LYNN — He has logged miles on the campaign trail and, on Saturday, Mayor Thomas M. McGee ticks off 83 miles on two wheels to support the Pan-Mass Challenge.
The annual bicycle ride draws 6,700 cyclists, according to its website, and has raised $654 million since 1980 to pay for cancer research. McGee climbs onto his Trek 20-speed bike in Wellesley on Saturday at 7 a.m. and heads off with fellow riders: Destination, Bourne.
“I never thought of doing something like this before,” McGee said.
His goal is to complete the ride in six hours or less with scheduled water breaks and lunch for riders. Outfitted with a helmet and bicycle touring shoes and gloves, McGee has been preparing for the hot summer ride through southeastern Massachusetts for months.
He started bicycling on a semi-regular basis last year and increased his rides when he and his wife, Maria, moved from Pine Hill to the neighborhood off Lynn Shore Drive.
“I started going out a couple of days a week. Even in January and February, on real cold days, I was riding,” he said.
Two people influenced his decision in March to take part in the Challenge and seriously train for the endurance ride. Maria McGee’s mother, Barbara Desmarais, was diagnosed with cancer, underwent treatment and is now cancer-free, the mayor said.
“Every family is affected by cancer. When people are diagnosed, the final diagnosis needs to be ‘cancer free,'” he said.
Desmarais’ health challenge combined with a conversation with his wife’s colleague, Gerry Morrissey, convinced McGee to help strike a blow against cancer. A veteran of multiple Pan-Mass Challenge rides, Morrissey urged McGee to sign up for the 2019 ride.
“He gave me the confidence to jump in. Once I decided, I knew I better start training,” McGee said.
He supplemented training rides with spin classes at the Lynn YMCA and increased his riding mileage. He rode 30 miles last Sunday and his rides have included jaunts up and down Nahant’s hilly streets.
The Wellesley-Bourne ride is one of 12 routes Pan-Mass Challenge participants can select with routes ranging in distance from 25 to 192 miles — Sturbridge to Provincetown.
Registration for this year’s Challenge is closed. The 2019 fundraising goal is $60 million, according to the ride’s website, and “… every rider-raised dollar goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.”
“The Challenge’s real story is the people who put it together and the people struggling with cancer. They are the inspiration. I am just hopping on for the ride,” McGee said.
He is confident he is up for the challenge the ride offers and said he appreciates the opportunity to improve his physical health during the last year.
“I don’t know if I’ve pushed myself through something like this before,” he said.
