East and West

September 2, 2006

I've done a lot of PMC's on the east coast. Last year, I stayed on the west coast. This year, I decided to do a little of both: the first day of the PMC in Massachusetts, and a second day here in the Bay Area. I arrived the Wednesday night before the ride, and stayed with long time friends Hans and Nancy in Lexington. Thursday, I re-assembled the bike in some serious heat - mid 90s, and quite humid. The forecast was for cooler weather for the weekend. As long as it was less humid, it'd be fine. I took the bike for a 12 mile "installation" ride, draining a full water bottle in the process. Everything looked good to go.

Pre-ride On Friday, I thought about taking another short ride, but it was very hot once again. Nancy was having some car problems, so we dropped her car off at the dealer. Later, we picked the car up only to find out that it was still having problems! We needed to get to Babson College - the Wellesley start for the PMC - to check in, so with some juggling of plans, we were able to drop her car off again, and get to Wellesley in good time. This was the first year I would start from Wellesley. It is very popular now - some 1500 riders launch from there. The sign-in scenes are similar to Sturbridge - folks lined up alphabetically, picking up riding jerseys, luggage tags, and so on. We could not stay too long as Nancy's "team", the Over the Hills Gang, were coming over to Nancy's at 6 for a pot-luck dinner. It's a great group of folks, many of whom I've met at previous PMC's. The food was spectacular - not to knock the PMC's Friday Night Feast, but there's nothing like a gourmet dinner the night before a big ride. Some of the team were planning to ride the 16 miles to Babson in the morning to avoid the crowded access and parking situation, so I made plans to join them. At 5:45 ?! With an hour's warmup ride, we'd get there with plenty of time for a snack, and to be ready for the 7:30AM start. I had thought the Wellesley start would get me an extra 1.5 hours of sleep, but oh well!   Maybe I got an extra half hour. Lexington to Wellesley I awoke Saturday morning with lots of time for a quick breakfast with Nancy. Her team-mate Steve and I met as planned at around 5:45 AM. There was a nice sunrise over Lexington. It was much cooler than previous days, but the humidity was high (for a Californian, anyway). The 16 miles to Wellesley rolled through Waltham and Weston - a good warmup. We made it in just about an hour, as planned, and the Babson start was already bustling with riders. After a quick snack, I located Nancy (cell phones come in very handy sometimes) and was invited to be an honorary member of the Over the Hills Gang and join them for some group photos.

Gourmet night! Nancy and I wake up at breakfast

Steve and I start in Nancy's driveway

With the Over the Hills Gang

Nancy and I at the start

Pedal Partners MMA has a windmill now

Like many of the stops, the entry way to the lunch stop was lined with large pictures of Pedal Partners - kids being treated at Dana Farber who are partnered with PMC riding teams. It's an excellent reminder of why we're here. Here, I looked for and found Nancy's friend David who was working the food station. I snagged another PB&J - to augment the Gu during the ride - dumped and refilled bottles, and waited for the group. It was pretty early ; about 9:45, so very few riders were there. Steve, Quentin, and I got back on the road and set the same zesty pace. We scooped up some solo riders; some stuck with us, some were dropped. Somewhere in the Wrentham area, Steve was getting leg cramps, so I suggested he drift to the back of the group and just draft. Our group built back up to 8 or so, and Quentin and I did much of the work on the front. Eventually we drifted back to let these other folks work. At the next stop, we pulled in and made sure Steve got fluids - water and gatorade. I only needed 1 bottle to get to the finish - maybe 25 miles - but filled both in case anyone needed extra. There was a short stint to the last stop (which is only 10 miles from the finish), and Steve needed to pull off for more water, but no one else wanted to stop - he was ok with that. So the rest of us headed for the finish. Quentin and another rider were still very strong and we flew up the endless grade through Wareham and Onset. We all took turns at the front and we were working very hard. We got stuck at one traffic light in Onset and you could really feel the heat! There's only about 3-4 miles from that light so we really hauled. We even had a little sprint after the turn onto Academy Drive into MMA. Of course, since I am a very poor sprinter.... it was good fun anyway.

