PMC- Day 2: Bourne to Provincetown

Ah, to spend a day biking the length of Cape Cod. Nothing like it- the Cape is a pure gem. We were up even earlier Sunday morning, rubbing our eyes at 4:15 AM. By 5:30 AM were pedaling across the Bourne bridge and then riding along the Cape Cod Canal as the sun rose. Bam-Bam was working security so we felt safe.

               
   
The miles fly by on the Cape, and once again the roads were lined by well wishers and bag pipers.

My Day 2 was made even more special as I got to ride with my good friend Galen on his first ever taste of the PMC ride. Galen works for Landry's and he and his fellow compatriots work tirelessly at the Landry's tents and temporary store. Here are various scenes that Galen got to enjoy during his first PMC day:

Galen with the Lobster Lady

Galen with the high spirited denizens of Da Hedge

Galen interviewing 18 year PMC volunteer (and early rider)
Claudia, Queen of Fluff and Peanut Butter, for his radio show
"Bike Talk"

We enjoyed the Cape's many rail trails, and as we got further out on the Cape, the ocean scenes get more and more beautiful. 

Beach at Wellfleet

We finished this "short" 80 mile day by arriving strong at lovely Provincetown by12 noon, in time to take a quick dip in the bay, shower, and grab a beer and a sandwich. Then it's a brisk (although it was hot) walk down to the P'town Ferry for the always breathtaking 90 minute ferry ride back into Boston. A 90 minute ferry ride over 55 nautical miles, after a three day, 290 mile bike ride. So who needs cars??

There are many things that make the PMC an incredible experience. And I always feel a range of emotions on this ride- humility, pride in the human spirit, gratitude for my health, sadness at what some people have to endure. But one of the things I enjoy most is spending time riding and socializing with people I love. Many thanks to my crew of friends who made these three days memorable, and whose friendship I treasure. Thanks to my friends for their company, to Barbara for letting me pursue my cycling adventures and causes, and to all of you for contributing to my ride financially, emotionally, or spiritually. And to cancer, you suck, and yes, we are going to make you our bitch.

Ken and Linda at the P'Town finish

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

Day Zero of the PMC: West Stockbridge to Sturbridge

Day Zero of the PMC! WMy awesome Day Zero buddies and I spent the night in West Stockbridge and left our (bare bones) motel in the wee hours to bike to the NY state border. A small number of PMC cyclists do the Day zero ride- our estimate this year was about 100 (out of 6300 riders).

It's a 5 mile ride to the border from our Motel, where we posed for the traditional border shot.

At the border

So begins our 98 mile to Sturbridge, through lovely western Mass towns. The morning weather was perfect- sunny and cool.

Our ride is made so easy since we have our own personal SAG support in the form of Paul's Father-in-Law Lyle, who drove us out to western Mass and took great care of us all day. Lyle rules!!

Lyle!!

Day Zero is our hilliest day, with over 6000 feet of climbing. There are no massive ascents, just a fair number of short climbs, but the gem of the day is a 5 mile downhill in Becket as we leave the Berkshires and enter the Pioneer Valley. Funny the biggest hill we climb for the day is a 3 miler in Chester in the Pioneer Valley.

Crossing the AT at Becket

Arsty shot!

We biked east to Northampton and grabbed lunch at mile 66 at Atkins Farm in South Amherst. We met up with a good friend of mine who lives in Amherst who is just recovering from successful surgery following a very recent prostate cancer diagnosis. He thanked us for riding for cancer, as he choking back tears. It's very clear why we are riding. Leaving Atkins, we headed south, and the temps headed north. We had to watch our hydration and electrolyte intake, paying close attention to any muscle cramps and catching them early. Paul almost over-heated but we caught it just in time.

Farm in Hadley

The last 12 miles of the day is largely an uphill slog from Palmer to Sturbridge. We had some cloud cover just in time allowing us to finish strong.

Sturbridge was hopping, as thousands of cyclists descend on this small town for the opening ceremony of the PMC, where we heard there are 6300 riders this year, 4000 volunteers and an amazing amount of donated food and drink, including 180 kegs of Harpoon beer! We heard many powerful cancer stories at the ceremony and also found out that we have raised $31 million so far, with a target of $46 million. All the money raised goes to the Jimmy Fund, which fuels cancer treatment, research and new cancer drugs at the Dana Farber. It's very clear why we are riding, to help raise some serious funding to fight cancer.

Just a few bikes at Sturbridge

Heading out to Western Mass to start Day Zero

The PMC starts tomorrow! At least our unofficial Day Zero ride. I am very stoked to be riding in my fifth Pan Mass Challenge ride. With the generous help of my friends, I have raised over $8,000 to help in the fight against cancer. Thanks everyone!

