Once again I am part of a R2V team and am very excited for the event itself and another opportunity to raise both awareness and funds for the MMRF.  My wife, Carmen Phaneuf, has been a Multiple Myeloma patient for about 17 years.  As a family, we consider ourselves very fortunate that she is alive and living a very active, adventurous and fulfilling life. 

That said, years of treatments have a way of taking their toll on Carmen herself, and both our 15 year-old daughter, Rachael, and myself.  The constancy of visits to our doctors, bloodwork, chemo treatments, immunotherapy treatments and steroids affect us all in different ways, mostly, of course, Carmen.  Her incredible spirit and personal call to arms, “Carpe Diem”, is an equal match to the energy, positivity and innovation of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). 

Given our history with the disease and the MMRF, we are well aware of the attitude that Kathy Giusti originally infused into creating the MMRF.  Years later, we are ecstatic that the same focus, intensity and drive for change and a cure is embedded in the culture and all who work with the MMRF.

So pedaling the Green Mountains of Vermont and into Canada is another opportunity for me to strike at this disease in the only real way I can – helping build awareness and funneling more money to an organization that is hell bent on finding a cure. 

Having been a part of an absolutely super group of people two years ago, six of us who cycled across the country, and another ten who pedaled from LA to Flagstaff, Arizona, this event is also a reunion of sorts.  So as we enjoy the physical intensity of many miles and difficult climbs through the beautiful valleys and passes of Vermont, I am thrilled by the notion of joining forces and sharing with teammates in support of the MMRF and kicking the shit out of this disease.     

To support my efforts please visit: https://endurance.themmrf.org/R2VVermont/MikeGrant