northboro and back.

June 1, 2014 Ride (click here for Strava page)

Then last weekend I was able to pick up a completely-unplanned 73-mile ride up through Ashby State Park, into NH and then back East and down to home.

June 7, 2014 Ride (click here for the Strava page)

I feel like I'll be ready physically for the PMC, if I can keep up the pace.  But then again, I think the ride is really not the most difficult part of all this.

It's not about the ride; it's about raising money for cancer research and treatment. My goal this year is to personally raise $8,000.   So please remember to donate to the PMC, soon.  You can sponsor me on this year's ride with your tax-deductible donation by clicking here.  

Thanks
/doug

Push That Button

"Everyone has a success mechanism and a failure mechanism. The failure mechanism goes off by itself.  The success mechanism only goes off with a goal. Every time we write down and talk about a goal, we push the button to start the success mechanism." 

-- Charles 'Tremendous' Jones

The 2014 Pan Mass Challenge  fundraising goal has been set at $40 million. I'm signed up and committed for my 11th year to ride and help meet that goal.  My personal goal this year is to raise $8,000.

It's been a miserable, protracted winter here in New England and I'm more than ready for a little more "bike-friendly" weather. But right now seems like a good time to post this note -- and to provide all my friends and family "fair warning" that I'll be training and hitting you up for donations to fund our fight against cancer.

These are the goals:  Ride a bike. Fund cancer research/treatment. Kill cancer.

So let's push that start button and fire up that success mechanism!

You can donate online by following this link: http://www.pmc.org/profile/DM0192  
100 percent of your donation will go directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute -- the same for every other rider. So short of you personally handing cash to a doctor, nurse or researcher in person, there is no more efficient use of your donation.

Thanks for reading.
/doug

It's official: the PMC raised $39M for the Jimmy Fund this year!

Today, the PMC presented the Jimmy Fund with a check for $39M dollars, for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber.  Every dollar you donated to a rider went straight into that check.  This amount exceeded our 2013 goal by $1 million, and brings the 34-year total of PMC contribution to a $414 million.  

These are big numbers -- but the problem is a big one, too.   I'm happy to have been a part of the PMC for the last 10 years, and I continue to be humbled by the generosity and support of all my sponsors.  So thank you all.   I'll be taking a break for a couple of months, but will be participating in PMC 2014 next year.

Until then, thanks so very much and I'll be in touch!

/doug

The Late, Great (well... late, for sure) PMC 2013 Ride Recap Post

Some things just never seem to change -- like the lateness of my PMC ride write-ups.  Since I started keeping track of these things in this blog, it's become pretty clear that my write-ups aren't exactly "breaking news" by the time I get around to publishing...   And over the last 10 years, the bike route from Sturbridge to Provincetown has remained pretty much the same, save for a few minor tweaks.  And perhaps most important of all, the reason behind all this is still the same: cure cancer and find better treatments along the way. 

I do these write-ups because I still remember how much Sandy and I looked forward to reading our friend Kathy Fahy's write-ups from her PMC rides, so many years ago.

Kathy, taking me on my first
PMC ride in 2004.

I don't think Kathy took anywhere near as long as I do to get them written.  (I'm pretty sure it was still warm weather and green leaves were on the trees when Sandy and I read them.)   And she even had to go to all the extra fuss of typing, copying and mailing all those letters.  Seriously: it makes me tired just thinking about all that.  

Anyway, if you're reading this, I hope that you find it at least a little interesting.  And I hope that you'll support the PMC next year.

And for those of you obsessed with excruciating details, you can find online interactive views of my GPS track logs from this year's ride here:

Day 1 GPS log
Day 2 GPS log

So, as my high school band director used to say, "Rosin up the bow, and away we go."

Friday Afternoon, Day Zero

Bike parking at the Sturbridge Host Hotel on Friday.