We rolled in at about 11:55am, 4 hours riding, 84 miles, 21 mph average. I did a total of 100 miles for the day. I took a few more stops than I had planned, but that was wise, as it was also hotter than I expected. The extra fluids kept me almost perfectly hydrated. It was a good, strong ride, without going over the top. I thanked Quentin for his company for 75 miles, and wished him luck. As I was doing only 1 day in Massachusetts, and my cousin Janet was going to be picking me up as early as 12:45, I set the bike down and headed for the food tent. A cup of Legal's seafood chowder and a few hot dogs later, I headed for the showers. On the way, I ran into my friend John Peterson (see stories from 2004 and 2003). He had recently arrived from Sturbridge and had a good ride. I called Beth to check in, and waited for Janet. She hit really bad traffic so I had some time to watch riders come in. I had a leisurely lunch with Janet and her daughter Noa in Wareham after which Janet drove me and the bike back to Cambridge. We had all planned to do a short spin on the Minuteman bike trail, but with the Cape traffic, we didn't get back to Janet's place in Cambridge until almost 5, and we all had plans that night. So, back in the car for the short trip back to Lexington. Many thanks to Janet (and Noa) for shuttling me back from Bourne! I think a ride back to Lexington would have made for a very long day - 200 miles. Been there, done that, no need to do it again! After packaging the bike, I spent Saturday night with good friends Rob and Carol. We had a nice dinner, caught up, then on Sunday morning, took a nice walk to a very cool diner for breakfast. Then, off to New Jersey to see the folks. PMC-West I returned to California 3 days after the PMC, but there was no time to relax. I had less than 3 weeks to continue training for PMC-West on August 27. This year, there was a new spin: I invited sponsors who also ride to join me. I designed a somewhat more sane ride than last year - a traditional coast ride from the Santa Clara valley to the coast and back. There would be three major climbs - Old La Honda, Haskins Hill, and Tunitas Creek Road - and one minor, Stage Road between Pescadero and San Gregorio. While my bike was in transit back from Massachusetts, I got in a few mountain bike rides. After one of these rides , I was packing up the bike on Skyline Blvd when I noticed a road rider coming up the road. The jersey seemed to be the same color scheme as this years' PMC jersey. Hmmmm. As he got closer, I realized that it was a PMC jersey! I jumped in the car and got to the top of the next climb, where I flagged him down. That's how I met first-year rider Warren from nearby Scott's Valley. I'm hoping to ride with him in the future.

Arastradero to La Honda August 27th showed up quickly. We had 4 for the ride. I was joined by sponsors Bill, Steve (yes, yet another Steve), and Ted. We started around 8 AM on a somewhat foggy morning at the Arastradero Open Space Preserve. Within the first half mile, Steve got a flat, so we all pitched in to get that fixed. We took the first climb, Old La Honda, at a very judicious pace; this ride has 6500 feet of elevation gain so a conservative start was a fine idea. Old La Honda is about 3.5 miles, and 1350 feet. Once up Old La Honda, we descended along Skyline to Highway 84, then turned towards the coast for the descent into the town of La Honda. Along the way, a nasty bump in the road caused water bottles to pop out for Bill and Steve, and Ted's handlebars rotated. We stopped in at the La Honda market to make some quick repairs, then headed for Haskins Hill.

Bill descending towards La Honda

Steve descending 84

Fixit break in La Honda

To Pescadero and San Gregorio Haskins Hill (Pescadero Creek Rd) has always been one of my favorite climbs. It's not hugely steep at 6% and it's only 2 miles, maybe 800 feet. It's totally shaded by redwoods, and a very consistent grade so you can get into a nice rhythm. On the other side, it's a screamer descent which then follows the creek rolling on into Pescadero. We stopped in at the bakery for fresh baked artichoke bread. The sun was trying to peek through the fog, but not quite yet. When we were ready to leave, we had about half of the bread left. I said I'd take just one more chunk, then Bill did the same, then Steve...and then it was gone. That was one good bread! From Pescadero, we took Stage Road over to San Gregorio. Stage is about 7 miles, a series of 3 short climbs and descents. Around the base of the second climb, Beth was there to take some of these great pictures of us descending and climbing the various hills. We all met at the San Gregorio General Store for our last rest stop. Stage Road continues climbing for about another 1.5 miles to the Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). This is the steepest part of Stage. The sun was out so the jackets and arm warmers came off. After a few more pictures, Beth turned south towards Santa Cruz, and we turned north up Highway 1 towards the most difficult climb of the day (and one of the toughest in San Mateo County): Tunitas Creek Road.

Fresh baked bread in Pescadero A pensive climb up Stage Road

Bill on Stage Road	Ted on Stage Road	Steve on Stage Road
Second Stage Rd. Climb	San Gregorio General Store	All of us climbing to 1

Tunitas Creek Tunitas is a very pretty road. It starts out rolling for several miles through farms and eventually it turns up for the 6 mile, 2000 foot climb back to Skyline. This road has some sections with a 12% grade, so it is definitely work. Occasionally, someone would drop off the back, and I'd slow up to bring them back to the group. We did most of this climb, as well as nearly all of the climbs, together, which made some very challenging climbs enjoyable for all. At the top of Tunitas, we were not done yet. We still had about 10 miles to go until the finish. We descended Kings Mountain Road, a fast, technical descent. Everyone descends at different speeds, so we re-synced at the bottom. The rest of the ride is almost flat - through Woodside, we made our way to Sand Hill Road for the last short climb, then zipped along near Stanford University for the remaining 4 miles of rollers back to the cars. After the ride, we all went to a local Italian eatery to eat heartily and celebrate a good fun ride, and a successful year.

On the climb to Highway 1

It's Been 16 Years The 2006 PMC went very well. Both rides were a big success. Great weather and great company. I rode along both coasts. Fundraising is going very well. As of this writing, I have raised about $10,500, and for my 16 years, I have raised almost $108,000. The PMC will probably raise over $25 million this year alone, bringing their total to over $170 million. But what's it all about? As usual, while writing this story, I read through my past accounts. I was reminded of our trip to DFCI and the Jimmy Fund Clinic in 1999. I was reminded of friends and family who have survived cancer, and those who have not. At least once each spring, one of my core group of sponsors asks "So, are you doing the PMC again this year?" And the answer is always yes, whether a virtual ride, or the actual ride, or some combination. Because there is still a need. And with your help, hopefully, someday soon there will not. Thank you for continuing to support the PMC!