The 2025 PMC is in the books. Eric and I chose to start in Wellesley this year. It was my choice after the brutal heat of 2024 caused me to get heat stroke 93 miles into Day 1. I decided it was best to hedge my bets in case it was another very hot year and the logistics are much easier getting to the event. Who knew it would turn out to be one of the best weather years I’ve had in 37 PMCs.
Regardless, Eric and I made our way up to a friend’s house in Natick on Friday afternoon. We drover over to Babson College from there to pick up our registration packets. The Friday in Wellesley was nothing like that of the atmosphere of Sturbridge. If I were to sum it up in one word it would be sterile. It was just flat out boring. I did run into a few old friends there but we literally were in and out of there in less than an hour. There was nothing compelling us to hang around. So we took off, went out to a nice dinner and called it an early night. I really missed Friday in Sturbridge more than I thought I would. That was always like a family reunion once a year.
Saturday
Saturday morning we woke up to a very brisk morning. It was 54 degrees. Brrr, but it was a really nice change from 2024’s hot / humid start. I was very glad I had arm covering as we rode to the Wellesley start at 5:45. It was 7 miles and a brisk warm up pace got us there in 22 minutes with backpacks on. We got to Babson in Wellesley, the start, and dropped our bags on a truck heading to the Mass Maritime Academy, finish line for Day 1, 85 miles from Babson. The 85 miles being 25 miles shorter than the ride from Sturbridge and 2800′ of climbing vs 4600′. Yes, the Wellesley route is much easier.
We rolled out and headed off to the first stop in Wrentham. This section took us through my old stomping grounds of Dover, Sherborn and surrounding towns. The roads and scenery in this area are one thing I miss about living on the Cape full time. But the good news is I can still do a ride up there when time permits. This section was a very fast one for us. It’s always fast out of the gate for me on PMC but we cranked at a steady 20mph average with ease. The weather was a huge factor in that as this is about as perfect as it gets for me. My body loved it.
We rolled into the stop at just after 7:30 about 22 miles in. Could not believe how good it felt thanks to the group and the cool dry air.
Our goal is always to get in and out of these stops as quick as possible so we don’t stiffen up. Back on the road and headed towards the lunch stop about 45 miles into the ride.
The miles just kept flying by and mostly felt effortless. That is, until we connected with another group going faster than we were. We all hung on at a very fast 25-27mph pace until I lost the wheel in front of me and was out of the draft. Once you lose a line moving like that by being out of the draft it’s very tough to get back up to them unless you’re as strong as or stronger than the strongest person leading that pack. I am not. Thankfully it was only about 5 miles from the next stop. Eric dropped back for me and we continued to the stop together. We pulled into that stop around 9:30 or so. Still a very quick pace but dropped down to 19.7 avg. Amazing how only a few tenths of a mile per hour make a difference. It almost felt like cheating. Why? The Wellesley route merges with the Sturbridge route a couple miles from the stop but it’s also right after some serious hills we usually hit where you see and experience anything from people walking up the hill (not us) to leg cramps (me sometimes).
We got some lunch, kinda strange to eat lunch at 9:30. We ate, filled bottles, and were on our way when we got a call from a friend who had just arrived there from Sturbridge. We decided to wait for him before rolling out as he was riding solo. Once he had a bite to eat we rolled out. The next stop was about 15 miles away. Still rolling at a quick pace with our original 4 plus one we covered this in about 45 minutes. However, once we got to that stop we realized we had dropped my friend that joined us. We figured if he dropped off at our pace that he was probably tired or hurting or both which is very unlike him. Steve’s pulled me on many a tough ride over the years so Eric and I decided to wait for him and help him over the next 25 miles to the finish line at MMA. We were still averaging 19.7mph to this stop, fast for me, and I was ok slowing down. It’s all relative however. We didn’t slow all that much.
We cruised to the last water stop that’s 10 miles from the finish line and connected with an old teammate of mine, Kevin, that’s traded in cycling in the event to being a mechanic taking care of us all. Always triggers some very fond memories from PMCs gone by when I see him. We didn’t chat for long and were on our way. I could smell the barn at this point and just wanted to be done for the day. However, unlike many years in the past I was not exhausted or experiencing leg cramps. The weather and easier route definitely made a huge difference.
Eric and I turned on to Academy Drive leading to the MMA at about 12:10. I heard someone yell out my name just as we made the turn. It was one of my curling friends, Paul. Yes, I am a curler in the off season and love it but that’s another story. We cruised down the drive to the final turn at Mass Maritime and crossed the finish line at 12:12pm.
Sunday
Tony, Eric and I rolled out of my driveway at 4:45am to ride the 10 miles to the bike path at the Bourne Bridge where the riders from MMA get on. We met up with friends Phil and his nephew Alex and Chris and his friend Henry along the way. This was probably one of the most fun parts of the day. It was still dark but we all had headlights this year making the ride so much more pleasant.
We cruised the canal at a nice brisk pace and then it was on to the Service Rd, aka “The Rollers”. This segment parallels route 6 on the cape. It’s fast and fun and a great way to wake the legs up. At times we were cruising at 25-30mph and it felt effortless. Along the way I spotted one of my PHAT teammates, Bob Reed, riding solo and told him to jump on to our line. He did and I think it helped him out and he seemed to have a lot of fun. But if you know Bob, he always has a lot of fun no matter what he’s doing.
