My Big Fat PMC Wrap-Up Post

Here we are, more than a month after the actual PMC 2009 ride and I'm just now writing my wrap-up note. As a firm believer that procrastination is key to the creative process, the lateness of this post simply proves the depth of my convictions! ;-) But before I start some rambling travelogue, I'd like to stop and thank each of you for your encouragement and support for this (and previous) PMC rides. The funds that you help us raise for cancer research and treatment are more important now than ever before. Even in the economic circumstances of this last year, the level and consistency of everyone's generosity overwhelmed me. So first, last and always: thank you.

2009 marked my sixth PMC ride, and was in many ways similar to my previous rides... It seems there is always have some mechanical issue with my bike just before every PMC. This year was no different: my rear wheel had gotten a noticeable warp in it and also developed a chronic slow leak in New Hampshire on the week prior to the ride. When we got home the Thursday evening before the PMC and I went to replace the leaky tube, I discovered I had plenty of tubes, but all wrong sizes. Fortunately, I was able to get the wheel trued up and picked up some tubes at a local bike shop the next day. (And as it turned out, I never bothered to change the tube -- I just pumped it up really high at about every other water stop that weekend.)

Anyway, by Friday night before the ride I had everything ready to go, so that all I needed to do was throw the bike on the car and drive to Sturbridge (at 3:30 AM. Ugh.) Here's a snapshot of the bike, ready to roll:

Saturday at 3:30 AM, the drive to Sturbridge was dark and foggy. In fact, it was so foggy that they delayed the Sturbridge start from 5:30 to 6:00AM, hoping that more of it would get a chance to burn off. I seriously doubt it made any difference. Anyway, the delay just gave folks a little extra time to stretch and chit-chat (as much as a crowd of a couple thousand can 'chit chat', I suppose.)

As you may recall, from previous emails and postings in this blog, I decided to take "passengers" with me on this year's ride. In addition to riding in memory of David Haynes and in support of my little Pedal Partner, Kristen Hoenshell, I asked people to send me pictures of friends or relatives who had fought or were fighting cancer. I carried those pictures with me on the ride, both in tribute to them and as an additional reminder to me of exactly why I was riding. I saw many other people that morning carrying pictures with them -- some on their back, some taped to their handlebars. You can see my "passengers" collage on the back of my bike in the upper picture and a little better in this small image. (Clicking on this small picture will take to you the full-size image where you can see their faces and names more clearly.)

Aside from the heavy fog, the early morning start eastward on Route 20 proceeded pretty much like all the others: a crowded road full of bikers smiling, chattering and full of nervous energy. Route 20 was lined with people clapping, shouting, holding signs and generally making a lot more noise than is usually heard on that stretch of road at that time of day... Quite a spectacle, even from my vantage point in the rolling sea of wheels.

As the morning wore on, the fog burned off, the clouds thinned out and the temperature got up to a respectable 'seasonable summer' level. Close to lunch-time, I was able to meet up with Dave Auclair a few miles before the lunch stop. Dave was my riding buddy when I worked at General Dynamics in Taunton. For the last few years, I always look for Dave when we get close to Dighton/Rehobeth. One of my favorite memories of previous rides is seeing Dave standing in the middle of an intersection, managing traffic so riders could get across safely and quickly. Dave must've looked pretty authoritative (even though he's clearly not a policeman -- standing in the middle of the intersection in shorts and a t-shirt) because the drivers all stopped when he said "Stop". Anyway, this year Dave wasn't directing traffic, and I almost rode right by him. (He was standing on the side of the road waiting but didn't recognize me on my new bike.) I saw him, yelled at him and pulled over. Once he recognized me, Dave hopped on his bike and rode along for a few miles before and after lunch. It was great to see him again and we rode, chatted and caught up on stuff until he finally had to head back home.

