I did it! 111.67 miles

30 dozen red roses at the finish -- thanks Mark!

 Well, I did it! Day One of the Pan Mass Challenge. I say "Day One" because the really hard-core riders go on and do 80 more miles on day two, from Bourne to Provincetown. But one day is plenty.

It was a fantastic experience. Although I wasn't saying that around the middle of the ride. At times it was really challenging.

The worst part was my choice of "hotel" accommodations. Months ago I signed up to stay 10 minutes from the venue. I knew it would be an air mattress at a high school (for $25, the price was right!) but what I didn't expect was that I'd be the only woman with 30 guys in the non-air-conditioned auditorium. With emergency lights that didn't shut off. And about 80 degree heat, with very loud fans. I also have bug bites all over and I don't remember any bugs on the ride, so who knows what chewed on my ankles all night! At least there was a shower so I was able to freshen up -- at 4am! The bus came to get us at 4:30. There was breakfast at the venue, we lined up at 5:15am, then we were off at 5:30am.

The hills of Worcester are rumored to be very difficult. The handbook said the first 50 miles were very hilly. But fortunately I trained all season on western Massachusetts where there are REAL hills. So that was surprisingly easy. I kept thinking, OK, where are the hills? Gayle trained all season with me and she is so strong. We did a lot of hills, every ride. So I thank her for being such an awesome training partner.

I did see one crash. That was sobering. Before the first rest stop. I saw an ambulance, a whole bunch of riders, and a rider standing up with a back board strapped to him. He was smiling so I hope that meant he was OK. I think there are are sometimes deaths during this ride. There are over 5,000 riders.

There are police officers at every single intersection, so it felt really safe. The route is lined with people cheering us on. Many supporters had garden hoses and cooled us down as we rode through the spray.

Again this year I saw a rider with one leg. That was amazing. And all along the route there were photos of cancer survivors and people who had died as well. It was very moving.

I am ready to sign up again for 2013. I want to make a team. We can call ourselves "Patient 418161". That is my Dana Farber Cancer Institute ID#. Any takers? We start training in March!