Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday: Sandwich

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Hey, good morning, and welcome to day two's coverage of the 2012 Pan-Mass Challenge.

I'm happy to report that last night -- thanks to a handful of friends and actually more than a dozen people who have made donations over the course of this weekend -- I have now exceeded $10,000 fundraising for this year. I haven't done that in the past 2 years, I believe. I did do it for two years previously, so it's the third time that I've broken $10,000.

I guess the next milestone is breaking maybe $10,700 to go from my third best year to my second best year ever. But no worries; breaking $10,000 is a huge, huge accomplishment and much more than I had actually thought would happen this year. Great thank-yous to everyone who has contributed and everyone who has interest.

It's 5:45 in the morning and I'm about to go down to the bike path, where I will meet Jay, who's already been cycling for an hour. That's basically covering the ride that I did last night from MMA to my hotel in Sandwich.

The morning looks okay: it's warm but not hot, its very humid, and partly/mostly sunny... mostly a lot of fog blowing over. The body feels okay: it's a little stiff, but I'm sure that'll wear off over time, and the question is gonna be how my body handles another probably five or so hours in the saddle.

It sounds like were gonna have a somewhat brisk tailwind much of the way: from the south-southwest as we go across and then up the cape, which will then turn into a pretty good headwind when we get to Provincetown, because Provincetown curls around west and south again when we go out to the dunes at Race Point. But I'm looking forward to the day. It looks pretty good.

This is probably going to be my last ride with Jay before he moves away, as he's moving down to Florida, so we're gonna take some time and enjoy that. But first up are about ten miles of rollers on the Route 6 access road: it's crazy up and down, and up and down, and up and down, and up and down these sand dunes, basically. So I'll be doing that for the next hour or so, and the next update will come from Barnstable, which should be approximately 7 o'clock, maybe a little earlier.

Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday: Barnstable

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Okay, we are in Barnstable and it's something like ten minutes of seven.

I hooked up with Jay, as he had passed me, but I caught up with him on the rollers as he'd stopped to visit one of the medical trucks: nothing major.

It's not really warm, but it's incredibly humid. The water is just pouring off me in streams, which is not typical: I'm not someone who sweats very much. It's just ridiculously humid. The good news is that the sun is still down, or buried behind this fog bank we're in, so no major issues as far as sun exposure goes! Maybe that will change over the course of the day.

We're kind of in the middle of the pack. On Sunday there's no organized start, so people start whenever, so we're in the middle of the pack, but that doesn't matter as much today. It's important on Saturday, so I can get in get an early massage and shower. But on Sunday it's more laid back, and there isn't any real need to get to Provincetown early.

I'm kind of just enjoying the ride. The legs are ultimately pretty good a little weak-achey, but we'll ride into that, and it's supposed to be, after 140 miles! Doing pretty well and just hanging out with Jay, this probably being our last ride together. So I'm just enjoying the ride and the fact that I've broken all expectations as far as fundraising this year, which is a testment to you guys.

That's it, gonna try and get some water and hit the road and see how much more sweat I can generate! The next stop is in Brewster, which'll be maybe an hour, maybe a little more than an hour, which puts us around 8:00 or 8:15.

Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday: Brewster

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Hi, we're in Brewster, and it's now 7:50, so it's ten minutes of eight as predicted. Moving right along... Still pouring sweat but it's only 70 degrees, so it's kind of confortable when you're on the bike. But it's really sweaty, moist, sticky, whatever...

Making good time, averaging almost 18 miles per hour over the hills and down Route 6A, which is as congested as anything. Went by 'The Hedge' at the Cape Cod Sea Camps, and they always have a ton of campers out, so that was inspiring as always.

Still in the middle of the pack, but that's alright, no problems with that. Still hanging with Jay, as well.

Going to go over to the medical tent to see if they've got any chamois butter, because I'm getting some seat irritation. Otherwise just gonna grab some ice pops here because this is where they have them, and just keep rolling.

It's still pretty overcast; you can see a little bit of blue through it, so it may burn off. Generally doing well, just kind of showing the wear and tear of 150-odd miles in the saddle.

The next stop... If we're in Brewster, the next stop's Wellfleet, which will be the last stop before Provincetown. That'll be 9:30 or 9:15, so that's a little more than an hour from now.

Between here and there we have some of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, we go out over Ocean View Drive, over White Crest Beach, and zoom around Long Pond Road, before we wind up at Wellfleet. So there's a lot of fun riding still to go, but we're starting to see the finish line.

And the fact that I crossed the $10,000 barrier is incredibly inspiring to me right now. So I'm taking that with me, and the support of everyone who's made donations. It's really an amazingly inspiring thing to have so many friends that are so generous... some of them ridiculously so!

That's it, and we'll see you in Wellfleet shortly!

Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday: Wellfleet

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Hello, hello! It is now 9:07 and I'm at Wellfleet, which is the last stop before the final segment to Provincetown! Now mind you there's still 21 miles left to bike, and there's some damned big hills in Truro and then there's the exposed Route 6 that we take into Provincetown and then we go out around Race Point in the sand dunes. So there's a lot of hard riding yet to go, but it's the last segment.

