Sturbridge to Bourne to Provincetown

 

Well this Pan Mass Challenge ride was different in many ways.  The most poignant difference for me was that this was the first PMC Ride I've done since my daughter Sabina passed away in November. She was with me every mile, represented by the winged angel my son-in-law Robi had given to me, which I zip-tied to my bike's top tube.  I had many quiet miles alone, particularly on Day 1, to think of her. It's odd, that this is my 11th PMC ride- when I began it I had no idea how personal this event would become to me. And this is what cancer does to lives. And this is why we ride, and do research, and donate to important causes like this one. 

It's clear that everyone on this PMC ride, and of course almost every one of us, has a cancer story. One of the more poignant moments for me was at the end of Day 1 towards the end of the day's ride in Bourne when I came upon a rider who had a photograph of a teenage boy named Nathan on the back of his jersey with the years 2000-2015 underneath his name. I asked if Nathan was his son, and he said he was. It turns out Nathan had Ewing's Sarcoma, and died at the age of 15 after a brave battle. We exchanged stories about our children, including Nathan's twin sister who is a healthy 22 year old, and I was left once again with just how random cancer is. You don't have it, and then suddenly you do.

Another story along these lines is one from my work colleague and friend, Jay, who in early 2022 realized that something was wrong and quietly packed an overnight bag and went to his doctor, and was quickly admitted to the hospital straightaway with acute promyelocytic leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer. This cancer was  a death sentence 20 years ago but because of genetic research into the cancer, there is a cocktail, including arsenic, high doses of Vitamin A, and a traditional chemotherapy that results in a complete cure. Jay finished his chemotherapy in November and when we were talking soon after that, knowing he was a cyclist (primarily a mountain biker), I told him he should ride the PMC. He said "I'm in" and proceeded to sign up for the 2023 ride. You can see Jay and me below bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 5 AM on Day 1, and let me say that there was no holding Jay back. He was by far the strongest rider among us and we would only see him at the start of the day's ride, or when he was polite enough to hold back a little for us. He was clearly happy to be out on his bike, tearing up the asphalt and living life full. Go Jay! 

We need to get to a place where all cancer patients have a magic cocktail that cures them completely. To that end, the PMC target this year is $70 million and we have currently raised $51 million to date.

Once we hit our target this year, we will be only $30 million short of having raised $1 billion since the ride started in 1980. I personally have surpassed my previous fundraising high of last year with a little over $31,000 raised this year- all of this goes to fighting sarcomas. I'd like to thank each and every one of my donors. I am blown away by the generosity of my family and friends.

Okay so here's more about the riding weekend for those interested in reading. The other big difference this year was that for us, the PMC was only a two day event. We normally start our ride with our back wheels on the NY border on an unofficial Day Zero, adding a lovely but challenging 97 miles from the Berkshires to Sturbridge onto the standard two day 180 mile PMC weekend ride. But during this rainy summer, not surprising that there was a forecast for biblical rain on Friday so we made the call to cancel our Day Zero ride. Hopefully none of our donors will be asking for a one third rebate on their donations!!  It turned out the biblical rain drifted to the north so we could have ridden, but we all found other uses for our sudden free time.

We took the bus from Wellesley on Friday afternoon and arrived in Sturbridge. The atmosphere in Sturbridge is always great- 6,000 cyclists and half as many volunteers all hanging out and getting ready for the Saturday morning start. There's food, music and an opening ceremony to kick off the event. And then early to bed to wake up at 4 AM to roll out at 5:30 AM. Here are my long-term PMC buddies looking fresh at 5:15 as we wait to start our riding day.

Rounding out our Day 1 crew is our other long term PMC buddy Veronica from Palo Alto, CA. And my friend Joe, from Lexington riding his first PMC. And at 5:30 AM, with music blaring and people cheering, we're off together with 6,000 of our closest friends, to start our 110 mile ride to Bourne. 

As it turned out, the weather this weekend was perfect. Cloudy and in the 70's on Saturday, and partly sunny in the high 70's on Sunday. After having ridden previous PMC's in blistering heat (last year's ride) or all day rain (nearly hypothermic on the 2015 ride), this weekend you could not have dialed in better weather. It's all downhill from this one.

The miles fly by on this ride, especially as we are helped by police officers waving us through intersections for the first 20 miles to the first water stop. All weekend long, in addition to thinking of Sabina, I was also thinking how lucky we are to be out here pedaling through the gorgeous Massachusetts countryside, with our cycling buddies, and being looked out for by the many volunteers and helped along by local police, and cheered by many people lining the street. I felt grateful to be on the ride, and to be getting a weekend off from family responsibilities. 

