Five Attleboro Cyclists are Revved Up to Raise Money for the Jimmy Fund

Five Attleboro cyclists are gearing up for a major challenge, one that will infuse money into the Jimmy Fund, which supports the treatment of cancer patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

The residents are preparing for the 32nd annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC), a charity bike-a-thon that raises more money than any other athletic fundraising event in the nation. 

Attleboro residents Dawn Phelps, Flavio Pacheco, Mark Bohnenberger, Lenny Rigione and Susan Traversi will be among 5,000 cyclists who will ride in the August 6 and August 7 Challenge.

The goal of the Challenge is to raise $34 million for adult and pediatric cancer care and treatment at Dana-Farber. Each cyclist must commit to raising between $500 and $4,200 to participate in the Challenge. 

Attleboro resident and Foxborough Police Officer Mark Bohnenberger, 35, is riding for the first time this year. 

"I've had some friends who passed with cancer," he said. "Cancer has touched pretty much everyone. If you ask anyone about cancer they can tell you a story about someone they know who has it or who has died from it."

Bohnenberger is riding for his friend Thomas Uzinski, a friend who died from a form of pancreatic cancer.

"It was a tough battle for him," Bohenberger said. 

The officer is also riding for Jack Regan, an Attleboro elementary-age boy who has been battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) since July 2008.

Bohnenberger said he has "zero dollars raised," at the moment, but that many people including his department's police union have said they will sponser his one-day, 111 mile ride from Sturbridge to Bourne. 

Last year, the Challenge generated 50 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and was Dana-Farber’s largest contributor. Every dollar raised in the Challenge goes to the Jimmy Fund. 

The residents from the 'Boro will ride in one of the 11 different routes, which range from 25 to 190 miles. There are five one-day rides that range from 25 to 110 miles and six two-day routes that range from 153 to 190 miles. In total, riders go through 46 towns across the Bay State. 

Cyclists pour their heart and soul into the PMC, according to organizers. In the Challenge there are doctors who ride along side their patients and grandparents who ride with their grandchildren.

More than 300 riders are cancer survivors or existing patients.