Pan-Mass Challenge fundraiser to help rare cancer research
- This topic has 5 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 12 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
Hello cycling friends,
In August, my wife, her sister and I will be participating in our 2nd Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) ride to raise money for the Sarcoma Center at Dana Farber (DF) in Boston. We’ll be riding the two-day, 163 mile route from Wellesley to Provincetown and it will be the longest rides (by far) for either my wife or her sister. It’s an ambitious cycling goal but we also have a really ambitious fundraising goal – $13,000, which is why I need your help.
The reason we’re doing this began 2 years ago. Three weeks before our first wedding anniversary, out of the blue my wife was diagnosed with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma. It was an incredible shock as you can imagine. After consults in DC, Johns Hopkins and DF we opted for treatment in Boston because they have the most experience with sarcoma cancers and also her family is from Boston so there was a close support system. After major surgery, several months of recovery, and frequent scans we can happily say that 20 months later she is still free of disease.
Because of the excellent treatment she received at Dana Farber it was an easy decision to do something we love while raising money to help the doctors and researchers in the Sarcoma Center learn about this rare cancer and to help fight it.
If you would like to help out please check out our team page.
http://www.pmc.org/profile/TP0132Thank you so much
Sincerely,
Chris Readinger
-
The PMC is done for another year and I wanted to share some thoughts/highlights from a great weekend in Massachusetts.
A) We, Team Puddin’ Thieves are less than $500 away from our minimum fundraising goal of $13,000! That’s amazing! I’ve never been a part of so much money going to much needed cancer research before and there is still time to donate. PMC as a whole is well on their way to the $36,000,000 goal they set as well.
The ride was great. Saturday we rode from Wellesley to Bourne and it was hot, DC style hot but even more humid. We all made it ok though, thanks to the 100F training rides we’ve done around here. Sleep was hard to come by in stifling dorm rooms though. For Sunday’s ride to Provincetown we all got an early morning start and some fog and a little rain cooled things down a bit as we headed east on Cape Cod. A nice tailwind helped us sail north for the final 20 miles up to P-town and the finish line.C) John Kerry and Scott Brown are fast as hell! They both started in Sturbridge and did the 110 mile route to Bourne. They finished in 6 hours and 7 hours respectively. That’s pretty darn fast, especially since Kerry is old and both of these guys have a lot of other stuff to do. Are democrats faster than republicans? Maybe not if you include Lance in the equation. Heh.
D) A big thanks to the THOUSANDS of fans who lined the streets across Massachusetts to cheer us on and to say thanks for riding. They braved the heat, the rain and the wind to yell encouragement, say thanks and take in the spectacle. PS – if you ever wanted to break the 30+ mph barrier while on a flat, try it on Rt 6 about 10 miles outside of P-town on PMC day 2. There were about 30 people there with drums and large buckets all pounding out a single crazy rhythm, which seemingly pumped your legs on its own. It was like being Cavendish for a minute, or getting a free suitcase filled with courage.
E) I am proud of my wife and her sister who did their longest and second longest rides ever this weekend. We kept a ~13mph steady pace on the flats and when we got to a hill we ended up passing tons of people who looked like they should have been stronger. That always feels good. A tip of the hat to Warrenton, and Mt. Airy for that. I had a lot of fun leading the Puddin’ Thieves train.
Overall it was a great weekend! We’re heading back up next weekend to spend a few days relaxing on the Cape this time.
Short Boston Globe story:
http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/08/04/cyclists-finish-first-day-pan-mass-challenge-smoothly-despite-heat/PxSnphWEFiZNWrfMpbHWcL/story.htmlGeneral George Casey’s Keynote Speech
http://www.pmc.org/articles.asp?ArticleID=1606
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.