Fighting Cancer with the PMC’s Team Kermit

Posted on August 26, 2011May 20, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

I founded the Pan-Mass Challenge’s Team Kermit with seven other close friends in 2005. That year we raised $56,000. In 2011 our team had 50 riders. This year we’ve raised $268,000. In six years we’ve raised approximately $USD1.2 million, 100% of which goes to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the Jared P. Branfman Sunflowers for Life Fund.

Valentina Rosa, TRA360 founder and CEO, at the PMC Finish 2011

My five greatest memories in PMC 2011 were:

Seeing my friend Tym Rourke speak at the Opening Ceremonies about his six-year-old son and our Pedal Partner Declan. What a story and what an incredibly wonderful boy. Look for Tym’s presentation in my previous PMC blog post.
Seeing Lance Armstrong speak from 20 feet away at the Opening Ceremonies and lining up 8 feet from him at the start. Lance is much bigger than the bike and his aura radiates that. As he said in the Opening Ceremonies, “My job is to put myself out of business.”
Riding alongside Alison Soule, one of my newest friends and fellow Kermit, 10 days removed from her most recent chemo treatment for breast cancer. Riding with Chris Smith, a first-time Kermit who is legally blind. Read more about Chris on the Dedham News Transcript website. Alison and Chris are inspirations to all of us.
Receiving all the great cheers for Team Kermit from the thousands of spectators lining the course. Hearing the hoots, hollers, and cheers of “Go Kermits!” “Like the frogs!” and “Great caps!” kept us flying down the road.
Meeting my first two fundraising milestones: $4,200 (two-day riding commitment) and $6,400 (Heavy Hitter). And, with my fundraising total now at $7,239, I’m 90% toward my overall goal of $8,000. I’m very confident that I’m going to reach and maybe even exceed my goal!

Fighting Cancer for the PMC: 274 Miles on the Bike

Posted on August 9, 2011May 20, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

This past Friday–Sunday (August 5–7) I rode in my tenth Pan-Mass Challenge, a bike ride fundraiser for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund. 5,000 riders rode distances of 84 to 192 miles over 1 or 2 days. I rode 192 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown, MA over 2 days. I did an extra 82 miles with other 11 teammates on Friday to the start line. Yes, I’m a bit crazy to take on these extra miles, especially on a challenging, hilly course 1 day before the main event.

Here is a video of the PMC Opening Ceremonies. See how the PMC bike riding community fights cancer.

PMC 2011 Opening Ceremonies at Sturbridge from David Hellman on Vimeo.

If you can’t hang in there for 49+ minutes, here are a couple of must-sees:

Jump to 15mins 15 secs to see a question-and-answer with Lance Armstrong, a first-time PMC rider you may have heard of.
Jump to 31mins 35 secs to see an emotional and inspiring speech by Tym Rourke, father of 6-year-old Declan Rourke. Declan is our Pedal Partner and some of the funds our PMC Team Kermit raised has gone to Declan’s treatments. If you watch Tym’s presentation and finish it with a dry eye, check your pulse.

Riding with the Next Generation of PMC Riders

Posted on June 12, 2011May 20, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

My son Dan and me at the Newton-Needham-Brookline PMC Kids 2011

This photo of my 21-year-old son Dan and me was taken at the 2011 Newton-Needham-Brookline PMC Kids Ride. Dan did his first 196-mile Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) as a 15-year-old and two more until age 17. We ride with Team Kermit, co-founded with my dear friends Steven, Ellen, and Adam Branfman, and a few others. We ride in memory of my loving friend & artist Jared Branfman who died from brain cancer at 23.

Dan and I haven’t done the PMC together since 2007. But we always make it for the Kids PMC; the ride has special meaning for both of us. In previous years, we’ve led young teens, the next generation of PMCers, on a 17-mile ride. This year the PMC organizers initiated a shorter 8-mile, on-road ride for younger kids, mostly 8- to 10-year-olds. When we were asked which group we wanted to chaperone Dan immediately said, “Hey Dad, let’s take the little kids on the road.” “Works for me,” I said. “Let’s have some fun.”

Newton-Needham-Brookline PMC Kids 2011 team photo

And fun we had. We took off with eight excited kids with their orange rider T-shirts, helmets, bikes, and name tags on their backs, and another adult chaperone. I led the group and was asked constant questions like: “How fast are we going?”, “How far have we gone?”, “Where are we going?”, “When will we get there?”, and the classic “Are we there yet?”

We had a blast with the kids, especially when we stopped the second time and they decided that we needed a team name (Orange Crush) and a cheer (sorry, I don’t remember that). We knew we’d done well when they all asked at the end: “Can we do it again?” “Sure,” we said, “next year.”

2011 will mark my tenth year riding in the PMC. To read my profile and make a 100% tax-deductible donation, go to http://www.pmc.org/profile/TR0029.