Free Press sportswriter shares personal experience 

By Chris Villani

I’ve taken part in the two-day Dana-Farber Cancer Institute fundraiser, known as the Pan-Mass Challenge, a total of 14 times, the last several with my mother in mind. She passed away in late 2019 following a bout with cancer, and she was a huge PMC supporter.

This year, I had a little more inspiration - about 15 pounds worth. Last November, my wife LeeAnn and I welcomed our son William into the world. Needless to say, things have never been the same since then.

William loves to smile, he loves to swim, and he even seems to love his vegetables. And, maybe someday, he will learn to love the PMC as well. It was nice having him to show off as I took off from Wellesley to start the 160-mile-plus journey. It was also fun to see him in Brewster as we rode past our second home in Brewster.

William was also on my mind as I approached the Lakeville water stop. For those who are not familiar with the PMC, Lakeville is known as the Pedal Partner stop. The PMC’s Pedal Partner program pairs each PMC team with pediatric patients at the Jimmy Fund. We ride for these kids, and many of them, along with their families, are waiting to say hello when we get to Lakeville.

During the ride, I chatted with a first-year rider and I told her about the Lakeville stop. It seems strategically placed. It’s about 25 miles away from the first-day finish line, which is far enough into the ride to be tired and ready for a cold beer and a hot shower, but it’s still well over an hour in the saddle before riding into Bourne. It’s a stretch where one can start to feel tired and cranky. But, as we ride into Lakeville, we are greeted with oversized photos of the smiling faces of children, some of them nearly as young as William, who are battling cancer. It’s a reminder of how indiscriminate the disease can be … and a little kick in the shorts for the riders that we should suck it up since all we are doing is riding a bike.

The hope is that we do more than that and that events like the PMC ultimately help us win the fight against this dreaded disease. Founded in 1980, the PMC has raised more than $1 billion for the Jimmy Fund, surpassing that milestone this year. Every rider has one billion reasons to feel hopeful for a better tomorrow. And, in my household, we’ve recently added one more.

Editor’s note: Chris Villani is the Free Press’ staff sportswriter