PMC Trip Report - Friday

Sturbridge on Friday was an all-new experience, starting with leaving Babson by on a bus for Sturbridge. Arrived at the very odd Host Hotel, which seemed to have been built by pilgrims with additions made every decade since. The result is a quirky maze of corridors and rooms that reveal mini-climates at every turn, from the bustling registration area to the cool theater to the kitschy main lobby and the indescribable bar/pool/function/marketplace space. Wonderfully, many teams were conducting fun fundraisers, leading me to get a PMC tattoo on my calf and a “192 miles; Ride it if you can” t-shirt that will entertain PMCers and Mad River skiers alike.

The highlight was the Opening Ceremonies. I happened to sit next to Mark Houston, who started the PMC in 2000 ten months after Kathy, his wife, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. “From that day forth, their lives changed forever. Team Kathy was formed and they have been riding ever since. This year, Team Kathy will pass the $500,000 fundraising mark.” It got even more poignant from there.

Billy Starr and NECN, toured the history of the PMC with photos, videos, and a handmade map from 1980. The tour included stops with conflicting emotions that are inescapable with the PMC, introducing us to riders from the early days, patients who are winning their battles, and angels who fight no more.

Billy Starr - My Road to the PMC

Joe Andruzzi amazed us with his terrifying story and amused us with his chuckling humor. The story of Andrea Moore, NECN’s 2007 Pedal Partner who passed away this spring, accompanied by soulful music, quieted the audience while soothing music pulled emotions that led to painful tears of loss.

Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, brought the laughter back when asked what he was looking forward to during the PMC. Byrne, who has cycled cross-country four times, said “Drafting. That sounds really cool.”

Sarah Bourges sang extraordinarily, as did a guy from Philadelphia who also had the joke of the night: “Where I come from, you have to get all Tour de Franced in spandex and whatnot, or everybody talks: ‘It’s all Oh, you don’t have a car, lost your license.”

The last vignette of the NECN broadcast was the story of a cancer nurse at MGH who worked for 2 years with a dedicated PMC rider. The rider asked the nurse to ride the PMC. The nurse said “That’s a long way, and I don’t even have a bike. I couldn’t do that on my daughter’s Barbie bike.” A few days later, the rider gave the nurse her bike, and the pearls she was renowned for wearing during the PMC. The rider passed away two days later, and the nurse has ridden the PMC since. As we learned this, the rider’s family and teammates, all wearing the pink colors of their team, came on stage.

And then NECN ended the broadcast...with 3,000 people blubbering in their tears. A bit of a rough send-off, but I guess that’s the “cost” having a live broadcast.

The lowlight was the Green Acres Motel; aptly named by Joe as “the most expensive hotel ever on a cost/value basis. On the positive side, it made it all that much easier to get up at 3:45 in the morning to get to the start.

I’m getting a bit ahead of myself: 3:45 a.m. is Saturday.