This year I was fully prepared to do my 3-day version of the ride, riding my bike down to the the Sturbridge Start the night before.  However, rain forecast for Friday made me reconsider and I wimped out.   I was able to catch a ride to Sturbridge Friday afternoon with Barbara and Brian Floss.  This year was Brian's first year to do the PMC and it was a lot of fun for me helping him get registered and showing him around the zoo that is Friday at the Sturbridge Host on PMC weekend.

Everything you need for fun weekend. Just add bike.

Later that evening, Brian met up with his dad, Pete, who was riding in from the NY border with his bike club.  Brian was stoked to be riding and Pete was extremely proud to have his son ride along this year.

My bike, tucked in for the night, leaned against the front of the hotel.

I was able to was able to score Friday night accommodations in Sturbridge thanks to the largess of Dan Field and his sister.  They offered up their family house -- less than 5 miles from the Sturbridge start -- for Friday night sleepover for Tim Colligan (one of Dan's friends from Team LEGS), and me.  Not only that, Donna (Dan's energizer bunny wife) provided personal door-to-door limo service, picking us up at the Host Hotel Friday evening and providing Saturday AM transport to the start!  How cool is that? 

Saturday, Day 1

I managed to get a good night's sleep Friday night at the Field House.  Around 4:30 AM Donna, ever the planner, thought to call up the Dunkin' Donuts in Sturbridge to place a coffee order for pickup. That way we could just swoop in, pick up our coffee and get out.

Even Hobos run on Dunkin'

Amazingly, the Dunkin' wasn't even OPEN yet and the manager answering the phone seemed surprised that anyone would want coffee so early in the morning. Now I find this is amazing at two levels.
One: early morning is precisely the time when one would expect coffee demand would be at peak.
Two: Sturbridge has been the starting point for PMC for at least the last 25 years or so.  If there were a single day of the year that Sturbridge merchants should be prepared for extra-brisk early AM sales of coffee, donuts and Gatorade -- then it would be the 1st Saturday in August.
After Donna wished the Dunkin' Donuts manager good luck with her career, we headed out and managed to find a convenience store along the way with coffee, crullers and Gatorade. So it goes.

Once we got onsite at the Host Hotel, I dropped my bag on the Ryder truck labelled "Ship".  I would meet up with it later today at Mass Maritime on the ship TSS Kennedy where I'd be bunking that night.   Then I strolled over to say "good morning" to my bike, resting right where I'd left it last night leaning against the hotel.  It was glad to see me and ready to go.  All that was left was to stake out a place in the "mid-pack/steady riders" section and chill out until the National Anthem.

Hit the road, Jack.

I was on the road and eastbound on route 20 by 5:38 AM, pedaling into an overcast sky. As pleasant as it is to have a sunny day,  a nice thin overcast is actually preferable if you're going to be out on a bike for the better part of the day.   I hoped it would just stay cloudy and not rain, but the weather will do what it will do.   

The first 30 or so miles of the ride always seems to have "clots" of riders, that can take up pretty much the entire width of a lane up to the yellow stripe at times.  It's virtually impossible to prevent that from happening, with so many riders at once.   So, you have to really be on your toes, watching your rear view and giving audible signals when you're slowing down/stopping or trying to overtake someone on the left or right.  A lot of people neglect to do this (unaccustomed to riding with groups) and that's mostly when you have incidents.   Fortunately there were very few road incidents requiring medical attention this year: out of 5,534 registered riders, there were only 12 incidents over the course of the weekend that required a trip to the hospital.

It's deja vu all over again.

As I said earlier, the PMC route has been pretty consistent over the last 10 years I've been riding it.   So, although I'd probably be hard-pressed to recite every single turn on-demand, while riding I'd remember, "Oh... there's a quick rise around this turn," and adjust my pace in advance.  More than a few times, I found myself starting up a hill only to have, "Oh. This is where I cramped up last year!" flash through my mind.  Honestly,  since I've been doing this 10 years now and I think I get at least one cramp each ride,  I couldn't tell you exactly which year I cramped where -- but every single one of those locations on the route is still lurking in my long-term memory.

