March 26, 2004
Ticket To Ride
Cyclist's Cross-Country Baseball Trek to Benefit Pan-Massachusetts Challenge
Cyclist Charlie Hamilton poses with his bike in front of Fenway Park's "Green Monster" before starting his cross-country journey.
Charlie Hamilton is on a mission to visit every Major League Baseball park, see the country while perched on the seat of his bicycle, and raise money for cancer research. With determination and a little luck, he will accomplish all three by summer's end.
Hamilton, 40, will hop on his bike and fulfill his dream of visiting all 30 Major League Baseball parks in the country. The more than 11,000-mile ride begins in late March when Hamilton heads to Turner Field in Atlanta for an April 2 exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, and culminates with a Sept. 26 homecoming at Fenway Park, where the Sox will take on their archrival New York Yankees. Hamilton hopes to raise more than $125,000 for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC), the cycling organization that supports cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.
"I've always heard great things about the PMC, and I did some research and found out what a great job the PMC and the Jimmy Fund do for cancer research and those who have cancer," said Hamilton, a Bolton resident. "The idea of taking on this challenge for a charity like the PMC is my inspiration for doing this. People often like to donate money as a response to others who are doing something difficult. I'm hoping my ride will bring in a lot of money for the Jimmy Fund."
More than 4,000 cyclists will come from 30 states to ride across the Commonwealth on Aug. 7 and 8 in the 25th annual PMC. Their goal is to raise $17 million and bring a generation of PMC fundraising above the $120 million mark.
Hamilton, who is leaving his job as a software engineer to embark on his once-in-a-lifetime baseball fantasy tour, made his decision to ride after a conversation with his wife, Molly.
"She asked me what I would do if I could do anything in the world," he recalled. "I told her I wanted to see every Major League Baseball ballpark across the country while traveling on my bike, as I always had a love for both baseball and cycling. I waited for the baseball schedule to come out and I pieced together a route to travel and schedule to visit each park." Hamilton will leave his home with just a tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad, clothes, a laptop, camera, and tools and replacement parts for his bike.
Hamilton had no prior connection with cancer until a good friend was recently diagnosed with the disease. The quality care his friend received from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was yet another reason why he chose the PMC as his charity of choice.
Hamilton will ride in honor of his pedal partner, Eric Donovan, 15, of Scituate, Mass. Donovan, also an avid baseball fan, was diagnosed in August 2003 with Ewings Sarcoma and is undergoing treatment at the Jimmy Fund Clinic to shrink the tumor in his pelvis. Hamilton and Donovan will communicate through email and phone throughout the trip. "It's one of my dreams to watch baseball at every Major League ballpark," Eric says. "Keeping in touch with Charlie while he rides is the next best thing."
The PMC's Pedal Partner Program enables Jimmy Fund Clinic patients, their families and PMC riders to cultivate close relationships. Riding the PMC in honor of a Jimmy Fund Clinic patient puts a face to the disease and inspires riders to raise money for the PMC. The cyclists offer friendship and support to the children and their families.
Hamilton will be communicating with friends, family, sponsors and supporters during his journey thanks to Nextel Communications, which has donated data capable wireless phones and service to Hamilton and his wife Molly. Hamilton will be using Nextel's i305, an all-weather mobile phone with built-in GPS technology. Molly will be using Nextel's Mobile Locator ?, which will enable her to pinpoint Charlie's location anywhere within the Nextel National Network in real time on a Web-based map.
Hamilton is funding most of the ride himself although he will rely on the kindness of friends and family to house him at certain points during the trip. Those interested in donating money to the PMC on Hamilton's behalf can visit www.hitforthecycle.org, where they can also chart his progress and sign-up for email updates as he pedals across the country. Hamilton's site is also linked through the PMC's site, www.pmc.org, through which people can contribute online via eGifts.
