2004 Pan-Mass Challenge

Sorry this is a bit late, but I was hoping to get my travelogue written before making a post-ride report. Well, the travelogue is still pending, but here's how this year's ride went...

The 2004 ride is complete, and there was no repeat of last year's unfortunate crash. The full report will be forthcoming, but excellent weather, tons of support, and a great performance made this year's ride the best of my four.

Thanks to all my sponsors, and especially Liam Donahue, I should have no problem reaching the fundraising minimum this year. And special thanks also go to my friend pookfreak, who came all the way from Austin to provide transportation and support for the fourth year in a row. Thank you all for your support!

As for my big goals of 10,000 miles and $10,000... Well, I guess in both cases I aimed too low by 2,000! I passed 10,000 miles back in June, and expect to end my cycling year in October with a four-year total of more than 12,000 miles. Similarly, if everything works out correctly between now and then, I'll also complete this year with a four-year fundraising total for the Jimmy Fund of $12,000!

Thank you all for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the fight against cancer, and for the gift of being able to ride in the 25th anniversary edition of this great event.

(no subject)

Yesterday nearly became another 100-mile day.

I began the day doing the first two legs of my usual Quad Cycles ride. It was a bit odd, since a few PMC riders were there to share their post-ride stories, yet a few more riders (including ride leader Bobby Mac) were absent because this weekend is the Mass Red Ribbon Ride, the inheritor to scandalous Palotta Teamworks' Boston-NY AIDS Ride. I rode with the QC folks as far as Concord, where fellow PMC'er Tony and I forked off and headed to Waltham via Baker Bridge Road. Before we went our separate ways, Tony showed me a shortcut on Weston and Silver Hill Roads in Lincoln.

I had come back to Waltham to meet up with some BRC folks who were planning a leisurely ride of their own. After starting in Waltham, the route looped through an area west of Waltham and south of Concord that I'd never ridden through much: Weston, Wayland, and Sudbury. It was pretty relaxing, and a good ride overall. Sandwiched between two rainy days, it was beautiful weather, and even got a bit hot. I even got to show off the Silver Hill shortcut I'd learned from Tony mere hours before!

I'd planned to return home and catch some sleep before heading out again for the annual midnight architectural tour of Boston ride, which I missed last year due to the injuries from my PMC crash, but again it just wasn't to be. I hadn't gotten much sleep this week, and I was really fatigued ofter the 76 miles I'd already done. On top of that, I still had a house guest, and felt what might be just the beginnings of a sinus infection. As if that wasn't enough, the remnants of Hurricane Charley were supposed to hit us in the midnight-to-dawn period, so all things considered, I opted to sleep instead of ride throughout the night. A pity, but it would have brought my day's mileage over a century, and I don't need to be riding those kinds of miles anymore!

It was, however, really cool to be able to just ride for the pure enjoyment of it, while still being at my peak strength and endurance, without pushing myself to train, It made today's 76 miles, replete with hills, a pretty effortless and magical thing. It's always a delight to be able to easily do rides that had been immense and painful challenges only a few months before.