The Whitinsville water stop comes at about the 25 mile mark.  By the time we got there, I was ready for a quick "fluid change" and to get back on the road as quickly as possible.

Hobo McSmileypants cruises into the Whitinsville water stop.

 Franklin, the 2nd water stop is for some reason,  a really busy, crowded and festive water stop.  (It probably has to do with ease of  car access to that stop and the sheer size of the site -- it's on a soccer field next to a school.)

Lunch at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High is always a zoo.  It's way more crowded than the previous two because it's the first water stop shared by the riders from both the Sturbridge and Wellesley starts. It's also incredibly dusty and hot since it's out in a wide open (mostly dirt) area behind the school with 5,000+ cyclists traipsing around, kicking up great clouds of dust.  (Dan's friend Tim called it the "Dighton Dustbowl."  I concur.)    A lot of cycling teams use the Dighton stop to re-group and kibitz while waiting for everyone to arrive. Personally, I like to just get my meal on and get out.  I was feeling pretty good, so after a choking back a turkey sandwich and a banana, I jammed some Larabars in my pocket, refilled my camelbak and hit the road.

The Lakeville Meet-Up

Dan, Yeller Feller and my bike, with
Dan's PMC list, at Lakeville

The ride after the lunch stop is pretty relaxing.  By that time, the hills on the ride tend to be less drastic, and everyone has settled into their rhythms. The next big stop would be at the Apponequet Regional School in Lakeville, where I'd told Dan and Donna I'd stop by and say "Hi".  The Lakeville stop is also where all the cycling teams meet up (including Dan's team "Team LEGS") with their "pedal partners" -- pediatric oncology patients at the Jimmy Fund Clinic that they ride in support of.
I arrived a few minutes after noon and managed to find Dan, Tim and Donna without any problem.  We managed to get Dan to squeeze out a smile and took of picture of him and this year's bird, whom I dubbed "Yeller Feller."
We chatted a little bit and then I figured it was time to get underway so I topped off my fluids and hit the road again.  Next and final stop for the day: Mass Maritime Academy!

Ahoy, Mass Maritime!
At 1:58 PM I rolled into Mass Maritime Academy, in Buzzards' Bay.  No sooner did I get scanned in, than I saw my family waving me down: Sandy, Kevin, Ben and Sarah (Ben's girlfriend) all volunteered to work at MMA again.

Kevin, Ben, Sarah and Sandy, greeting and
hydrating riders at MMA!

Sandy, Ben and Kevin greet a hobo at MMA!

This year they were greeting arriving riders with nice cold bottles of water, directions and "atta boys". We all hugged, forgetting for a minute just how sweaty I was, and posed for a few pictures together.   We arranged to meet up again to chill out together after I got showered and signed up for a massage.

Brian and Pete Floss at MMA and happy
to be off the saddle for a while!

Sandy managed to greet Pete and Brian Floss when they got to MMA.  (They got there about 20 minutes ahead of me.)  I know Brian was relieved and psyched for his very first PMC ride. There were high-fives all around.  Then they all headed for the Harpoon Tent for some beers!

 

Bike parking at Mass Maritime Academy

The digs on the ship were just fine: the shower area wasn't flooded and there was plenty of hot water.  If the shipboard wi-fi had worked I would've rated it even better than some hotels I've stayed at on business trips.

Sage advice, posted in the TSS Kennedy head.

Once cleaned up, I ventured back out to "the midway" at MMA for some beers, food, music and laughs with family and friends. After an hour or so it was time for Sandy, Sarah and the boys to go, so I said goodbye. I think I was in my bunk by 7:30.

The view from the deck of the TSS Kennedy, looking back at Mass Maritime.
(Would you believe I'm on my way to bed right now ?)

