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