I will be riding in the 2017 Pan-Mass Challenge  (PMC) to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. As you may already know,  Dana-Farber  Cancer  Institute  is  one of the leading  cancer  organizations in the world. Their doctors and  researchers work to find treatments for  cancer  patients and take great care of their patients and families.  Last year’s Pan-Mass Challenge raised $47 million for Dana-Farber, and all money donated goes directly to Dana-Farber and its Jimmy Fund.

This year, I am riding the 2-day, 163 mile route from Wellesley, Massachusetts to Provincetown, Massachusetts, and I set an ambitious fundraising goal of $12,000.  Last year, with the help of friends and family, we raised over $11,000. Since 2014, we have raised over $25,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

I want to make this the best year ever, and with your help, I know I can do it. You can donate to my fundraising page by visiting PMC.org. You can also check out my TeamSilver.Rocks website!

Listed below, are this year’s generous donors so far. I would love to add you to this list, regardless of how much you are able to contribute. I will keep a running tally of domain industry donors as a way to say thank you!

2017  domain industry PMC donors:

• Michael Berkens
• Joe Higgins
• Tim Switzer
• Bill Sweetman
• Shane Cultra
• Peter Askew
• Mike Sallese
• Michael Cyger
• Scott Rosenbaum
• Gregg McNair
• Michael Sumner
• Paul Kapschock
• Donuts
• Aaron Wilken
• Patricia Kaehler
• Raymond Hackney
• John M.
• Nat Cohen
• Doron Vermaat
• Paul Goldstone
• Brandon Abbey
• Digimedia
• Robert Gorin
• Mark Grossman
• Igloo.com
• .Art Registry
• Thomas Mchugh
• Garth
• Ategy.com
• Josh Eisenhower
• Dave Robb
• Aaron Johnson
• Andre Gary
• Michael Calabretta
• BuyDomains
• Joe Uddeme
• Rami Steitieh
• John E Picchietti
• .Club Registry
• NameJet
• Alan Dunn
• Ali Zandi
• Uniregistry
• Josh Schoen
• GoDaddy
• .Buzz Registry
• Ammar Kubba
• Daniel Negari
• Lori Anne Wardi
• Tim Switzer
• Jeffrey Reynolds
• Domain Capital
• Barbara & Howard Neu
• James Iles
• Ian Ingram
• Jag Singh
• Paul Nicks
• Lee Hale
• Matt Overman
• Daniel Levi
• Jeff and Andrew Reberry

Thanks to the support of my generous domain name industry friends and colleagues, I went into this year’s Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) ride having already hit my fundraising goal. As I have mentioned over the last several months, my wife and I support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and its mission, and seeing friends and colleagues donate to help their efforts is very meaningful to me. Your support now would still be appreciated!!

For those of you who have never participated in the Pan-Mass Challenge before, I want to share a recap of the ride and experience with you. For those who are thinking about doing the  PMC in the future, I shared  a few tips at the end of the article. There are several PMC routes from which to choose, and I did the Wellesley to Provincetown (163 mile) route. For the previous two years, I did the Wellesley to Wellesley 50 mile route.

For me and a couple thousand other cyclists, PMC weekend started off at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts early on Saturday morning. There was a huge tent for registration and breakfast filled with  thousands of riders and hundreds of volunteers. For the entire weekend, there are just over 6,000 riders, many of whom started in Sturbridge for the 192-mile ride. I know how much the ride means to Dana-Farber and its patients, but the first time it really hit me during the weekend was when I saw a young rider who had a message on the back of her shirt that said something like “brain tumor survivor.” The impact of Dana-Farber is far-reaching and strong.

After stretching, a couple of short speeches, and the national anthem, we were off for the first day, which was an 84 mile ride for my route.

The first neat aspect of the ride was seeing Boston Red Sox executive and Jimmy Fund Chairman Larry Lucchino cheering on the cyclists, including his wife, Stacey, who rides on the Red Sox-sponsored Team 9 (named in honor of Ted Williams). Sidenote: As a Red Sox fan and season ticket holder, I would love to ride on Team 9, but I think you have to be affiliated with the Sox to be on their team.

