Gratitude. I write this from the comfort of my air-conditioned home, a few days after completing my 12th Pan Mass Challenge. I find myself grateful for having been able to complete three days of riding after being uncertain at two different times this year that I'd be able to ride at all. I'm grateful for the generosity of friends and family who helped me raise over $31,000 for cancer research directed towards finding a cure for a rare set of cancers (sarcomas) that mostly impact children and young adults, and grateful for helping the PMC raise over a billion dollars to fight cancer since its inception 34 years ago. And I'm grateful for my family for their love and support and for putting up with my complaining that I never have enough time to train, and for my riding buddies who lift me up and encourage me across the finish line if I wilt in the heat. And I am forever thankful to my daughter Sabina for teaching me so much about living and life and for continuing to be an inspiration to me.
Day Zero |
| Day Zero Route- Cambridge to Sturbridge (75 miles) |
This year we went back to the future and added an extra day (Day Zero) to the classic two day, 182 mile Pan Mass Challenge from Sturbridge to Provincetown. We decided to leave from our driveways (my driveway to be exact in Cambridge) and bike to the start in Sturbridge, using a 75 mile route that I worked out with the help of my riding buddies Steve and Jay (click
HERE if you are a Strava nerd and want to see the route details). I started the morning by popping my pre-ride drug cocktail- my last dose of Paxlovid and my morning dose of Gabapentin. The Paxlovid was for the COVID I contracted 6 days before the ride- luckily it was a mild case of COVID and fortunately I tested negative the night before the ride. Remarkable timing. The Gabapentin helps dull the ache in my right lower leg from a herniated L4 disc that I suffered over the winter- it has been a long recovery. I remember asking my physical therapist back in the early spring if he thought I could ride 260 miles in August, and he said no problem, but I needed to adhere to his plan and build back up again slowly. Both of these events threatened to derail this PMC ride but I was determined to not let them, and lucky enough my body literally went along for the ride.
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| Driveway start |
From Cambridge we headed south through the lovely cycling country in Dover/Sherborn and picked up the beautiful Upper Charles River Trail in Holliston, complete with rest areas!! We met up with our cycling buddy Jay along the trail in Milford.
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| Upper Charles River Trail |
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Rest Area on the
Upper Charles River Trail! |
Riding the backroads through Upper Milford, Upton and Northbridge was beautiful, and we had a lot of shade and nice temps. At mile 48 we connected with the PMC Sturbridge-Bourne route in Uxbridge and rode it in reverse towards Sturbridge. By lunch, it was getting hot, and our shade was disappearing.
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| Lunch in Uxbridge- Ice coffee and ice tea... |
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| With extra caffeine please! |
The next 25 miles got progressively harder for me as the temps got up to the low 90's, and there was a ton of climbing (over 2000 feet) packed into this last stretch. I began to wrestle with the beginnings of heat exhaustion, whose symptoms I know well enough to recognize. I was able to get off the bike in time to avert any serious effects, on several occasions. I rested, drank water, and when we got to a country store bought cold water and dumped it over my head. My biking buddies were patient, even when I made them stop in the middle of a climb.
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Country store in Sutton where I dumped
ample cold water over my head! |
We got through the climbing and finished with the hairiest part of the route- 5 miles heading along a busy Route 20 into Sturbridge. This last section might preclude us from doing this route again. That and the less than exciting PMC route in reverse- it's much more fun riding it with 5,000 riders going away from Sturbridge!
All I could think of when we arrived in Sturbridge was to jump in the lake and have a cold beer. We met up with the rest of our riding crew- Paul from upstate NY, Veronica from Palo Alto (yes, that Palo Alto), and Steve, my next door neighbor.
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| Lovely cool lake in Sturbridge |
Steve had his own bout with COVID, even more recent than mine (in fact, it was a gift from me via my granddaughter Ana), but Steve was fine by Saturday and was happy to be riding. He and I hung out together a lot since I was immune to his viral charms.
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Before the Mass hordes arrive
(that's Veronica's bike in the middle) |
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and After
(Veronica doing her best Vanna White) |
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| Steve and Ken- Team COVID |
PMC Day One |
| Sturbridge to Bourne- 110 miles |
Nobody sleeps much on PMC weekend. We were up by 4:30 AM and assembled to ride by 5:00 AM. All 5,000 of us.
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The gang- bright eyed and bushy tailed,
especially Paul |
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| Ready to ride |
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And we're off, riding down Rt 20,
but now with numbers on our side |
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Here are two in a billion volunteers- they
make all the difference in our experience |
The slogan for this year's ride is One in a Billion. Not sure I love the slogan- makes me feel like a (bike) cog in the machine. But maybe it's trying to reflect the unique stories that we all bring to this event and the one thing that unifies us- this continual fight against cancer. Part of that one in a billion are the 3,000 plus volunteers who make our cycling experience so much easier. People serving us food, making sure we have ice, fixing our bikes, making sure we don't miss turns. We'd be spinning our wheels aimlessly without them.
