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How often do you get the chance to spend the weekend riding your bike nearly the length of a U.S. state?
Well if it’s for charity (and you’re in a state the size of Massachusetts), the opportunity suddenly can become attainable.
David Lowry, a native of The Bay State who now lives in our Bay Area in Pleasanton, and his wife Debbie Stone Lowry are back East with their bikes as I write preparing for their second go at the annual Pan-Mass Challenge, a fundraising ride benefiting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“The experience of ‘being there’ and participating with 6,500 riders is exciting, to be part of such a worthy event,” David told me by email from Cape Cod this week. “It’s also a fun event for Debbie and I to do together for such a great cause.”
Debbie added, “We are all affected by cancer whether it’s ourselves, our family members, our friends, and so this lets me spread awareness about Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This also helps me contribute to Dana Farber through our fundraising efforts.”
The Lowrys are the Tri-Valley’s lone representatives among 87 California residents hopping on their bikes to support cancer research this weekend for the 45th Pan-Mass Challenge. It’s a milestone year for the event, which eclipsed the $1 billion mark overall since its founding in 1980 during the lead-up to the 2024 ride.
David and Debbie are gearing up to ride 188 miles in total, Sturbridge to Bourne (109 miles) on Saturday and then Bourne to Provincetown (79 miles) on Sunday.
“The number of people on the side of the roads that are cheering you on throughout the ride is simply amazing! It’s like our own Tour de France,” Debbie joked. “The number of volunteers is also incredible. Everyone is thanking each other for riding, volunteering, helping with traffic, etc.”
It’s a cause particularly close to David’s heart.
His mother died from cancer in 1989, he’s originally from Massachusetts and he’s well-versed in long-distance athletic endeavors, having completed nine Boston Marathons in his life and now cycling five days a week in retirement.
In fact, it was his final step away from work that opened the door for the couple to participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge.
David, who first moved to the Bay Area in 1992 for a job at Cisco Systems, found a second career in the classroom, teaching math in public schools in Pleasanton, Newark and Livermore for 15 years before retiring for good last year.
The couple, who married 10 years ago and now live in downtown Pleasanton with their 3-year-old Bernese mountain dog Logan, have been visiting friends and family in Marblehead, Mass., annually in the summertime, so Debbie became aware of and interested in the fundraising ride.
It was right in her athletic wheelhouse, as she competed in triathlons for 18 years earlier in her life, but it didn’t exactly fit into their calendar.
“With Dave’s previous school schedule, it was challenging to commit since he would need to be at school preparing for the school year the weekend of the PMC ride,” said Debbie, who still works in a second career of her own. After decades in the hospitality industry, including more than 25 years with Pebble Beach Resorts, she shifted to residential real estate in the Tri-Valley four years ago.
“Once I knew he was retiring in 2023, I researched the event in detail and signed us up,” Debbie added. “I then connected with a longtime friend Mark Oliver in Mill Valley, who invited us to his PMC Biking Team. We were welcomed as new members of Team Brut Force and we are so grateful to this team.”
Both are still actively raising funds as part of their participation in the 2024 challenge, closing in on their respective goals of $6,000 (David) and $10,000 (Debbie). Visit their donation pages at give.pmc.org.
Their Team Brut Force also has a “pedal partner” this year, a pediatric patient through the institute’s Jimmy Fund.
Three-year-old Caleb Ordonez is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia by Dr. Melissa Burns at the clinic, according to Debbie. The team is set to meet with Caleb and his parents at the Lakeville Water Stop (about mile 70) on Saturday.
“The overall PMC organization does an amazing job with so many logistics and so many routes offered to participants,” Debbie said. “This is one of the best organized rides I have done throughout my racing and riding career.”
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
