Voice Post: 2014 PMC Day 2: Sandwich

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

Well, good morning. It’s Sunday morning and the final leg of my 3-day journey. It’s kind of cool out and certainly heavy overcast. The roads are still wet, but hopefully the rain will be lighter than it was yesterday, and hopefully that’s the forecast. We’ll see how that materializes. Fortunately I only have 70 miles left, so hopefully it can’t be too bad, we’ll find out. Feeling pretty stiff today, pretty achey overall. I think the 225 miles wasn’t so bad as doing 125 in the rain yesterday which was just kind of brutal and has left the equipment — both my equipment and the bike’s equipment — in need of some rest and repair. But otherwise we’ll see how it goes, as long as I stay warm today and just keep ticking off the miles until we get to Provincetown. We’ll see. Kind of been a little more preoccupied with the conditions this year than with the mission, although occasionally it does pop into my mind that it’s the last PMC and of course the memories of Bobby Mac. Still in the back of my mind and comes to the forefront every so often. Appreciate everyone’s support and we’ll see how it goes. Final day; I hope it’s a good one. We’ll see…

Voice Post: 2014 PMC Day 2: Barnstable

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

Well, hi. I’m in Barnstable, and the first 14-15 miles went pretty easily. Very achey, but at least my body is familiar with the things that are gonna be asked of it. Roads are still half and half. It’s very heavy misty fog… not really sprinkling quite yet, but it’s on the verge of it. I’m way in the middle of the pack, so I’m gonna try to move on and get a little bit ahead, although I suspect I’m kinda screwed in that regard. But otherwise doing alright, just eating up the miles. A mixture of being strong and not being strong, so sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. The next segment is all Route 6A, which is very crowded, narrow, commercial, and trafficky. It’s one of the parts that I like least, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s probably another 15-16 miles, so we’ll see how that goes.

Voice Past: 2014 PMC Day 2: Brewster

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

Okay, we’re in Brewster, where the PA for the music is really loud; I’m sorry about that, if you can hear it. Otherwise things are okay. Route 6A wasn’t too too bad. It was very crowded with cyclists; not as many cars, probably because it’s a rainy weekend where the temperature is only 58 degrees in the middle of August, which is pretty ridiculous. The rain seems to have stopped for the time being. It had started a little bit when I left the last stop in Barnstable. But right now it’s just misty, heavy overcast. The roads are off and on wet and dry, but it seems to be drier than it’s been for most of the rest of the weekend aside for Friday; Friday was nice. That’s it from here; got one more stop after this, in Wellfleet. But gonna try and get a little space between me and the madding crowds here. Although they help me; being in the peloton raises my average speed; right now my average speed for today is 18.1 MPH, which is higher than normal. Enough of this I’m gonna move on and do the next thing. The next segment is another 18 miles, so it’s a little bit longer. It also involves the bike path, Ocean View Drive, and the swooping roads of Wellfleet. So a few hills, but not like the last segment in Truro. But anyways: I’m off!

Voice Post: 2014 PMC Day 2: Wellfleet

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

Okay, well, here I am in Wellfleet, with one section left of the ride. And it’s starting to sink in: (laugh) more the missing of Bobby Mac than the fact that it’s the last PMC. I’ve had certainly a lot more time to get used to the idea of a last PMC, and I wouldn’t have made the decision to stop if I wasn’t ready for it already. So we’ll enjoy that, but at the same time it’s also still a celebration of Bobby Mac and everything he did for the cycling community in Boston. He was just an incredible, marvelous man, and I can’t possibly begin to say enough about him, as was expressed earlier in my big blog post about him. So he’s definitely forefront in the mind, once I can think of anything but what’s on the immediate road in front of me and my aching body and so forth. And also it’s also the last segment of riding across the state. It’s the second time I’ve done it. It’s a big accomplishment in my book: a lot of hills, a lot of pushing the pedals. But it’s also been a good, worthy undertaking, as has the PMC in general. We’ll see. I’ll reach the finish line, but I won’t immediately post. I’ll probably wait a little bit; get some food and take a shower first, but I will do a voice post after I get into Provincetown, a little later, it’ll probably be mid-afternoon. But this will be a tough hour and a half of riding the last segment. Definitely feeling it, not just physically but also emotionally. That’s it; onward!

Voice Post: 2014 PMC Day 2: Provincetown

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

Okay, message from Provincetown, now that I’ve been here for a while. Finished the ride strong. It was kind of ironic that within the last four miles or so there was a guy who rode next to me who expressed condolences for Bobby Mac. Literally everybody knew him, so it’s not surprising that someone in the cycling community would reach out and say hey. So we had a good conversation there. I finished strong, although obviously really achey. After 290 miles, 125 of them in the rain… or 110 in real rain and another 70 today that were in kind of semi-rain. But a final message of thanks to everyone who has been involved in my ride and my 14 years of participation, allowing me to raise right now about $108,000 total, with a little bit more likely to come, of course. Whether it be the people who supported me logistically, obviously all my sponsors and particularly the good, reliable, generous sponsors, which I’ll talk more about in the eventual ride report, which you can look forward to. Just kind of wanted to leave you with the thought that the money that has been raised — that $108,000 — it’s not just something that has an effect for this year. Obviously it’s funding research, and research builds on research from year to year. So don’t be surprised if the money that people have given me over the past 14 years doesn’t just lead to immediate benefits, but benefits future researchers further down the road. So in a manner of speaking we’re not just spinning our wheels over the course of the past 14 years. It’s been a tremendous accomplishment, and I’ll have more to say about it in the ride report. That’s a wrap-up here from in Provincetown! We’re headed back to the hotel (laugh) and back to the hot tub, which was so beneficial last night. I’m looking forward to it again tonight, as well as some ice cream! Just wanted to express thanks and really articulate it clearly at the end of this long 14-year run that I’ve had. That’s it! It’s been enjoyable. The next thing you can look forward to is my ride report, which will be coming in a couple weeks.