Mark Epstein's Ride
Why I Ride ...
This really started in 2002. Of course I learned to ride a bike as a kid, and always rode a little for fun or fitness, but...on my way to work in the Spring of 2002 I heard on the radio about a Memorial Ride for 9/11 victims - 280 miles from Ground Zero to the Pentagon. I had never done anything like that, and yet living in NY and watching the Trade Centers burn and fall had deeply affected me. One of my college friends was a NYC fireman, Lt. Charles Margiotta. Although Charlie had filed his retirement papers after 20 years, and despite being on his way home after completing his shift, he saw the fire, and headed back in - to try to help others. Needless to say he was one of the 343 firemen who died that day - the ultimate sacrifice while helping others. My way of honoring him and the others was to ride in the Memorial. I started training, and spent the summer trying to get ready. I completed the ride that September along with a couple of thousand others and it was a great sense of accomplishment, along with providing the feeling that I had somehow made a statement. Some of the people I rode with that year (including Paul Schaye - see www.paulsposse.com ) had done the Pan Mass, and spoke of it as the best of all the rides - from the cause, to the success of the fundraising, to the quality of the ride and the event itself. Now inspired to do more of these rides and focus my charitable giving around things like this I signed up for a couple of MS rides and finally signed up for the Pan Mass Challenge. I also have focused my fundraising from others around this ride, and just as I have family and friends afflicted by Cancer, so do so many others, and they have generously joined me in raising funds for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber. I like to think we are doing our part to help find cures for this disease, and giving a little something back to those in need, who appreciate that help. The training, the miles, the donations - those are well worth it to try to make a difference in this world.
Mark's PMC Total
$0
Goal
$10,000
My Progress
My Online Supporters
| I have chosen to keep all of my donors' information confidential; therefore it is not displayed on my PMC public donor list. |
My Rides
| 2010 | $0 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2009 | $6,930 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2008 | $7,785 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2007 | $13,370 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2006 | $7,975 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2005 | $8,905 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
| 2004 | $6,600 | Wellesley to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
