No Pain, No Gain
The 1996 Pan Massachusetts Challenge
August 3-4, 1996


The 1996 PMC has come and gone. On August 4th, I rolled into Provincetown to finish the 17th PMC; my 6th. This is a short account to tell you about the weekend.

Statistics

But first, the stats, which are good, all things considered. Total mileage this year was 194. Saturday was a bit longer than last year, at 113 miles, and 3100 feet of elevation gain. A detour early in the day added a few miles and a screecher of a descent - 49 mph without pedaling a stroke (well, maybe a few). I averaged about 17.5mph on Saturday, arriving at Bourne at about 1pm. Recall that last year, I averaged over 20 and arrived at 11:40. Amazing the difference 2500 extra miles of training and healthy knees makes! Would not have been able to do as well as I did without some help, which is detailed later. On Sunday, we left Bourne at about 5:30, arriving in Provincetown at 11 (I think), after 81 miles and 1700 feet.

Friday: Another appearance on TV

I've been shipping my bike east for the last few years, and it always goes to Jake's Garage. Jake was our mechanic for about 7 years. I picked up the bike on Thursday morning, and got a chance to see his '55 Chevy project, now painted Neptune Green Metallic. Anyway, Jake informed me that one of his buddies, Dave Robichauld, was a correspondant for Channel 4 (CBS) in Boston. Jake had convinced Dave that doing a story on the PMC would be a good thing, and that he should talk to three of Jake's customers who ride in the event: Chris Spear, John Kowaleski, and myself. We arranged to be interviewed in Sturbridge.

Well, we were late getting there, so I did not meet Dave at the prearranged spot. We ate our usually stuffing of pasta, then headed over to opening ceremonies, stopping at the exhibition hall along the way. At this point, I realized that I still had a bunch of checks which I hadn't handed in. So, I left Chris and his friend Bob Hwang at the exhibits, and I went back to the registration area, handed in my checks, and turned back to find Dave and his cameraman! He already had 50 interviews, but wanted one more. We did some q & a. And then... there I was on the 11:00 news, along with 3 or 4 other PMCers and some file footage. So, mission accomplished! Combined with my 15 seconds last year for the Second Harvest Food Drive here in Mountain View, I've got about 14 minutes left.

Saturday: Kneed to know

I've come out of a few PMC's with minor knee injuries, but I've never gone into a PMC pre-injured. My left knee had been recovering for several weeks. On the recovery schedule, an 80 mile weekend was in the plan. Oh well. The knee felt OK at the start, and the plan was to ride, not race.

We were off at 6AM, as usual. Chris and Bob disappeared ahead. John K. and I rode off into the sunrise - although it was not visible since it was totally overcast. As seems to be a new tradition, a bagpipe player in full dress greeted us a few miles in by the Charlton police department. Most impressive and moving.

We pulled into the first water stop in order to fix my derailleur which was not staying in gear. Between 20 and 40 miles, John and I rode with a small group. One first-year rider, Libby, had recently moved to Mass from Palo Alto, CA. On one hill, someone groaned about how steep it was. She and I shared a grin, knowing that this hill was half as steep as the shallowest part of Page Mill Road.

Strangely, the hills were less bothersome than the flats, perhaps because I could get out of the saddle. We rode straight through to the 60-mile stop. Although my left knee occasionally reminded me that it was "there", generally I was leaning on the right one, so the left was getting an easy ride. This process would come back to haunt me later.

Around 85 miles, we were riding through the cranberry bogs. Two women who have been supporting the ride as long as I have been riding, were on the roadside dressed as monkeys, and holding signs urging us on. John K. stopped to take a picture with them. We pulled in at the 98 mile stop. Several kids on the side of the road had hands out for "high-five's". 1, 2, 3, 4! Got them all. It's always a warm feeling when you see people who have come out to support us along the route. They're always excited and it really helps move you along. Things were still ok with 15 to go.

Somewhere in this stretch, at about 107 miles (or about 35000 pedal revolutions), my right knee (also known as the "good" knee) had had enough. This made the last 6 miles uncomfortable, to say the least. Thankfully, John K. was there to keep me company and tow me along. We rolled into the Mass Maritime Academy at 1:00. After a shower, a massage, and some lunch, I hit the medical tent for some ice, and tried to get the knees ready for Sunday.

