PMC 2010! Brent is pedaling through New England for a spectacular Bike-A-Thon, "The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge," a nonprofit that raises millions for cancer. Brent is riding with his former North Castle Partner, Ben James, and about 12 other "Team Ben" riders. The 192 mile bike ride, from Sturbridge to Provincetown was planned, for the Team Ben riders, after Ben's rare form of cancer diagnosis but before anyone knew how Ben would respond to a radical experimental treatment. Amazingly, Ben is doing so well, he is riding the whole race with his teammates!
Former Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass) are putting aside their political differences for the weekend and joining the 5,000 other bikers.
On Saturday Brent was so elated with the beauty of the scenic ride and the emotions of seeing so many cancer survivors and hearing their touching stories, he's requesting a guest post for the blog to highlight some take home lessons he has learned along the course!
Like Andie (who's always scheming guest post ideas), I told Brent that he should start a blog too! In fact, I've got the perfect title: "Dad"Nauseam, K2's Better Half." But, until he's up and going in the blogging world I'll try to distill some of his more poignant thoughts. The following are my condensed version of a few Brent notes from his ride so far:
Drafting! Drafting is a big part of biking; an important way to conserve energy. But it's clearly critical to be drafting with the right group of riders - not too slow or too fast for your pace. In the drafting line, you've got to trust the guy right in front of you. Consider all the "drafting in life" analogies! Your peloton (pack of riders) will really make or break you so the moral with drafting in cycling (or substitute friends in life) is that choosing who you hang/draft with is really important!
Giving! The spirit of the Pan-Mass ride is a great example of serving! And the effect serving can have on people! 5000 bikers fund raise and over 3000 dedicated volunteers pull off the charity race. The Pan-Mass is in it's 30th year! Everyone gets caught up in the spirit of giving! Of course, giving always brings out the very best in people so a ride like this finds energy and emotion of the highest order! Everyone is on their best behavior; the sense of community is palpable!
Thinking! Since the race didn't allow ipods there was plenty of time for Brent to just "think." And, in our world where we can potentially be connected to calls, texting, and internet 24/7 it's unique for Brent to find himself unconnected and with hours to simply think! And all Brent's contemplation, led to lots of pondering, which led to life lesson analogies! So, now, I've been able to benefit from Brent's thinking time too. And I didn't even have to bike 192 miles! Gotta love vicarious experiences! Although I'm sure biking it personally is better (but much harder too)!