Unlike previous years, this year I had an additional appointment to make along the ride. Little Kristen Hoenshell is my PMC "Pedal Partner" for this year's ride. Kristen was diagnosed with rhabdosycroma at about 6 months and has been going into Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund clinic for treatements since then. She's 2 years old and her last checkup was good. Anyway, I was scheduled to meet up with Kristen and her family at the Apponequet ("uh-PON-uh-kwet") High School water stop in Lakeville and was *supposed* to call and let them know when I was within a half hour or so of the stop. However, I managed to forget until I saw the "1 mile" warning sign for the water stop... Uh oh. I immediately called Liz and apologized, hanging up just just about the time I rolled into the parking lot at the school. Thankfully, since Apponequet was the "official" Pedal Partner water stop, there were plenty of activities and refreshments for Kristen and her sisters.

Kristen and her family also got to reunite with a lot of the friends that they'd made on their visits to the Jimmy Fund clinic. As you can probably tell by my "not so fresh" look in this picture, it was getting pretty warm by the time I arrived at Apponequet... Kristen (being held by her Dad in this picture) was also getting tired and ready for a nap. Her sisters -- as well as mom and dad -- were real troopers, hanging in there during the hottest part of the afternoon, waiting for me and her other pedal partners to show. Kristen decided to be shy, so Liz, Frank and I chatted for a bit and then I got back on my way. As usual, I skipped the last water stop and headed straight on to Buzzards Bay, arriving at Mass Maritime Academy at 2:40 PM.

Sandy, Ben and Kevin were once again volunteering at MMA. This year they were helping park the bikes as riders arrived. I met up with them as soon as I got there and again after I showered. Here's a picture of Ben and Kevin "on break" from parking bikes:

Sandy had gotten a little overheated working out in the sun all day without a hat, and was pretty much pooped and ready to head home. So, we talked for a little bit as we walked to the shuttle area, then said our goodbyes for the day.

I must say that I was very impressed with the size and "robustness" of the tents used for the food area at MMA. You may remember that last year's PMC had a really blustery storm that Saturday at Bourne that actually knocked down part of the big "food tent" area and drove people to seek shelter in the buildings on campus. This year the tents were these massive, high-tech-looking things with enormous mast-like poles and cabling. Like so:

Looks like this photo was taken from high up on the ship at the Academy. The big "10 mast tent

tent is the new, improved food tent.

Anyway, after Sandy and the boys left, I had a beer, a massage, (then another beer) and some dinner, and was pretty much done for the day. After walking around a little to loosen up and relax, I took some preventative Ibuprofen then headed to the ship and was in my bunk by 7:30 PM. I'm sure I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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Day 2 began when my Blackberry went off at 3:30 AM. I always try to get an early start, but I think I might have overdone it: the night shift volunteers hadn't finished setting up the breakfast area and the luggage trucks hadn't yet arrived, so I couldn't eat and I couldn't ditch my luggage. Fortunately, the fine folks at Dunkin' Donuts had their tables set up and I was able to wiggle my toes in the cool, dewey outfield grass and enjoy a leisurely cup of (early) morning coffee. Once I got some food, dumped my luggage on the truck and aired up my soft rear tire, I was ready to light up my red blinky and set off into the darkness. It was 4:25 AM.

Departing MMA, I ended up following a nice couple on a tandem bike (whose names escape me), since they had much better headlights. (Actually, I didn't have a headlight.) We were the first 3 PMC riders to cross the Bourne Bridge that morning. I know this because the Police made us wait at the bottom of the bridge until they finished putting in all the cones to set up the special lane for the PMC bikes. We loitered there in the dark from 4:30 until about 4:45, when we were finally given the OK to proceed up the Bourne Bridge. As it turned out, with all the aggregate delays that morning I probably could have slept until at least 4 AM and still crossed the bridge at about the same time. Oh well.

Once over the bridge, it was a quick pre-dawn ride along the canal. The towns and countryside along the Cape are so peaceful on an early Sunday morning -- it's my favorite time of the PMC weekend. Even though I had an early start, I am not a fast rider so I was continuously passed during the morning by pace line after pace line. Such is life. I have learned to just enjoy the scenery on the uphills and take the downhills for everything they're worth. I did manage to hang with a short ad-hoc pace line for a while on the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Brewster, and once again between Truro and P-Town.

