By Daniel Curtin
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Children, parents and volunteers were up early on Sunday morning riding their bicycles at Martha Jones Elementary School to support Westwood’s 11th annual PMC Kids Ride.
PMC Kids Rides, which began as a grassroots effort in 1998, has raised more than $8 million dollars over the years for research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Westwood Kids Ride goal for this year was to raise $65,000.
Children in red shirts, many with their faces painted and dinosaur helmets strapped on, sat ready on their bikes as Westwood’s Engine Five led the way, marking the start of the ride.
Allisa Freiberger, 11, was in attendance with her mother, Nanette Freiberger, to support the riders as they got underway. Allisa had a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma, but has been cancer free since October 2014. Her and her family have been involved with PMC Kids Ride for the past four years.
“I like to support all of the riders because they help me by riding for me,” Allisa said.
Mark Reardon, a volunteer that DJed the event and has been involved with Pan-Mass Challenge for 23 years, knows many people have been touched by cancer and how important events like this our for the community.
“What touches me the most is I’ve had - and probably everyone here - they’ve had cancer touch their lives. Now, some of these people are riding for their uncle Johnny or their brother Sam or what have you. I’ve personally had many people in my life that I know - brothers and sisters, nieces - that had had cancer,” Reardon said. “That’s why I do it, because I know it gives back to the community.”
The event offered four different courses for riders: Allisa's one-mile ride, the Five for Fighting five-mile ride, the Westwood Strong 10-mile ride, and Alexa’s Obstacle course, located on the baseball field.
Sara Mirson, the event coordinator of the Westwood ride, knows the important role the community plays in making sure the event is successful.
“We have had a couple of pedal partners - kids and families in Westwood who have been affected by cancer - so it touches really close to home for this community. There’s an awesome Westwood PMC ride crew and community. Every year, they rally to put this event together and make it successful,” Mirson said.
Ben Cautela, a volunteer helping with set-up who has been involved with PMC since 2011, was proud of the work and many hours put in by the riders and volunteers.
“I’m really proud of all these riders because they put in a lot of effort with the fundraising. [I’m] also really proud of all the volunteers who take time out of their weekends to come out and support the cause,” Cautela said.
Ian Maher, 18, who had a brain tumor and was a former pedal partner, was cheering on the kids as they crossed the finish line to a roar of cheers and clatter of cowbells.
“I would always go to these events since I had cancer when I was eight years old. It’s good to give back to the community and it’s really fun to have everyone out here and watch the kids ride and support what they’re doing,” Maher said.