Now there's some pedaling and work involved, but after having done this ride ten times previously, and after not having ridden 97 miles on Day Zero, the pedaling seemed just fine. Helping us along, are many people who line the course who make the run meaningful by thanking us for riding, and who make the ride fun. One of the most fun streets is Cherry Street in Wrentham. Here you can come across a Grinch character high-fiving passing cyclists, a full size marimba and drum band, and a large band of bag pipers providing free entertainment. All of this helps the miles go by.

We were also treated to an excellent Mariachi band at lunch (compliments of one of the vendors giving away tasty tortilla chips).  Joe seemed interested in joining the band....

There are a lot of entertaining and heartfelt moments along the PMC route. And most have as their root, a cancer story behind them.  I've written about the man behind "Fred Flintstone" before (seen here on the way into our Day 1 lunch stop), who started doing the ride after a friend died of cancer and then when he stopped riding started coming out every year to entertain riders and offer "rather primitive" directions at key intersections.

Then there is the Pedal Partner Water Stop in Lakeville on Day One. Teams of cyclists can "adopt" a child who has cancer and then ride in that child's honor. Many of the children are at the water stop and greet their team mates. This is always powerful and very touching.

Cancer in young children happens more often than we realize. I was in line with a young Dad after we finished Day 1 in Bourne and he was holding his 18 month old. We started talking and turns out his 3 year old daughter had Stage 3 kidney cancer. He was giving her a bath one day and noticed a small lump on her back. This observation probably saved her life as she was diagnosed and had surgery to remove the impacted kidney right away. She's doing fine now and so far cancer free.

The last ten miles of day 1 is always long. You're looking at your bike computer and it's saying 100 miles and your legs are saying okay it's time to stop. But ten more miles it is and it's a happy moment when you go under the Day 1 Finish Line. I was lucky to be met at the finish by next door neighbor, Steve, who is a first year rider and started at Wellesley. I did most of my training rides this year with Steve and was happy to be able to bike with him on Day 2.

The scene at the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne where we camp overnight is a joyous one, filled with live music and lots of food and adult beverages. After stuffing our bellies, and man after 110 miles you'd be amazed how much you can eat, we hung out around the campsite and relaxed.   

We made friends with a lone camper next to us, Mark, who had driven  from Washington D.C. for his 15th PMC. He and his family vacation in Cape Cod every August, and since he's up here he does the PMC, primarily to remember his father-in-law, who died of cancer the year before Mark's first PMC.  It's funny as you get to know someone on the PMC ride: Where are you from? What made you start riding the PMC? What do you do? Turns out Mark (shown below with yours truly) 

is a well known political pollster. I told him a little bit about my son, who's into politics and polling and has a large Twitter following. Without knowing my last name and without missing a beat, he said is your son Adam Carlson? I said yes. Mark said that Adam was his intern back in 2012 and that he was amazing. Everybody around the campsite (including me) went slackjaw- what an incredible coincidence that the guy camping next to us knew my son so well.  Mark said he was just talking to his interns about Adam last week as they all noted that Adam had posted something bold and true on Twitter that dropped a lot of jaws. Mark was very proud of Adam. I remember Adam talking a lot about Mark during his internship. Small PMC world.

It was barely dark out and we were asleep by 9 PM. Wakeups on PMC weekend are generally 4 AM (we're pedaling by 5:30 AM). We assembled the whole crew for our traditional early morning Cape Cod Canal photo. Time to bike over the Bourne bridge and begin our 80 mile Cape Cod ride. A ride I call pure bicycling candy. Here are some early morning photos along the Canal to set the mood.

Day 2 of the PMC flies by too fast- 6,000 bicyclists stretched out and rolling through the splendor that is Cape Cod. On Saturday most of my focus was on thinking about Sabina. I spent Sunday rolling with my friends, enjoying the moments and feeling grateful for this weekend. And grateful for all the people who make this weekend happen, including all the volunteers who served us ice, water, snacks, and everything we needed.

Before we knew it, we were on the outer Cape, passing by the stunning beaches of Wellfleet, replete with great white shark warnings. We arrived at the final rest stop in North Wellfleet, and stretched and refueled before the final long stretch on Rt 6A before we get to the Truro Dunes. It's the only time I take part in a pace line, it's get 'er done time.

 It's always awesome and bittersweet to get to the finish line. Glad to be done pedaling, but sad this special weekend is over. It's time to shower, eat a lot (again) and board the ferry back to Boston. I love the ferry ride to Boston. It's always a great transition to get back home. My friends use the ferry ride to transition back to a more normal amount of sleep.

And then home, where we get to be reunited with our family. Especially this little one, who is a lot of what our lives are about these days. Thanks for sharing my journey, and thank you for being a part of our fight to rid the world of cancer.