[As most of you know, the annual gathering of the prog-blogger tribes was held in Chicago this weekend — the YearlyKos convention. This year, more than ever, the MSM (aka the mainstream media) was all over the YKos story. The large-caliber Dem candidates were there in person to answer questions and debate each other on issues raised by the hundreds of online correspondents in attendance. If there’s any remaining question about the rapidly-growing influence of the political blogosphere in the real world of professional politics, this year’s YKos conference should put that to rest.

Our friend and colleague Terri Buchman was there, right in the thick of things. She’s the Netroots Coordinator for our online JK team; so she was at YKos, well, coordinating the netroots. She’s got a whole week’s worth of tales to tell about the many fascinating people and events she experienced there, and we’re all looking forward to seeing them here on the blog. Unfortunately, her laptop expired right before she got on the plane — what terrible timing! oh, the humanity! — so we’ll have to wait until she’s back in the office to hear more about this weekend’s events in Chicago. In the meanwhile, here’s some more followup on this weekend’s events in Massachusetts.]

The annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge charity bicycling event is a lot more than just another fund-raiser for a good cause. Sure, the cause is extremely worthwhile — all proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund of the world-reknowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And when they say “all proceeds,” they really mean “all proceeds.” The overhead costs of the event are covered by in-kind donations from various sponsoring companies and organizations, so 99 cents out of every dollar raised by riders goes directly into the coffers of the Jimmy Fund. This is an outstandingly high ratio, unique in the charitable-organization field. The event itself is also unique, since it’s not only the oldest charity bicycling event but also the largest charity athletic event of any kind. Not too shabby for something that a few dozen dedicated riders put together in their spare time back in 1980.

The figures for this year’s PMC event aren’t available yet, of course, but it’s reasonable to assume that it will at least match and will probably exceed the amount raised by last year’s challenge, and bring the total to over $200 million contributed to cancer research as a direct result of the individual riders’ rising to the challenge. (For the record, you and JK’s other supporters collectively contributed $25,039 to sponsor his ride this year, exceeding his goal of $20,000 by a rather healthy margin. And by the way, JK was in the first group of riders to cross the finish line on Saturday’s ride again this year — not too shabby for a sitting Senator, either.)

When it comes to individual riders rising to the challenge, though, that’s what makes the Pan-Mass Challenge truly special. It’s not just another charity event. It’s a personal adventure, a community gathering, a mass effort to combat the cancer that has affected so many people in such personal ways. Most of the riders have lost someone to cancer, either a family member or a close friend. Many (like JK) are actually cancer survivors themselves. So when they ride, they don’t ride alone. They ride with memories in their hearts, remembering the loved ones they’ve lost to the disease. Many of the participants wear photographs of those they’re riding in honor of on lanyards around their necks, or taped to the handlebars of their bicycles. (In some cases, the photos stretch all the way across from handgrip to handgrip.)

And they don’t just ride with their memories, they ride with their colleagues and companions. Many riders are part of teams, either official or unofficial, that make a point of coming together to train and to participate in the events as a group each year. And they also ride for and with the non-bicycling residents of the towns they pass through on the route. It’s not just another event for those spectators either. It’s a communal cause that brings hundreds of people to help and thousands of people to cheer the riders on in each community that they visit along the way. The Pan-Mass Challenge brings people together in very special ways. All you have to do is ask, and they’ll be happy to explain how and why.

From the Weston, MA Town Crier:

“This is an event that isn’t just a bike ride. It’s far more than that. It gets you on so many levels,” said Jean O’Connor, a Weston resident who has participated in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge for four years.

Some people have a personal reason for riding, whether it be a friend or family member who had cancer, she said. O’Connor is one of those that has been directly touched by cancer. Her mother died in 1991 from lung cancer and her father died in 2003 from leukemia. O’Connor believes the great treatment he received at Dana-Farber gave her more time with her father than she might have had otherwise.

Some ride because they know there are others out there suffering from cancer. Some hear on the news how close researchers are to finding a cure and are motivated to ride because of that, O’Connor said. There are also those who are motivated to ride because it is an athletic event and they have to train for it, she said. For O’Connor and her husband Michael, another reason to ride is commitment.

“You’re committed to the cause, you’re committed to your family, you’re committed to the institution at Dana-Farber. You’re committed to your team. During the training and on the weekend of the event, it almost cements our commitment to each other because we always ride together,” O’Connor said.

[ ... ]

The annual Pan-Mass Challenge is also a family affair for the Kaplan family of Sudbury. Charles and Melanie have participated for six years, with their daughter Lindsay joining them for the first time last year. ... “We’re compassionate about the cause,” said Charles Kaplan, who noted that the family is part of Team Jean.

The team is largely comprised of Wayland residents and was formed by Jean Seiden and Pam Washek, who were both undergoing treatment for cancer. Seiden died of breast cancer last fall, but Washek and other Wayland residents have continued the team. ... “The team is pretty tight knit. We’ve continued the cause because we all feel it’s important to raise money for Dana-Farber,” Kaplan said.

Lindsay Kaplan said she decided to join her parents in the Pan-Mass Challenge because it supports a cause that she has become attached to. “We’ve seen so many people over the years that have been affected by the disease. I’ve always seen (my parents) do this and contribute and it seemed like a great thing to do. I love biking. I just thought the two together were a perfect match,” she said.