I'm feeling pretty strong and still averaging about 18 miles per hour, which is pretty high for day two and high in general. Also kind of strange: my heart rate hasn't really broken 80 percent at all. I'm not sure whether that's faulty electronics or whether my body has adjusted that much. It's kind strange; usually when I'm biking I'm around 85, sometimes 90-95 percent on exertions, so I won't argue. I still feel strong; I don't feel weak or anything, so whatever.

The last segment from Brewster was interesting. We got onto the bike path and it was still overcast. But it had just burned off and the sun came out when boom! we had a sun shower! So that was kind of interesting. It really came down for a few minutes and lightly for several minutes. So that was kind of nice and cooling. I had to stop and take care of the electronics, but that's why I carry Baggies. It was kind of nice and refreshing but it increased out moisture.

With the fog burning off, now it's just brilliant sun and very few clouds, so I think it's gonna warm up, although it's still only in the 70s here on the cape. So it looks like we're gonna be in good shape to finish without any crazy storms or heat or humidty or anything; the wind's the only question.

That's it; I'll probably make a short post in Provincetown just to get you caught up. Provincetown has chronically bad cell phone coverage, so usually when I send updates from there they don't get through very well, so I'll keep it brief in Provincetown. But then I'll have one more update very much later, at the end of Sunday, with a little bit more of a weekend debrief.

Right now I'm extremely happy. Again, having made $10,000, it really means a lot to me and it'll mean a lot as I cross the finish line, and it'll help me get over those last 21 miles of hills and valleys and wind and so forth!

I feel strong and it's been a really good ride, and it's ending very, very well. I'm real happy and wish you could be here because it's a beautiful day out on the cape, now that the fog has blown off. I will talk to you soon!

2012 PMC Ride Report

Follow this link for my full 2012 Pan-Mass Challenge ride report, including writeup, photos, and GPS logs.

2012 PMC Done

Finished great, no cell phone coverage in province town, will update more this afternoon! THANKS!

Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday: Provincetown

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Okay, I'm gonna try this again, now that were in Provincetown, but I'll keep it short.

Basically we finished at 10:30. That last segment was a little hard because we had a pretty good headwind going out to Race Point Beach and up Route 6 and so forth.

Jay and I finished together. He finished his 3-day trek 290 miles all the way across Massachusetts, having started Friday in New York state; and I finished my 2-day ride, having surpassed the $10,000 mark in terms of funds raised, which is a testament to you guys. I very much appreciate it; I don't have time to tell you how much right now.

Hopefully this recording will go through, because phone reception in P-town is notoriously bad. There will be one more update this evening from Sandwich.

But right now it's all about relaxing and appreciating the wonderful weekend that you guys have enabled me to have. Both in terms of registering and meeting the minimum, but also in surpassing $10,000, which is just ludicrously awesome. I appreciate it, the other riders appreciate it, the volunteers appreciate it, the people lining the route appreciate it, the Dana-Farber people appreciate it... your donations really are valued by a *lot* of people!

And that's a wrap-up from P-town! I'm gonna spend the afternoon up here and head back to Sandwich, and I'll have a weekend wrap-up this evening.

Voice Post: 2012 PMC Sunday Sandwich Wrap-Up

The following is a transcription of a phone post that originally appeared in my main journal, here.

Well here's the end of weekend wrap-up for Pan-Mass Challenge 2012.

Overall I'm pretty ecstatic right now. The weekend went very well, despite it being a little warm (a surprise in August), and despite my legs being a little achey (a surprise after 200 miles in the saddle). Overall the weekend went fabulously.

The ride was again very inspiring and just an incredible experience. I love riding out here on the cape and just spending time out here. And having biked all the way from Sturbridge makes it kind of a special little pilgrimage.

And then on top of that, having shared a lot of the ride -- especially Day 2 -- with Jay, my buddy who's moving away... who completed his own trek across the state, having started at the New York border Friday morning. I was glad to share that with him. It was the first time he'd done that. And also with him moving away, it was a nice kind of farewell.

And then on top of all that, when I left the house on Friday I had not yet raised $9,000 this year, which was one of my goals. I thought it was an ambitious goal... but to have surpassed $10,000 total over the course of the weekend really was special. It was humbling. I have raised $10,000 or more on 2 previous years, but still to do that over the weekend, and to be able to cross the finish line... I'm certain this was the first time I'd raised that much by the end of the ride. So that was extremely special.

And that's a teastament to the support I get from a lot of very special people who are willing to give up some chunk of money to help everyone. From the riders, to the volunteers, to the people who line the route: everyone is just effusive with their thanks for this ride, which is a major, major event, raising more than 60 percent of what the Jimmy Fund raises every year. So it's a very important part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and for that -- and for all of that -- I thank you for your support. it means a lot to me, and it really matters to a lot of people. That's the one thing that I take home from this event every year.

That's a wrap for 2012! Stay tuned for my ride writeup and other postride debriefs. And then I'll be sending out another note when the check is presented, which I beleive is the first weekend in November.

A very successful event, and again thank you for all your support. It's very much appreciated, and kind of superlative, so thank you!