As interviewed in the WPI Alumni magazine:
Matt Tricomi ’97 ( founder and President of Xentity Corporation) recently traveled all the way from Golden, CO, back to Massachusetts with a mission: he cycled approximately 200 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown with a team put together by Sean Gregory ’98 for the Jimmy Fund Pan-Mass Challenge.
The team ended up raising $10,000 for the charity, and Xentity supported sponsorship along with 6 other organizations and over 100 sponsors. The team t-shirt included over 25 names of individuals who have had losses due to cancer.
“The Jimmy Fund has held a soft spot in my heart since that radio-thon I did in ’83,” Matt said. He went on to note that his personal connection to cancer research is through his mother-in-law who lost her battle ten years ago.
This was Matt’s first ride for the Jimmy Fund; Sean asked him to participate in 2011, but Matt was scheduled for knee surgery. The 2012 ride was Matt’s version of physical rehab!
For what its worth, Matt never had ridden or owned a road bike up til the day of the event (sans 1 test ride 4 weeks prior). Luckily, he training locally on a mountain bike with child in tow (trailer) following Stage 6 of the US equivalent of the Tour de France had prepped him well enough to make the sea-level, and only 4-5 major climbs through the near 200 mile trek.
About PMC Fact Sheet
(Updated since 2012): The Pan-Mass Challenge is an annual bike-a-thon. Today, it raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. The PMC was founded in 1980 by Billy Starr, who remains the event’s executive director, an annual cyclist, and a fundraiser. The PMC has since raised $375 million for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. In 2012, the PMC gave a record gift of $37 million. The PMC pioneered the athletic fundraising industry and is today a model of fundraising efficiency.
The event donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause.
In 2012, the PMC generated 52 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and was Dana-Farber’s single largest contributor. More than 233,000 individual contributions were made to last year’s fundraising campaign. In 2013, PMC cyclists will ride with the goal of raising $38 million for Dana-Farber.
The Pan-Mass Challenge is a fully (volunteer) supported bike-a-thon. It includes food and water stops, mechanical and medical assistance, luggage transportation, and lodging. Also, it runs through 46 towns across Massachusetts. Approximately 5,500 cyclists ride in the event. Cyclists choose from 11 routes of varying mileage designed to cater to all levels of cycling strength and fundraising ability. There are six two-day routes that range from 153 to 190 miles. Also, five one-day rides that range from 25 to 110 miles. Cyclists must raise between $500 and $5,000 to ride in the PMC, depending on the chosen route.