[ ... ]

For Jane MacKeen of Sudbury, riding from Wellesley to Provincetown is a way to give back after having four healthy children of her own. “I started to ride because a college roommate was riding with her dad. Her mom had cancer,” she said. “In order to get my kids knowing what I was doing, I signed up for the Pedal Partner Program.” The Pedal Partner Program connects cyclists with pediatric oncology patients of the Jimmy Fund Clinic. The bikers ride in honor of their “pedal partners” and meet up with them throughout the route.

“My kids became friends with this little girl and they saw I was riding to try and help kids like Bella and other kids that are in her situation,” MacKeen said. “It’s good for my kids to see somebody with cancer and that she’s a normal kid and she’s always happy and doing her thing.”

[ ... ]

One thing that first timers can look forward to is the cheering section along the ride, all the way from Sturbridge to Provincetown. “The crowd is amazing. They have such an incredible amount of people that get out and cheer for you,” MacKeen said.

It might be a small side street in the middle of nowhere, but there will be people out supporting the bicyclists, Kaplan said. “It’s amazing how many people are affected by cancer and they really come out to show support for the PMC,” he said.

Just when a rider thinks they cannot pedal up another hill, the supporters are there and their cheers give them the push needed to continue, O’Connor said. Another motivation to keep going is that at each water stop there are pictures of children who have survived cancer, she said.

“It’s an unbelievable event. It gives you goosebumps. Every single person’s life is touched by cancer in some way. Even if you don’t have a direct person you know, you know someone who knows somebody,” O’Connor said.

From the Medfield, MA Press:

Resident Julie Willis is participating in her tenth ride — she thinks. “I’ve lost track,” said Willis, 43, who began riding in 1995 at the suggestion of a friend in a women’s cycling group. ... “The training is a commitment,” said Willis, who will complete the 192-mile, two-day Sturbridge to Provincetown route with her husband. “It’s time consuming. But again, I think that the reward greatly outweighs the cost.”

[ ... ]

Though Willis has thought about choosing a shorter route to reduce the months of training she must put in before the August ride, she “keeps sticking in there. ... People are counting on us to make a difference in their lives,” she said. “It’s a human obligation that we have to help them. After you kind of witness these people saying thank you for doing this for us, it’s hard not to do it again,” she continued.

The pressure to continue to help the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and its patients means Willis doesn’t plan on storing her bike anytime soon. “Stopping would kind of be a change in our supporting these people who are counting on us for help,” she explained. “I don’t know that we could ever really decide that we weren’t going to help them anymore.”

Willis isn’t the only Medfield resident unable to tear herself off the saddle. Mother of four Nicki Gustafson, participating in her third ride this year, said each year she doesn’t expect to come back.

“This is the last year,” she said. “I say that every year. It’s hard to find time. But as soon as I finish, I say to myself, ‘How can’t I do that again.’”

From Dick Bishop’s column in the Medfield, MA Press:

Facts and figures cannot come close to telling the whole story of the PMC. My experience as a PMC volunteer covers 10 years. I’ve unloaded cases of water and registered riders at the Windsor School in Boston. I’ve directed traffic and parked cars at Health Point in Waltham, and I’ve been in charge of logistics at Babson College in Wellesley, one of the two PMC starting points. I’ve listened to Red Sox president, Larry Lucchino, talk about his battle with cancer and seen Shonda Schilling and the rest of her “Team Nine” Red Sox wives climb on their bikes for their ride to Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne.

This year’s PMC will be one of firsts for our family. It is the first year that I will be volunteering on behalf of my wife who, earlier this year, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. It will be the first year that our son will be riding. It will be a year filled with great sorrow and great joy…in other words; it’s going to be tough. However, I know that I’m not alone. Every volunteer, every rider, every donor, has been touched by cancer. We draw our strength from all of the others who have faced the same challenges.

From the Wareham, MA Courier:

Charlie and Dianne Cosman, a husband-and-wife team from Marion, have been participating in the Pan Mass Challenge in one way or another for five years. Charlie is taking part in his second ride this weekend, and his first attempt at the flagship route from Sturbridge to Provincetown. Dianne has ridden the 163-mile Wellesley-Bourne-Provincetown route four times but will be volunteering at the Bourne finish line this year due to a back problem.

“I will be wishing I was on my bike this weekend, but I’m happy to have the opportunity to feel the electricity in the air when I watch the thousands of riders cross that finish line at Mass Maritime on Saturday,” Cosman said. “Each and every one of them will have contributed to helping the many people afflicted with cancer who need hope for a future.”

Participating in an event like the PMC is a deeply gratifying experience but requires a serious personal commitment, according to Cosman. “The average age of a rider is 43 years old, they train for three months, solicit 40 sponsors, and raise more than $5,500, and for the most part their bodies aren’t made for spandex,” Cosman pointed out.

[ ... ]

Sheila Carey of Rochester has been riding in the PMC since 2004 and was hooked from the start. “Initially my interest in the Pan-Mass started with my good friend, former classmate and army buddy Laurie, who rode in the PMC back in 2003 and inspired me to take it on,” Carey said. “I plan to continue to ride until a cure for cancer is found, or until I am physically unable to ride. And if I cannot ride, I will find another way to contribute,” Carey added.

Like her fellow riders, the PMC is both a fundraising and deeply personal event. “I recently lost a dear colleague and friend to breast cancer and she inspired me from the day I met her,” Carey said. “I still have the ’Live Strong’ bracelet that she gave to me prior to my first year riding. I keep it on my bike as reminder that I can do this.”

[Coming up: Why They Ride, Part II…]