Sunday, Day 2

The ride is the ride is the ride.
This year's day 2 started off without incident -- weather was just a little overcast (but you can't tell that until the sun comes up!), and the process of getting going was pretty much the same as the previous nine:  Up at 3:30.  Had a couple of cups of coffee and a leisurely breakfast. Threw my bag on the P-Town truck and headed off in the dark to go fetch my bike.  On the road with the FOG at 4:50 AM and crossing the Bourne Bridge at 5:03.

Sunrise on the canal.

I did make one change this year:  I promised myself that I would take my time this Sunday, stop several times and try to just "take in" the ride.   I could actually do that this year, since I scheduled the 2:30 PM ferry back to Boston, leaving me plenty of time to absorb the day.   What a difference.    The sun was coming up while I was on the bike path along the canal, so I pulled over to take a some pictures while the fishermen were casting into the canal and the other riders were whizzing past.  This was the way I wanted the day to go.

Yeller and the lobster gals. Just 

outside Barnstable.

From there, the day just got better.  Although it started off a little overcast (not unusual on the Cape) the clouds thinned out as the day went on and the weather cooperated perfectly: sunny but not hot.

Barnstable volunteer.

Chicks dig Yeller Feller.

I stopped and got some video and pictures of happy volunteers and well-wishers (lobster and accordion duo).

I also made it a point to stop at "da hedge" in Brewster to take some pictures, video and high-five some of the kids from the Cape Cod Sea Camps just before the water stop.

"Da Hedge": the CCSC kids yell their hearts out for the riders.

Those kids cheer their brains out for PMC riders every year.   It's truly something to see, and I wanted to make sure I took it all in this time around.   I was looking forward to meeting up with the "over the hill PMC cheerleaders" in Wellfleet, but they took the year off this year.  I was kinda disappointed, since they've been cheering me (among others) on for the last 10 years.

Yeller Feller poses with a volunteer

at the Wellfleet water stop.

At around mile 54, I pulled off at White Crest Beach near Wellfleet. It's a great place to stop after a long uphill slog -- but that's not the reason I stopped.  You'd be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful view of the ocean off the outer Cape.   It was sunny and breezy morning, with the quiet only punctuated by a a couple of seagulls -- a perfect place and time to simply be still for a few minutes.  I soaked up the moment then got back on my bike, renewed and ready to knock out the remaining 30 or so miles.

Hobo McSmileypants, on the ascent at the dunes outside P-Town.

Provincetown, at last.
When I arrived at P-Town Family Finish (near the P-Town Monument) it was 10:40 AM.  I had plenty of time to find my luggage, clean up and relax.

Provincetown Monument.  And Bird.

Since I didn't have to be on the boat until 2:30, I decided to pack up my stuff and walk from the Family Finish down to the Provincetown Inn.  It was just a mile or two away, and I could get a nice cold beer (or two) there -- something that I could not get at the Family Finish, as it's on public property.  The PTown Inn was a study in organized chaos, with bikes and gear everywhere.

P-Town Inn: I wish I could say I was the only one taking 

pictures of this.

The music was loud and the dining tent was packed, but I was able to find an open chair so I could sit down, relax and enjoy my beverage.   I eventually grabbed my bike and headed down the main drag to board the fast ferry, which left right spot on time.  When I arrived at Boston, Sandy was there just as always: waving and smiling, ready to take me home.

I guess that's a wrap.
I know full well there's a lot of stuff I left out.  Some things I had to leave out because I couldn't remember if they were details or thoughts from this ride, or a previous ride.  Sad, right?  But like I said at the git-go here: over the last 10 years, the ride hasn't really changed, and the reason for it (sadly) has not changed either.

But how about this as a thought experiment:  Let's imagine there is day in the not so distant future when we could get 5000+ people out for a bike ride to celebrate the day we cured cancer?  Wouldn't that be something ?   Now that would be a change I could get behind!   We're not there yet -- but I'm not giving up.    I intend to keep riding and raising money for this as long as I am physically and mentally able.  And if you're reading this, I hope you stand with us in this fight, and I look forward to writing you about the 2014 PMC in a few months!