Thanks everyone who donated to my 2011 Pan-Mass Challenge effort. Once again, the experience was absolutely amazing. It just blows me away to see how many people are out there supporting the cause. Not only are there are 5,000 riders, but 3,000 come out to volunteer their time to run the water stands, provide bike repairs, medical help and everything they need to make this event run like clockwork.
The night before the race, Emma and Jack wanted to come to registration, so they helped me get signed up and store my bike away for the night. I think Emma thought she was auditioning for a show tune here!
The next morning my friend Nick picked me up at 5:15am and we headed out to the start in Wellesley. It was still pretty calm there when we first got there... thousands of riders still to arrive
We left Wellesley at 7am and the first water stop was 24.1 miles off. The "water stops" are amazing. My first year I figured they would just be some tables with water, right? Hardly. Tons and tons of fruit, sandwiches, energy bars, gatorade and more all donated by corporate sponsors so your donations go 100% to the Jimmy Fund. Here's what the volunteers put together as the entrance to the second stop on the first day.
On the first day, there are two starts to the race -- Sturbridge and Wellesley -- and they merge before the lunch stop (43.9 miles for our ride!) Crazy how many riders there are here!
There are folks all along the ride, outside cheering and holding up signs. Literally you don't go more than a mile without seeing a group of supporters. Some are in their lawn chairs with their coffee, but others like this one really impress upon you how important this event really is. And this was just one of probably hundreds of signs I saw with the same sentiment
After 84 miles we've reached the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne and it's the end of the first day. There is a sea of bikes from all the riders! Some of us stay in the hot dorms, some on the frigid ship docked alongside the academy, and some in those green tents you can see in the distance. It was the dorms again for me this year, but it was pretty airless in there so next year I may have to break out my tent!
My parents were bringing Jack and Emma out for a day on the cape and going to meet me at the finish the next day. As luck would have it they were passing by Bourne shortly after I arrived there so they stopped by to say hi! The kids told me that we had to find *my* bike so that they could check it out and make sure it was working right for the ride the next day
Family photo at the Mass Maritime Academy... I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to stand back up once I kneeled down!
The next day we woke up at 4am to pouring rain outside. We got ready and had something to eat. By the time the sun rose around 5am the rain had let up to a slight drizzle and off we went over the Bourne bridge and onto the Cape. Not to many photos from this day... it was wet and misty most of the time although we avoided really heavy rains. Plus we were CRUISING along... beat our time from last year by an hour to finish at the Provincetown Inn! 79 miles in total this second day.
There are two finishes to the PMC -- the crew I was riding with was all going to the Provincetown Inn finish, but families aren't allowed there. Just riders. Well I had to finish with my friends, so here we are!
But I also had to see my family so back on the bike I got and rode another 2 miles to finish a second time at the other finish!
It was fantastic to have my kids there at the finish for the second year in a row. I think they were pretty excited to be there as well. Thanks to my parents for being there too and bringing the kids down!
Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen. It was a lot of work to get here... but I have this feeling I'm going to be back again next year :)
- kristian
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