Thursday, July 31, 2008

“Day -1” is the travel day from home in Mystic, CT to our hotel on the MA/NY line in West Stockbridge, MA. This day is normally quite uneventful, if slightly stressful. I sleep poorly the night before (mostly due to excitement), work in the morning instead of packing, hear a little (deserved) fussing from Corinne because I haven't yet packed, then finally pack everything into the car and leave.

Things were a little different this year. I slept well, and only worked for less than an hour in the morning, while Corinne was at a doctor's appointment (checkup), and manage to pack most of my clothes before she returned. I checked my Gmail account to see if any new software donations had come in, and found that someone had donated 1,000 licenses of his app!

After Corinne returned and we finished the packing, I started loading up the minivan which we borrowed from my Dad for the trip. My bike was the last item to go in, and I was prepping it in the garage. Dad was holding Lauren, and kept "peeking" her out around the garage door so I could say "boo!" and make her giggle a little. The last time he did it, I jumped at her to get a bigger reaction... and my left foot landed squarely on an old screw on the garage floor.

The screw wasn't pointing straight up, or it would have gone all the way through my foot (it was a couple inches long). Landing on it must have turned it so that it stood up a bit, because it still managed to penetrate 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch into the soft part of my foot, right behind the ball and above the arch. It hurt, obviously, and I just ripped it out with my right hand immediately. Which also hurt, and took a little plug of skin with it.

That skin-plug was probably a good thing. There's much less chance for infection when the infected skin is immediately pruned/bowled out, right?

I freaked out a little, and ran for the bathroom to wash it out. All I could think about was the amazing timing of this accident, that it could cancel or at least ruin my PMC for me. Waaah! That was completely unnecessary, though: it bled well, and stopped hurting (mostly) after a couple minutes of flushing it out with cold water.

Once on the road (before 1 p.m., also a first), we actually — and I think for the first time — managed to leave without having to go back for something we'd forgotten. We gassed up in Norwich and stopped at Olympic Pizza for lunch (took it with us), and other than one or two rest stops we drove straight through to the Pleasant Valley Motel in West Stockbridge, MA. (That's the same place we stayed last year, and they gave us a very nice rate.)

The Huckleberries planned to meet on the NY line at 7:00 a.m. for a "wheels down" ride-out at 7:30, so I was in bed at about 10:00 and fell asleep more easily than expected.

Billy Starr, founder and leader of the PMC, sent out an email today asking — nay, commanding — all of the PMC riders to read an article on the Boston Globe's web site: If only drivers shared the road, cyclists would be safer.

It's very much like similar articles I've seen many times before: it's a little dangerous to be a cyclist on the roads with big cars and angry drivers. I have no argument with the basic premise, and it's certainly true that many drivers wish we weren't out there. Most drivers tolerate us just fine, and a few seem to actually like to see us, but there's a very vocal minority who would rather see us banned. More dangerous, I think, are the careless drivers on cell phones, though. While the angry driver will usually just try to scare you, he hasn't actually lost control of his big, red pickup truck. The careless driver, though... look out.

As I said, I have no argument with the idea behind the article. Some of what it actually says, though, is bordering on asinine.

I just have one question: Why are you so angry? We're out there obeying the rules, getting exercise, and saving gasoline. We've ridden in charity rides that benefit cancer, mental retardation, poor children, multiple sclerosis, and myriad other causes. We stay on the far right side of the lane. We never blow through traffic lights or stop signs. We're cautious because we know that you're out there in mega-ton vehicles, any one of which could flatten us in an instant.

Sure, lots of us ride in charity events, but I honestly don't know many drivers who always obey the rules of the road. In fact, that paragraph is so ludicrous that I have to wonder if it was written just to get a rise out of the motorists who read the story. MOST CYCLISTS COMPLETELY IGNORE THE TRAFFIC LAWS AND ALL COMMON SENSE RULES OF SAFETY.

I'm going on a 60 mile hill ride with a bunch of ultra-experienced cyclists in about an hour. All of us will put in at least 5,000 miles this year, and some of the group were actually professional (that is: paid, Cat-1) racers at one time. Yet, the most experienced of the whole group is almost certainly going to do little more than slow down for stop signs, and will only stop for red lights if the cross-wise traffic is not yet moving.

Now, I know the roads I ride on VERY well. There's a light at the end of River Road, for example, that a cyclist can't 'trip' to turn green, so there's no choice but to go through it (after checking for traffic). There's a four-way stop on Clift Street, half way up a ridiculously steep climb: frankly, if there's no car there (or if there is but they wave me through because they understand) then I'm not stopping for it because then I'd have to walk to the top.

But I don't know anyone who rides the way he describes in that article. Not really. I know plenty of riders who pretend they ride that way, who claim it in conversation, but I don't know any who do it.

