Unlike so many of the folks I ride with on the Coast to the Cure NF ride, I have no “skin” in this game. I started riding the Cape Cod NF ride with my husband Dan on our tandem bike after I met the most amazing woman in a spin class at the Reading YMCA, Kate Duff. When Dan and I heard about Kate’s daughter, Megan, neurofibromatosis became a brand new term in our vocabulary. We fell in love with John, Megan, and Michael the minute we met them. For years now, we have ridden this ride for Kate and her family. Through NF Northeast, we have met so many amazing and wonderful people – and not all of them on the bike! Several years ago, working with Miguel Lessing and Kate, we helped to bring Coast to the Cure to the North Shore of Boston. Stage Fort Park in Gloucester provides us with a “base” to start and finish the ride. There is a huge send-off at the start, a fabulous meal, a band performance, and a NF program at the finish! We have a SAG vehicle and rest stops that are solely dedicated to our hydration/nutrition needs. Asking friends and family for money gives me hives but I try to dedicate my ride each year to someone of great importance to me - and often someone who has lost their battle against cancer. I ride because I love being outdoors, I really enjoy cycling, and am passionate about the area we live in. Cycling, whether as a single or on my tandem, has been a big part of my life for 35 years now! No music, no phone calls, no TV, just the sounds of nature, the road, the ocean … and the voices of these folks that have come to mean so much to me.