On the first day, we spent most of our time riding through some of the smaller towns on the way to our first stop at Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA). Despite our early departure, there were a ton of people on the road cheering for us. People had handmade or printed signs showing their support for riders in general as well as for teams of riders. There were also PMC balloons on mailboxes throughout the route. I wish I could have taken photos because it was really cool to see their signs.

Throughout the ride, people were saying “thank you” to the riders. It felt strange hearing that because it was those people who helped give me encouragement to keep on pedaling. At various parts of the ride, people were handing out water bottles, lollipops, ice pops, Twizzlers, and other snacks for riders. I can’t stress how much this support meant along the way. We also saw people holding signs that said things like “I am 11 thanks to you” and “Cancer survivor for 20 years.” It was a great feeling to see how much Dana-Farber helps and to know that we are helping Dana-Farber.

One of the most meaningful aspects of the ride came

As you may have seen or heard, I will be riding in the 2016 Pan-Mass Challenge in early August in order to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and its Jimmy Fund. I will be doing the two-day 163 mile route this year, and my fundraising goal is $10,000.

Dana-Farber is one of the leading cancer organizations in the world. They do great things for people battling cancer, and they are constantly searching to find a cure for cancer. My wife and I do what we can to help Dana-Farber because we know that the doctors, nurses, and staff are doing what they can to fight cancer and help people who have cancer.

I have known quite a few people who have battled cancer. Friends and family have

I am riding in the 2016 Pan-Mass Challenge  (PMC) to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber is one of the leading cancer research and treatment organizations in the world. Last year’s Pan-Mass Challenge raised $45 million for Dana-Farber, and the graphic below illustrates how the money helps Dana-Farber and its Jimmy Fund.

This year, I am riding the 2-day 163 mile route from Wellesley, Massachusetts to Provincetown, Massachusetts. My fundraising goal is $10,000. With your help last year, we raised over $8,300! It won’t be easy to raise $10,000, but I know I can do it with your support.

I want to say THANK YOU in advance to those of you who are able to help me achieve my fundraising goal. You can donate to my fundraising page by visiting PMC.org.

Listed below, are this year’s generous donors so far. I would love to add you to this list, regardless of how much you are able to contribute. I will keep a running tally of domain industry donors as a way to say thank you!

2016 PMC donors (in order of donation date):

• Michael Berkens
• Gregg McNair
• Peter Askew
• Michael Cyger
• Joe Alagna
• Doron Vermaat
• Tim Switzer
• Giuseppe Graziano
• Bill Sweetman
• Alan Dunn
• Paul Kapschock
• Scott Rosenbaum
• Garth
• Rightside
• Donuts
• Jeffrey Reynolds
• Nat Cohen
• Francois Carrillo
• Aaron Wilken
• Bruce Breger
• Luke Webster
• Matt Overman
• GoDaddy
• Laurie Krick
• Hobi Michalec
• Brandon Abbey
• BuyDomains
• NamesCon
• .Club Registry
• Jothan Frakes
• Ron Jackson
• Morgan Linton
• Ali Zandi
• Joe Uddeme
• Mark Thorpe
• Zak Muscovitch
• Howard and Barbara Neu
• Chad Folkening
• Dietmar Stefitz
• Ray Hackney
• Ed De Jong
• Brian Benko
• Kamila Sekiewicz
• Tom Mchugh
• Monte Cahn
• Paul Goldstone
• Digimedia
• Trellian
• Ammar Kubba
• Daniel Negari
• Mike Sallese
• Paul Buonopane
• Jason Schaeffer
• George Verdugo
• Andrew Rosener
• Sedo
• Jeff & Andrew Reberry
• Carolyn Rodon

Last year, I rode in the Pan-Mass Challenge fundraising bike ride to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and its Jimmy Fund. With help from friends and colleagues, we raised over $8,000!

This year, my fundraising goal is higher, and I am riding a 2-day 163 mile route (last year I did a 1-day 50 mile route).

Early last week, I signed up for the August ride, and I am excited about challenging myself physically and challenging myself to help raise $10,000. I will be doing some fun fundraising activities via my blog and other channels, but I will likely wait until the early Spring to get into full fundraising mode.

The reason for this article is twofold.