In fact, I was thinking the other day that if we're going to claim to have just as much right to the road as cars do, then perhaps we should be licensed to ride on roads the same way cars are. (Admittedly, we don't pose a safety risk to others quite the way a car does, but that's not the only reason drivers are licensed.)

The reader comments after the article are all over the place, but I agree a lot more with the second commenter than I do with the author's "perfect world seen through rosey glasses" imagination. I'll quote in full:

Oh, so many things wrong with this article. First, I have the "pleasure" of driving to work through "cyclist heaven" (Lexington, Belmont, Bedford, etc) and have had on more than one occasion, seen a "law abiding" cyclist do the following: take a right turn around a car from the wrong lane; failing to stop at stop signs/stop lights, not stopping for school buses (yes, there was a near miss). I am all for cyclists getting exercise and using alternative transportation, but YOU as a cyclist should be required to be licensed. If I have to be licensed to drive my car on the streets/roads of MA, you should be too. Just two weeks ago, I thought I had inadvertantly struck a cyclist who cut me off (while he was wearing iPod headphones) on a busy road. An officer cited him for reckless "driving" and ticketed him. one word: karma.

(That reminds me that Steve once told me about a roadie wearing iPod headphones and being completely unaware that Steve was trying to get his attention. Way to die, buddy.)

Safer roads and friendlier drivers would be great, but we bear at least some of the blame for the anger and the danger.

The first weekend in August, for the sixth year in a row, I'll be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge. This year they've told us there will be 5500 riders, and we ride about 200 miles from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown (on the tip of Cape Code). The real point, though, is the money we raise: millions and millions of dollars, all for the research and treatment of cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston.

The total project goal this year is $34,000,000! (And we'll raise more than that, we surpass our goal every year.)

Last year I raised about $5,000 for the PMC by collecting donations of Mac software from the authors/publishers and then selling it in bundles on eBay or giving it to people in return for making donations to the PMC.

I'm running late this year, but the project is and running again and this time I want to raise a total of $10,000.

Right now, I need donations. If you produce mac software, please donate some! I need at least another 90 titles, with a minimum of five licenses each. Sixty-two apps titles have been donated so far.

(If you're not a software producer, I could also use some regular donations! I have had two big donors every year since I started doing this, but this year one doesn't have the money to donate anything, and the other only had $500 to donate instead of $1,000.)

Last year, an employee at Adobe sent me a copy of Flash CS3 which he purchased on his discount. This year, he came through again and got a coworker to go in on it with him so I'm also getting a copy of Illustrator CS3! However, 99.9% of the software that's donated is just a set of licenses, no physical goods or costs at all.

Those big-ticket items are nice, but that will only account for about $1,000 of the $10,000 I need to raise.

Please help out if you can.

Registration for the PMC 2008 opens next week!

Pan-Mass Challenge - Registration for Heavy Hitters

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

This registration period is for 2007 Heavy Hitters only (those who raised $6,300 and above) and GUARANTEES the route, Saturday night accommodation, and return transportation* of their choice.

On January 8th registration will open for all alumni riders and we can no longer guarantee your preferred ride options.

*we cannot guarantee fast ferry availability

I actually considered not riding in ’08, but my reaction to "next week" has changed my mind. I'm excited!

The following is a message from Billy Starr at the PMC:

====== Forwarded Message ======
Date: 12/12/2007 2:21 PM
Received: 12/12/2007 2:21 PM -0500
From: Billy Starr [email withheld]
To: Seth Dillingham (and 1579 others)

During this period, all 2007 Heavy Hiters are guaranteed the route,
Saturday night lodging and Sunday transportation mode of choice. This
guarantee expires as soon as alumni registration opens on January 8th.
Congratulations – and thanks again - to all 1,580 heavy hitters!
====== End Forwarded Message ======

This will be my first year as a PMC Heavy Hitter Alumnus. EXCELLENT!

In a separate message a couple weeks ago, they told us about the fundraising minimums for 2008. They went up. A lot! Oy!

Fundraising minimums for 2008

1. All routes finishing in Provincetown: $4,000
2. Two-day rides finishing in Wellesley: $3,400
3. One-day rides to Bourne: $3,000
4. Sunday Wellesley - Wellesley ride: $1,300
5. Heavy Hitter*: $6,700

Last year the Provincetown routes were $3600, and the Heavy Hitter level was $6600. It's odd that HH only went up by $100.

This year the donation to the Jimmy Fund was $33 Million. My little contribution to that was about $7300 (that's how much I raised, not personally donated).

2008 Is Looming

I hope my software donors from this spring/summer are ready and willing to donate early this year! My plan is to start raising funds as soon as I register, and spread it out for nine months instead of overworking myself for three at the last minute.