I ended the ride at the Provincetown "Family Finish" (near the P-Town Monument) at 9:58 AM. Once I parked my bike, I claimed my luggage and had a leisurely shower. About the shower facilities: I don't know where they get these things, but they had the nicest setup for showers. There were 2 large trailers, each outfitted with several full-service shower stalls inside, and a nice mirror/sink setup outside. This was a vast improvement over the group "shower tents" they had a few years back in P-Town. Once showered and shaved, I had plenty of time to relax and get an early lunch.

I was able to walk right onto the "fast ferry" to Boston at noon with my bike & luggage -- no waiting whatsoever. The ride was pleasant and I actually dozed off a couple of times. Sandy met me at the Black Falcon cruise terminal in Boston and drove me home. Once home, I hung the bike in the garage, and started laundry and packing for a business trip to DC the next day -- a somewhat anti-climactic end to an otherwise stellar weekend.

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For the detail-oriented folks out there, I exported my GPS track data for the PMC weekend and made it available on the web.

Elevation Data:

• Day 1 Elevation graph
• Day 2 Elevation graph

Track data, so you can actually "fly over" my entire route in Google Earth:

• Day 1 Track data
• Day 2 Track data

If you don't have it already, Google Earth is free software you can download from http://earth.google.com/

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So, thus ends my 6th PMC trip report. If you've read this far, then God bless you. Your attention span is far better than mine. I will send one more email this year when the final results of the PMC fund-raising are announced. (Should be in a few weeks.)

Finally, I intend to ride in the 2010 PMC next year, so you'll be hearing from me again in 2010. (As always, if you'd prefer not to get my PMC emails, just jot me a quick 'please stop' email and I'll promptly remove you from my email list.)

Thanks one last time to each of you for your support, comments and encouragement.
/doug

Podcast of NPR segment on the PMC

I really do need to get my 2009 wrap-up letter going, and some last-minute thank you's done but wanted to share this link with everyone right quick...

There was a really nice 10-minute piece on NPR this weekend about the PMC. The podcast is available and here's a link that'll take you to a it (it's an audio file that *should* start playing immediately -- depending on your browser -- so make sure you have speakers or headphones on..

http://www.pmc.org/articles.asp?ArticleID=1497

/doug

Done. No flats; no wrecks; 2 cramps.

Well, the ride is over.

The weather cooperated, the people were all wonderful and the experience was as uplifting as usual. I will post a full run-down on the weekend later, but am pressed for time as I'm out on business all week.

Thanks everyone for your support and interest, and will be back with more details in a week or so.

/doug

Ready to Roll.

Back from NH yesterday afternoon. Got the bike cleaned and prepped for the ride. The rear wheel needed to be trued (warped a little from the severe braking on the downhills in NH) and I located the slow leaks and replenished my stock of tubes...

Sandy lamintated my "passengers" collage so that it would hopefully hold up better over the weekend, and I was able to attach it to my bike 'trunk'. Like so:

In case you were wondering what I carry with me, here's a pic that show the "junk in my trunk":

Clockwise from 12:00: the red bandana is holding 3 CO2 cartridges and an inflator (tomorrow my camelbak bladder will go where the bandana is); GPS; SPF50 sunblock, Schrade multi-tool; red blinky, Topeak multi-tool, tubes (3, hidden from view) and 1st aid kit. Blackberry and extra batteries will be thrown in tomorrow.

So, it's time for bed. If you're on teh interwebs this weekend, you can check my location during the ride at this link: http://ixen.com/where-is-doug

Good night.

So long to the White Mountains...Counting the hours.

Today we pack up, say goodbye to the White Mountains and head back home to Littleton. Never seem to stay quite long enough up here, but we have to get laundry done and prep for PMC weekend. Rear tire has developed a chronic slow leak up here in NH, so will need to replace that tomorrow, and remember to pack extra tubes & CO2.