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Joanne Brennan is an amazing volunteer-
she runs my PMC Team, The Sarcoma
Cycling Brigade, and serves delicious
food every year for us in Bourne.
Like me, she lost a daughter to sarcoma |
The energy of the PMC is incredible. The riders are excited, there are police waving us through intersections, and people line the route cheering us on, thanking us for riding, sharing their cancer battles with signs about being cancer free, and people handing out free water, all varieties of snacks and even beer! And there are so many people dressed up, playing drums, musical instruments, and entertaining us.
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These women were offering free leis-
I told them I was a married man |
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| But I couldn't resist |
One of our favorite streets is Cherry Street in Wrentham. The whole street gets into the spirit, and there is much music played as we ride by.
Check out this amazing Marimba band video.
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Cheery, Cherry Street in Wrentham
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110 miles is a long day in the saddle. We were lucky, the first 80 miles were either in shade or there was some cloud cover. Plus starting at 5:30 AM we have 80 miles under our belts by noon. However, the last 30 miles were hot as the temps topped out at 90F. If you get too hot you can get disoriented and not know which way to go as demonstrated by Paul.
Getting wet was key to staying cool. And I took every chance I could to cool down!
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The Dighton Fire Department set up this
fantastic outdoor spray shower |
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| Thank you fellas!! |
One thing that helps distract us is the beauty of southern Massachusetts. It's a gorgeous state, but there's something about the light in southern Mass that brings out its beauty.
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| My attempt at an artsy shot! |
We picked up a friend of mine, Alex from Somerville, at the Lakeville water stop. This was Alex's first PMC, and I thought he'd benefit from some company for the remaining 25 miles. He finished strong!
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| Alex and Ken |
The Lakeville stop is also the home of the pedal partners- these are children with cancer that cycling teams "adopt" and ride for. The road leading up to the Lakeville stop is lined with photographs of children, many of them bald from chemo treatments, but always smiling. This array of photographs always chokes me up, and even more so this year as one little girl, Leah, was there in person next to her photograph with her family. I had to stop and say hello and wish her and her family well.
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| Beautiful Leah |
We finished the day, coming into the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne around 3PM. As opposed to yesterday I finished strong and in very good shape. It was almost as hot and 30 miles longer- the difference for me was staying cool by getting soaked. Steve and Alex finished their first 110 mile days and were looking good!
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| Alex and Steve |
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| Ah, rest!! |
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And an early bed time (9 PM!) to prep
for a 4 AM! wake up |
PMC Day Two
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| Bourne to Provincetown |
I call Day Two of the PMC, pure candy. It's 75 miles, and surprisingly not flat (2500 feet of climbing). But you get to bike the length of Cape Cod, taking in all its beauty, all the while with people cheering you on. It starts with a 5:15 AM crossing of the Bourne Bridge.
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| Bourne Bridge- predawn |
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| Up and over |
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| Sunrise along the Cape Cod Canal |
During the day, I was plagued by a flat tire that we had trouble replacing (the tire was really stubborn to get back on). We were helped out by a very patient mechanic/volunteer who became one with this stubborn tire. While he was helping me out, I talked to his fellow volunteer who shared with me that he lost his adult son to leukemia around the same time that we lost Sabina.
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| Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance |
We shared a moment of common grief. Again bringing us back to the many reasons people participate in the PMC. While we were waiting for my tire to be fixed, I told the rest of the team to go ahead. Steve stayed behind with me and we took our time and really enjoyed the last half of Day 2 on the Cape. We still took every chance to stay cool, and people were very generous with their hoses.
After another good soaking, Steve had a chance to dance to some fun rhythmic dance music.
See Steve shaking his Pan Ass in this video. Turns out my flat tire was not really fixed, and began losing air again. I did my best to manage it and was able to get to the finish line without having to wrestle with it again.
We finished the ride in Provincetown by noon, and after a shower joined the rest of our team and chowed down before catching the fast ferry back to Boston. I always love this last leg of the PMC. It didn't rain a drop on us all three days of our ride, but the rain as we came into the Seaport was impressive.
So ends another Pan Mass Challenge. We are well on our way to hitting our target this year to continue the fight against cancer. Thank you for following along. I am grateful and thankful for everyone who contributed to my ride, and to everyone who has supporting me in other ways over these last few years. Your generosity of spirit has helped to sustain me. Let's keep up the fight against this emperor of all maladies.
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