PMC- Official Day 1: Sturbridge to Bourne

Ah, nothing like a 4:15 AM wake up on a Saturday morning! Early rising is a must on the Day 1 ride as thousands of riders head out from the host hotel and start the 110 mile ride to Bourne at 5:30 AM sharp. Cookie Monster was certainly ready to roll, regardless of what time zone he was in.

Pan Mass, mass start

Veronica's riding buddy

It was a muggy start on Saturday, even in the wee hours of the morning. But the riding out of Sturbridge is pretty awesome, as we take the road thousands strong. There was a threat of rain Saturday afternoon so we were intent on efficiently pedaling to get in as early as possible, although 110 miles on a bike can only go by so quickly.

Had a great morning biking with my 'ol work buddies Michael and Jim

Cycling across the southern part of Mass is lovely, as we passed through farm land and rural towns like Attleboro, Oxford and Mendon. Before we knew it, we were rolling into the Franklin rest stop, a little more than a third of the way to Bourne. We were greeted by a spirited young man rocking the heck out of a hulu skirt. Paul was quite impressed.

One of the best things about the PMC are the scores of people who line the road thanking us for riding and for raising money for cancer. It's not often your hear people thanking you for bicycling, but it's a pretty awesome thing. Nowhere is the local appreciation any stronger than on Cherry Street in Wrentham, where hundreds of people line the road and various musical ensembles play for the passing cyclists.

Cherry Street!

The most touching part of the day was meeting Samantha, a 15 year old girl riding a tandem with her Dad. Samantha has been battling a brain tumor since she was 4 years old. Her battle is not over yet apparently, but you couldn't find a young rider with more joie de vivre and pluck. I had a lump in my throat for a while after meeting Sam. People who participate in the PMC who are cancer survivors are part of an amazing group called Living Proof. A buddy of mine, who is also part of that club, gave Samantha a fist bump.

Truer words never spoken

We were pretty lucky with the weather as it turned out, as the rain didn't materialize until later in the evening, yet the cloud cover kept us from getting too hot. It was far from cool though, and we were very appreciative of this angel who showed up at the last rest stop with a tray full of Italian ices.

An angel appeareth

We rolled into Bourne around 4PM at the Mass Maritime Academy campus, our home for the night. We pitched our tents, showered, ate and listened to live music, and were asleep by 9PM to the sound of a gentle rain on our tents.

On the beach in Bourne, overlooking Onset Bay

The Old Man and the Sea

Good night John