I didn't log as many miles as I probably should have up here, but the time spent with Sandy and the boys was really good. Hopefully, the weather will hold and I won't cramp up this weekend.

I have to say that I'm flabbergasted at how generous everyone has been this year in donations for the Jimmy Fund. I had fully expected this to be an exceptionally lean year for the PMC. As it turns out, it's been a record-breaking year for me: your donations have exceeded my initial goals for the first time in six years of riding the PMC! THANK YOU ALL. Over the last week there's been an influx of donations and I haven't had time to get back to everyone with a thank you note yet. I will.

Thanks. Gotta go pack now.

/doug

Greetings from Franconia Notch, NH! Training continues...

Only 6 days left until the Big Ride! Fund raising has been proceeding apace and the family is in the Franconia Notch area of the White Mountains of NH for a week.

It's beautiful up here, but the weather is being a little contrary. I managed to get in a 25mi "down and back" ride down from our place at Mittersill down the bike trail/rt 3 to N. Woodstock. It's a really fun ride; the ride down is mostly downhill (top speed was 46 mph from "The Flume" to Lincoln on rt 3). The ride back up is not for impatient... As such, I made my usual stop at the Woodstock Inn to rebalance my electrolytes -- I highly recommend the Red Rack Ale -- and grab a bite before heading home.

On the long hill back up out of Lincoln I caught up with a couple on bikes up from CT for the week. They were diligently pedaling up to The Flume. Turns out the husband had a recumbent bike sort of like mine at home (a Linear, see http://www.linearrecumbent.com/) -- but he couldn't ride it with his wife since always worried about him crashing on it. I shared a little joke with him: since I was riding my R40 (with the underseat steering) and was already "over my handlebars", the 2nd scariest part of any crash was always over and out of the way... His wife was not amused. I will never understand women.

Further up the trail, most of the way to Cannon Mountain, I came across a family stopped alongside the trail, looking concerned back at the Dad. Turned out that Dad's rear brake pad was flopping loose and he was trying to figure out how to tighten it -- not possible without an allen wrench. Since I never go for rides any more without tools, tubes and CO2, I was able to fix his brake and get them on their way. I told them it was a good thing they stopped, because they were really going to need their brakes in about 1/2 mile or so. (There are some steep, curvy hills on that bike trail, and it's easy to let your bike get going too fast and run off the trail or worse yet hit some other biker or hiker.) Also reminded them to give the bike rental place a real good talkin-to when they picked then up at the bottom of the trail, since brakes should have been *thoroughly* checked out for them when they rented them at Cannon Mountain. That was my good deed for the week. I still made it back to the timeshare in time for Mojitos and book time by the pool...

Planned a bid ride on the Bacchetta this AM, but only got out about 10mi before I called it quites. The weather was just not cooperating today: drizzly, winds gusting to 20mph, and threats of hail in Franconia. I just stayed out long enough to get the Bacchetta wet and gunky from the road. I spent more time cleaning it up than riding today... Tomorrow will be the big ride, whatever the weather.

Sandy laminated my "passengers" pictures so they'll make it through the PMC OK, no matter what the weather. When we get back home, I'll try to post a picture here of the bke with my "passengers" in place and ready to go.

I know I've said it before, but will keep saying it: thanks to all of you for your support for the PMC and cancer research & treatment. With your help we really do keep getting closer by the mile. Thanks

/doug

Getting close to the ride... last call for "passenger pics"

So, we're down to just about 2 weeks until the PMC weekend.

This will have to be the last call for "passenger pictures". (See my previous post on this: if there's someone that you want me to ride in support of or remembrance of, email me their picture and I will carry them along the ride with me.)

I wish I'd gotten in more big rides this season... Looks like my training "taper" will come a little late. Will be in the White Mountains the week before the PMC with the family, trying to log as many miles as possible before the actual PMC.

Take care.

/doug