We cruised into the first stop in Barnstable about 6:30, about 29 miles into the day’s total of 83 for us from my house. We met up with the bulk of Team PHAT Tuesday at the stop. They rolled out of MMA and were slightly easier getting there than us as we had the additional 8 miles and my timing was off a little. Regardless, it was fun to finally see everyone as we barely saw any of them on Saturday since we started out of Wellesley. Eric and I made the decision to ride with the team and said goodbye to our friends we rode there with. While the ride getting there was fun and fast we had decided to take it easy and have a fun day riding with the team to Provincetown. It’s always fun crossing the finish line with a huge team and since moving to the Cape full time I don’t get to see them much during the regular season and Eric living in Florida sees them even less.
Back on the road 20 minutes after arriving at the stop, off we went to the next stop in Brewster at Nickerson State Park. This segment was so much fun. We had most of the team together riding in a huge pace line. Anyone that understands riding in a pace line knows that it’s tough enough to do with a small group. We did this with over 30 cyclists and did it well. Eric took the lead of the group from John Cali and was pulling the line at a steady 18-19mph for miles. I then took over for the next 7 miles till we hit some congestion on the road due to cars. At this point Eric and I ended up separating from the group. I didn’t know this immediately as I’m still riding along and telling those we were passing “big line on your left”, signaling that there was a large pace line about to pass. About a mile past that point I asked Eric if everyone was still with us. He said “no, we separated almost a mile ago. Whoops, my bad, it was not my intention to do this. They were only a couple minutes behind us and rolled into the stop shortly after we did around 7:45.
Eric and I were in and out of the stop in about 15 minutes. This time we ended up rolling out with just a small group of 5 of us figuring we’d reconnect with the team at the last water stop in Wellfleet. We were having a blast for about the next 10 miles until we weren’t. Around mile 57 on the Wellfleet bike path we encountered a frost heave, a break in the pavement that was raised a couple inches. It was painted in orange so we’d see it. I was leading our group and pointed it out as you point out any road hazards when you’re riding and leading. Little did I know that 3 bikes behind me was Eric and at that instant he had grabbed his water bottle to take a drink. With the bottle in one hand and only one hand on the bars his front wheel hit the frost heave causing his wheel to lose control and him to shoot off the path and go over the bars. He landed hard on his shoulder, back and hip. I heard what I thought was someone dropping a water bottle and pulled over a couple hundred feet up the path. Our friend Chris rode up to us and I asked what happened. He told me that Eric had gone over the bars. I was kind of in shock and rode back to him not knowing what I would find. He was on the ground and his bike wasn’t to a tree. I had him take inventory of arms, legs, hands, feet, etc making sure he hadn’t injured himself. When he stood up I had him move his arms. He moved his right arm and then his left. He said “wow, my left shoulder hurts”. He proceeded to feel his shoulder and felt a bump that wasn’t there before. At this point he realized he’d broken or dislocated something and he turned white and was about to pass out. We lowered him to the ground and called for help. We knew this was bad. While we were waiting for the EMTs and PMC medics to arrive a cyclist pulled over and asked us if he could help. He said he was an orthopedic doctor and we gladly accepted his offer. He checked Eric out from head to toe and told us what we suspected, that he’d either dislocated or broken something. We thanked him and expected him to leave but he insisted on waiting with us until the EMTs got there. I wish I had remembered his name as I want to thank him but given the circumstances I was lucky to know my own.
The EMTs were there fast, examined Eric and loaded him onto a gurney that they’d brought down the path. They told us they were taking him to the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis and off they went. I had about 6 miles to go to get to the next stop in Wellfleet. I called Meaghan, Eric’s wife and she was already on route from Provincetown to Hyannis. I then called Nancy, my wife, and she happened to be in Wellfleet on her way to Provincetown to see us cross the finish line. I had her meet me at the next stop. When I got there I decided I was done and was going to call it a day and not ride the final 20 miles. It was more important to go with her to the hospital to make sure Eric was OK. PMC 2025 was over for me. There would be no crossing the finish line this year.
We got to the hospital and they informed us that Eric had broken his clavicle. They released him with a sling and said he should see an orthopedic dr. Eric was in a lot of pain as you’d imagine. We got back to my home in Falmouth and I messaged my shoulder doctor’s PA on their portal explaining what happened and that Eric needed to see a specialist. She called me 8am the next morning and was able to get Eric in to see someone Tuesday morning. The doctor examined him, looked over the X-Rays, and sent him for a CT scan to make sure he had an accurate picture to know what he’d need to use to put Eric back together. Surgery was scheduled for Friday that week.
Eric had surgery where they reconnected the clavicle with a titanium plate, screws, and surgical tape. He was released and sent back to our home to recover. Eric was fine until the nerve block wore off about 3am the next morning. The pain was unbearable but thankfully that passed around 48 hours later. He’s still uncomfortable as I write this but the pain is being managed. He’s had his follow-up today (Tuesday), 8-12, and everything looks great. The surgeon was really pleased with how everything looked. Eric was cleared to fly back home to Florida.
Well, that’s the story of my PMC 2025. We had some of the best weather in my 37 years of riding this. We had some of the fastest speeds and had a great time right up until the accident. Thankfully this wasn’t worse. Eric will heal and we both plan to participate in and compete PMC 2026 starting at the new location in Worcester. Stay tuned.
Thank you all for supporting us and for reading this. Till next year…