Day Zero of the PMC was a fabulous day- 97 miles, over 6000 feet of climbing made as easy as possible by a tail wind, sunny weather in the 80's, lovely white cloud cover at just the right time, and a fair amount of shade on the route.
We started out from our usual motel in West Stockbridge with a pretty good sized crew (cycling buddies and other PMC cycling friends) then biked 4 miles to the NY border.
The day zero ride takes us through western Mass and the Berkshires, with lovely mountain views and bucolic scenery. We passed through pretty towns like Stockbridge, Lee, Beckett, Chester, Northampton. And of course, on your way, if your bike needs any frame work, you can always stop by Carlson Auto Body- I am sure they work on bikes if they are indeed my relatives.
I am lucky to be riding with my good friends Linda, John and Paul. We were also joined by Linda's nephew Max and his girlfriend Kelly, who is a new road cyclist this year and biked all 97 miles in sneakers. Pretty impressive!
And a big shout out to Paul's Father-in-Law Lyle who sagged for us all day. It is awsome to have SAG support out there. Thanks Lyle!!
Now this ride is all about raising money to fight cancer. I ride in memory of loved ones I've lost to cancer and several friends and loved ones who have recently battled and beaten cancer. My friends, Adam, Zach and Matt ride in memory of Adam's Mom, Effie who passed away 7 years ago from cancer. Go Team Effie!
We learned tonight that the PMC is shooting to raise $500 million cumulative since 1980, when 36 riders road and raised $10,000. This year our target is $45 million (we've raised $28 million so far) and to accomplish this there are 6200 riders and 4000 amazing volunteers. This is such a well oiled machine! They even had Pedro tell us how much we have to raise- 45 million. Of course he was number 45!
Here are some fun photos from the day, including a well timed ice cream and snack break by Paul and me, 10 miles from the end of the ride (I was starting to bonk so good timing). Also a random meet up with the amazing Galen Mook, one of my favorite Boston bike advocates and the man reponsible for getting Mayor Marty Walsh on a bike this year. Marty Walsh is doing the ride as is Governor Charlie Baker. John Kerry, a 12 year rider, admonished us by video to be careful out there and not break a leg like he did!
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