By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Fifteen years ago, as a freshman in high school, Nicole Barrett lost her grandmother to breast cancer and carcinosarcoma. 

 Seeing her struggle with her battle it gave her a reason to want to help others with what she went through.

As an employer for MFS, she found out that there was a large group of employees who took part in the Pan Mass Challenge though water cooler chat. It wasn’t until co-worker Elysa Aswad convinced her to join the group and take part in the event.

“Elysa was an inspiration, riding the PMC for 22 years,” Barrett said. “She had so much success in raising awareness and money; she was inspirational and part of a supportive team whose efforts were a fantastic opportunity to get together as a group.”

In addition to her grandmother having cancer, Barrett also saw her mother go through cancer as well when she was much younger, during her elementary school years. Riding the PMC would be something close to her heart.

“Cancer has been part of my family life for so many years that I wanted to be able to do what I could to help,” the Ashland resident said. “The PMC and Dana Farber Institute is so far beyond any other organization in efforts to eradicate cancer, it was something that I needed to become a part of in order to help.”

The PMC’s mission is to raise funds for cancer research and treatment at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Together they will get closer by the mile to a world without cancer; that is what a bike was meant to do. The PMC raises more money than any other single athletic fundraiser in the country and Barrett wanted to be a part of it all to be able to give back.

As a casual cyclist she decided that her first ride with the PMC wouldn’t be one of the longer rides but decided to stick with the Wellesley to Foxboro ride (25 miles) especially due to a recent injury she wanted to start out slow. It’s a possibility that she’ll venture out on a longer ride. 

“It was very nerve-wracking and I really didn’t know what to expect of my first ride, but we had weekly chats and rides together as a team, so it gave me the confidence that I needed,” Barrett said. “Due to my recent injury my body was fighting a bit along the ride, but there was a lot of support along the route in so many different ways it keeps you going.”

Barrett went onto say that the support coming from the volunteers all along the route was nothing short of remarkable and she met a lot of new people as part of her new adventure. Each and every rider she came in contact with was not only friendly and outgoing, but they welcomed the other riders as members of the family right away.

“The ride in general had a lot of excitement, but there was also a calmness

to it as well,” she said. “The support was all around you and it gave you a real feeling of happiness; each and every rider that I came in contact with would talk to you and you felt good because you were all there for the same reason.”

Unfortunately, the world is filled with cancer and most people know someone that has had to deal with the disease. Barrett is hoping that she can not only continue to jump on her bike every August but is looking to expand her length of her rides.

“If I had participated in a longer ride this year I am sure that I would have been more physically exhausted, but I believe the highlights are at the finish lines of the longer rides,” Barrett said. “I want to continue to make this a long-term thing in my life. Next year I will be looking to strive for 100 miles; it would be great to have a century ride under my belt.”

Barrett is hoping to hop on her bike next year and ride those 100 miles with ease so that she can continue increasing her mileage each year all the while helping people who are battling with cancer all in the name of her beloved grandmother.