Road to Victories

This is my favorite photo of my friend Roy. We were always laughing, the two of us. I ride for Roy and for all of the MM patients who I now know…

When I line up to start the Vermont to Montreal fundraiser in September, it will be my fourth long distance bike ride for the MMRF. The first one was a solo ride with my wife, Bobbie following me in a car from Georgia to Maine. That was in 2013.

With Carmen Phaneuf, who has been kicking MM’s butt for 17 years. Her husband Mike was on the Cross Country Team (Carmen did the first leg). Mike is on our VT R2V Team as well.

I wanted the next ‘big thing’ to be a cross country ride. I contacted Alicia O’Neill at the MMRF (again) and wore her down until she figured it out and brought in Janssen, our great partner, as the sponsor. Alicia contacted Tracy Leiner, who would become the mother-sister-friend-guide all across the country, and so began the inaugural (2017) MMRF ride and the launch of the Road to Victories Program.

As you can see, we all love Tracy. She is the BEST!

Last year a group of 15 rode from London to Paris, a harrowing 3-day 100-mile-per-day journey that was full of more adventure than we had bargained for, but we got to the finish – the Eiffel Tower – safely and proud that we had raised more funds to help myeloma patients.

While it is going to be tough to match the cross country ride I was part of in 2017, I look forward each year to helping and being a part of this Road to Victories event.

When my friend Roy Gross died from multiple myeloma in 2012, I pledged to him that I would do as much as I could to help others and that hopefully my fundraising will help make a difference.

I am a small part of a big effort to help eradicate this blood cancer and am proud to be part of this team once again.

The challenge for me, coming from Florida, is to navigate the mountains of New England but I feel the strength of this team will not only help me but the other riders who are not as accomplished. It should be another great event.