Time to go. The road awaits.
As always, the journey to the PMC is different than what I expected. The bike is ready, the bags are packed, the legs have fewer miles than I would have liked. Amy is ready to take up her traditional volunteer role as a crew leader in Bourne, helping tired riders find their dorm rooms, showers, luggage, a spare towel, a cold drink, a sweaty hug!
For me, this great bike ride is no longer about the ride. It's about the experience, the conversations with other riders and the many supporters along the way, and with the survivors.
Last weekend, halfway into a 60 mile training ride, I struck up a conversation with another rider at a popular rest stop in Carlisle, just north of Concord. We had some friends and experiences in common. She had ridden the PMC, supporting her husband who had been stricken by cancer a few years ago. He survived the radiation and chemo and is now cancer-free. But the treatments have changed him and his health has not come back. His work is affected, his life is affected. Call it collateral damage. The cancer is gone but the patient is forever changed. She didn't know if they would survive as a couple.
I offered my assistance, my phone number, and my Livestrong wristband. Then I headed up the road to continue to my training. I rode strongly, motivated by the knowledge that we still have much work to do.
So off I go to ride another PMC, another 192 miles towards the goal of eradicating cancer. We expect to raise more than $31M this year, and my personal goal is to raise $10,000. I'm about a third of the way there, and I'm counting on you to help!
100% of the money raised is delivered to the Jimmy Fund to support cancer research. One hundred percent!
This is why I ride...why I am so passionate about the PMC and raising money for the Jimmy Fund. I do it because I can make a difference...by raising money for cancer research, by recruiting new people to the cause, by showing strength and determination at mile 80.
I can't do it alone. Together we will win.
To donate please visit the PMC website. If you have already donated, thank you!
Time to ride!
Lee