By 3, the sun was out, and the MMA was in full-swing. Things seemed bigger; there were more people everywhere. Nearly 1900 riders and 1500 volunteers were involved this year, about 25% more than last. One of these volunteers was tying a plastic bag around the saddle of each bike in the bike parking area because (a) it was outdoors, and (b) there was a good chance of fog Sunday morning. That's service! I met several new people who were impressed that I (and others) come all the way from places like California and Colorado to ride in the PMC.

We spent the afternoon eating, icing sore knees, snoozing, and cheering in the last rider who arrived at about 7pm. As if we hadn't eaten enough, we headed in for "dinner", after which there didn't seem to be much else to do but call it a day, as reveille is at 4AM on Sunday.

Sunday

Bourne is a very dark place at 3:55 on a Sunday morning. Six years of experience teaches you to eat first, lest a mass of 1800 other riders meet you in the mess hall. I met Chris, Bob, and the Brightmans (Tim and Mark) for breakfast. John, Chris, Bob, and I had planned to meet at 5:30, which we did. No sunrise this day - there was a very low fog over the Cape Cod Canal. We travelled up and over the Bourne bridge, which is always an awesome sight. After a few turns we were on the canal access road and on the way to P-town. Chris and Bob quickly disappeared in the fog ahead.

I expected my right knee (now the "bad" knee) to last me through about half of the access road, and I was right on. That left 75 miles. Although there's not much in the way of downhill on Sunday, I managed to coast down whatever there was. I spent a lot of time out of the saddle, even in the slightest rolling hills. This seemed to make the ride a little easier.

We stopped only at the halfway point. After passing the 60 mile stop, I must have suggested that I should quit (this part of the ride is something of a blur). John knows how stubborn I am, and thought the fact that I even mentioned stopping was somewhat of an alarm. So, a short time later, he made the same suggestion: "Sag it" (that is, pull over and wait for a sag wagon to take me the rest of the way). Might have been the word "sag", or that 'ol stubborness, but I just couldn't do it. In some way, a little pain made the ride more meaningful, and with only 20 miles to go and nothing broken, it was a walk (limp?) in the park.

At the one significant hill in Truro, Saturday's monkeys had become Sunday's pink bunnies (or was I seeing things?). A good sized group of supporters cheered us up the hill: "Only 12 miles to go!" Turning onto route 6, a pace line running at just about our speed came along and John and I latched on. John moved quickly to the head of the pack and towed us along into Provincetown.

One of the more difficult parts of the PMC is that when you're in sight of Provincetown, about 2 miles from the end, the route turns right for one final set of rolling hills through Race Point, making the home-stretch 5 miles. It's not much, but after a ride like this one... Anyway, we rode through these hills, which are quite striking, exiting back onto route 6 and the final turn to the ProvinceTown Inn. No sprints this year. Just a hearty "thanks" to John who had towed me along for another 80 miles. Also, this year, Beth flew east with me, and was at the finish to meet me for the first time in 3 years! This made the end of the ride even more special.

Cirque du Provincetown

The end of the PMC is a sight to be seen. There are semi's for moving bikes back to Boston and Sturbridge; two National Guard shower tents, hooked up to pumps (although not hooked up to heat this year; but, heck, at least it was a shower and not a garden hose); the biggest circus tent I've ever seen under which there were tables and tables of food; a 20 foot barbeque; bicycles and luggage and people everywhere. One volunteer who was serving lunch asked me why I had come from California to ride. We talked for a while, and he helped me to reinforce the connection between the riders, the volunteers, and the event.

As usual, we ate and ate and ate. We rejoined Chris and Bob, who had turned in a great time, arriving in P-town before 10. Bob was heading back on the bus. Beth, Bob, and I walked through Provincetown, depositing his bike at the bus, and mine at the B&B where Beth and I would spend Sunday night. We walked around Provincetown for a bit, looking at the shops, after which Bob headed for the bus, and I for the B&B for a long overdue nap.

Wrapup

It was a tough ride this year, but I like to think of it as symbolic of the reason that we ride. The fight against cancer has its ups and downs. Some years show amazing progress and breakthroughs; some promising research comes up short. That's the nature of science. But we keep riding/fighting because the the cure is out there somewhere, and the money we raise is funding the research that will unearth that cure.

To date, my great sponsors and I have raised about $3300 for 1996, and fundraising continues through November. In 6 years, I've raised nearly $20K! I will keep you posted; the official numbers are released in early December.

Although I do the riding, I like to think that we all participate in the PMC: my wife, Beth; my family; my sponsors; the people that just wish me "good luck". I sincerely thank you all for your support, and I hope you will all continue to support me as I continue to ride to end cancer.