Tonight my friends and I drive out to western Mass to spend the night in West Stockbridge. We will wake up bright and early tomorrow morning to bike to the NY state border and with our wheels on the border begin our ride to Sturbridge. The ride will take us through lovely western Mass, and up and over the Berkshires. After the Berkshires, we will head to Northampton for lunch, before bearing south to Sturbridge. 97 miles for the day. Not too shabby! The scene in Sturbridge is always exciting, full of thousands of cyclists as everyone prepares for the official start of the ride Saturday morning at 5:30 AM. Day 1 from Sturbridge to Bourne is the longest day at 110 miles, and Day 2 from Bourne to Provincetown logs in at a mere 80 miles. Stay tuned for a blog post from Sturbridge Friday night.

If you'd like to still contribute to my ride to fight cancer, here's a link to my fundraising page: http://profile.pmc.org/KC0258. Cheers!

Day 7- Bridgewater to Lawrenceville NJ: The Big Finish with a Splash

Day 7 is usually the easiest day of the Anchor House Ride, largely on familiar roads- just 53 miles overall. We got to sleep in til 7AM- woo-hoo!!  And we were on the road (after a Starbuck's breakfast) by a lazy 8:45 AM. Day 7 is also a day we remind ourselves that the ride is not yet over and to keep ourselves focused on getting home safe- we've had some bad crashes on this last day as riders overly relax as we get close to home.

Creative luggage transit by our friend Martin

A thank you message to the riders at the ride start

We rolled through lovely Somerset county, criss-crossing the North and South branches of the Raritan river and rolling past lovely horse farms.

Ken and Ben

Soon we were on the very familiar and lovely roads of Hunterdon and Mercer Counties, coming up and over the Sourland Mountains. It was a day to enjoy the last of this Anchor House adventure, and to say good bye to good friends

Some of our favorite riders on the Anchor House looking very stylish:
Dee-Dee, Rebecca, Chrissie and Joan

One of my favorite meadows on Saddle Shop Road in the Sourlands

DJ and Newell

Creative mailbox with bike pump for public use on Snydertown Road
 in the Sourlands 

Adam and Ben with Erin Drulis, one of the "Yout" riders from
last year and one of our favorite people!

About 8 miles out

Bringing it in 

The scene at the Dutkos picnic

Ten miles out we have our traditional picnic stop at the Dutkos, a family with long ties to the Anchor House. They serve us lunch, ice cream and a chance to take a dip in their pool. Perfect on a hot day.

A happy DJ at the Dutkos picnics. Some miles down the ride I heard:
"I shouldn't have had that 2nd ice cream"

We then did a ten mile processional  ride with a police escort to the big finish at Quakerbridge Mall. We had great luck with rain for the whole week, but we got absolutely drenched in a thunderstorm on the way. With teeth almost chattering from the rain and the wind the rain stopped about five minutes from the mall, allowing us to dry out a little before walking our bikes into the mall. During the final ceremony, we learned that the new total raised by the ride is $501,000. We're hoping that amount edges towards $600,000 as more donations make their way in,

Lining up for the ride to the mall

Damp Youts, waiting outside the mall

DJ, Ken and Newell during the end ceremony at the Mall

Post-ride logisitcs: Ken's best laid plans of renting a minivan to drive Adam and myself back home fell through when the rental car location was closed by the time we got there. Luckily our friends Silvia and Clive were clear-headed and quick-thinking. They knew the NJ Transit schedule so we were able to get Adam on a 4:30 train to NYC so he could make it to a 6PM dinner party (we had ten minutes to pull this off). Adam pulled off a quick change in the car, got his ticket and made his train!

A slightly stressed out Adam at the train station parking lot

Adam with his NJ Transit ticket, with Silvia and Clive cheering him on

I was able to get in a quick shower at Jack's house, catch up with Jack and check-in on his recovery from his surgery (so far so good), and grab a 5:48 PM Amtrak out of Trenton, with great logistical help from Gabe. Taking the train home was actually nice, and it allowed me to reflect back on quite a week. From my solo bike trip to Manchester NH, to being re-united with my Anchor House friends, to Jack's unfortunate crash, to spending a great week with my boy, and to enjoying the sights, sounds and great comraderie of the Anchor House Ride. And for getting (almost) all of us back safe and sound. And knowing that our efforts this week will literally help keep the doors open for the amazing kids of Anchor House who are so deserving of our love and support. Thanks to everyone for following along and to those who contributed. 

I dedicate this ride to my good friend Jack Hayon, who constant smile and good cheer transcends any physical pain or injury, and who I know will be back on next year's ride as determined and cheerful as ever.