It's Over...but we're not done...

The ride is over, the miles are done, the bike has been cleaned up, the muscles are long since recovered.

The 2009 PMC was another great event. The weather was perfect, the ride was fabulous. Almost $30 million in the bank so far.

My 2009 fundraising ends in just over a week, on October 1, and I would appreciate your donation of $1000 or whatever you feel comfortable contributing...

To donate please visit the PMC website.

Thank you!

About the ride...

I felt like I didn't have enough miles under my belt for a strong ride, but I was wrong. I rode strongly, averaging 20+ miles per hour for several segments on both Saturday and Sunday.

On day one I stopped at a water stop and chatted briefly with a young girl obviously in the middle of chemo. She was playing with her older sister and when I offered to take her picture, she grabbed my camera and asked if she could take mine! Of course...and the picture was a keeper.

Other pictures from the weekend are available here.

On the second day I rode with other members of Team Pedal 2 The Mettle for a while, then sprinted off to play in the pace lines down Route 6A. At one of my favorite parts of the ride, heading to the ocean beaches and turning left to climb up a steep rise, I encountered an oncoming truck.

In the early years of this ride, this climb frustrated me; now I rush it in a big gear. I squeezed past the truck and took the hill...it felt fabulous to get to the top and to continue up the false flat (really a shallow ascent). This year the fog blocked the view of the ocean...but it was still a gorgeous part of the ride. Not long after this climb I arrirved at the last water stop and spent a few minutes sitting on the revered "ice chair."

Then off to Provincetown, a quick shower and some food, and then a fast drive back to Boston to pick up Rachel at Logan Airport. She had been in Israel for the past five weeks and we had a great homecoming!

After a brief respite I'm back at it. While the 2009 PMC may be over, the fight against cancer goes on. According to the National Institute of Health, some 3,400 people are diagnosed with cancer every day in the US. Another 1,500 die from the disease every day. One recent notable loss -- Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on September 15th.

So our fight goes on.

While I haven't yet reached this year's goal of $10,000, with your help I do expect to come pretty close.

Thank you for your support of the Pan Mass Challenge and joining me in the fight to eradicate cancer!


To donate please visit the PMC website.

Lee

Time to Ride!

The 30th annual Pan Mass Challenge starts Saturday morning at 7 am.

And not a moment too soon.

Connecticut senator Chris Dodd announced this week that he has prostate cancer. I just found out that a good friend and neighbor is battling lymphoma. The head of my PMC riding team starts radiation therapy in a couple of weeks for a brain tumor. A loved one is waiting for the results of a biopsy.

While I can't make their cancers go away, I can ride my bike 190 miles to raise money for the Jimmy Fund and cancer research.

In the first five miles of my ride on Saturday, I will stop to hug the widow of a riding buddy lost to cancer. I don't know how I will be able to get back on my bike and leave her. I also know that it is the only thing for me to do.

With your help, we will raise $30 million this year and donate 100% to the Jimmy Fund.

My bike is ready. My saddle bag is packed. My riding gear is laid out, a uniform to be worn into battle with 5,000 other cyclists, all riding to help cure cancer.

More than a few of the people on my mailing list have lost loved ones to cancer. More than a few have had a brush with cancer themselves. I ride for you and I ride for those who are battling cancer now.

If you have already donated, thank you for your support. Every dollar is appreciated. I'm just over 20% of the way to my goal of raising $10,000 this year and with your help I may just make it.

If you have not yet donated to the Pan Mass Challenge this year, please do so now. We're all fighting this battle together, one way or another.

To donate please visit http://www.pmc.org/profile/LL0033

Time to ride,

Lee

Thank you for the support

When I first got involved in the Pan Mass Challenge, it was for the bike ride. Then just 10 miles into the ride, on my very first day, out in the hills near Sturbridge, I started to see families sitting by the side of the road. 6 am, drinking coffee, holding signs saying "Thank you for supporting us".

I wondered why the signs said that. Then light dawned on marble head. D'oh! They were cancer survivors. They weren't there to provide support for me riding 190 miles. They were there to thank me for supporting them in their fight.

And right then and there the ride turned into a cause.

When I conduct my fundraising, when I ride the PMC, I think of all of the people who have been afflicted with cancer. All who have shared their stories with me. The father who lost his son to cancer. The woman who lost her twin.

And all of those who have fought and won.

Support the PMC and its mission by contributing at http://www.pmc.org/profile/LL0033.

Thanks!

Lee

Another Battle Lost

Farrah Fawcett died today after a two year battle with cancer. She was 62.

Will I Be There?

In January I signed up for the two day Pan Mass Challenge, committing to raise $4,200 for cancer research. At the time, I did not know whether I could make the two day ride, as my daughter was scheduled to return from a five week leadership trip to Israel on that Sunday.

Things have a way of working themselves out...or more precisely, I trusted that the universe would open up a space to allow me to ride and to get to the airport in time for my daughter's return.

In April we found out that her flight comes in mid-afternoon, which gives me just enough time to complete the Sunday ride, shower, eat and drive back from Provincetown to Logan Airport. I'm still a bit concerned about the timing, but I trust that things will work out. The day will be gorgeous, the weather perfect, I will pull strongly through the dunes on the Cape and into Provincetown, and then get to the airport in time to throw my arms around my daughter as she walks through the airport.

I do this because my friend Adam just finished chemotherapy and we're celebrating. I do this because my friend Jan just finished chemotherapy and we're celebrating. I do this because my teammate Aimee is still fighting her battle and a ten mile ride is a good ride for her right now. She's planning on riding the PMC and I will be there to support her. I didn't know this when I signed up, but the universe has a way of making things happen.

I've raised a grand total of $90 so far this year, not very far towards my goal of raising $10,000. It's a tough year with the challenges of the economy and the PMC has set a relatively modest goal of raising $30 million this year. I will do my part and I need your help.

Together we can raise the money to fund cancer research. Fully 100% of every dollar raised goes to cancer research. Please use this online form to make a donation. Every dollar helps.

I'm pedaling 192 miles in August, my annual pilgrimmage across the Cape to help eradicate cancer. Will you help?