LYNN — The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the Pan-Mass Challenge to a virtual format this year, but Mayor Thomas M. McGee said his plans to ride in the event this weekend are still on track.
“My commitment to fighting cancer won’t take a break, because cancer doesn’t take one,” said McGee, who is taking part in the bike-a-thon for the second time.
McGee, 64, signed up for the two-day, 161-mile route from Wellesley to Provincetown Inn, but since the pandemic has canceled or altered large-scale events, this year’s challenge has been reimagined.
Instead, McGee will be riding around Lynn and surrounding communities over three days this weekend, Friday-Sunday, and tracking his mileage on a cellphone app.
His goal is to log 170 miles over that three-day span and raise $10,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Last year, McGee took a one-day 83-mile challenge from Wellesley to Bourne and raised more than $11,000.
“The bottom line is the ride is secondary to the underlying cause which is raising money for the Dana Farber Institute and working together to beat cancer,” said McGee. “That gives you the energy to get out here and do the biking.
“I think all of us are impacted in some way by people who have had cancer, are fighting cancer or have lost the battle to cancer and passed away.”
Last year, McGee rode for his mother-in-law, Barbara Desmarais, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. After undergoing treatment and chemotherapy, Desmarais, 82, is now thankfully cancer-free, he said.
In addition to his mother-in-law, he will also be riding for a close friend of McGee and his wife, Maria, Debbie Plunkett, who died in January after a long battle with cancer. A well-known figure in the community, Plunkett was 54.
During the years that Plunkett was fighting cancer, McGee was part of her team during several cancer walks in Salem, where he learned the value that those fundraising events could have.
“It made it clear that this is something that is really important and you can make a difference,” said McGee. “(The goal is to) get it to a place where people can beat cancer and it’s something that we can put behind us. That’s what inspires you to get out there and do the training, to get on the bike. You’re trying to make a difference for people.”
McGee has been able to get some training in before the event, though not as much as he would have liked due to the “crazy times we’re in.” He has been using a Peloton bike at home since February and tries to bike outside on the weekends. He can be seen riding along Lynn Shore Drive or to the beaches at Nahant and Marblehead
“I’d be on the Northern Strand (Trail), but it’s still not ready for traffic yet,” said McGee. “That’s exciting to really see that coming together. It’s going to be such a great resource for the community.”
During the virtual event, dubbed “PMC Reimagined,” riders are encouraged to make their social posts and profiles public on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so they can be shared by the official account of the Pan-Mass Challenge.
McGee will start riding on Friday morning, but the official kickoff of the event does not start until that night, which includes a live broadcast from WBZ-TV.
He admits there will be some challenges to riding virtually this year, particularly without an established route, but he is looking forward to the event. One of his stops will be to his mother-in-law’s house in Nahant.
“The hard part is you have to get from place to place,” said McGee. “Doing it virtually means you don’t have any support. Once you get into it, it’s so rewarding to see why you’re doing it. (When you see) pictures of young kids fighting cancer, you understand why you ride.”
To donate to McGee’s event campaign, visit his PMC profile.
