I wasn’t riding in the Pan-Mass this weekend. I was only there for my son, who was riding the entire 192-mile route from Sturbridge to Provincetown. It was his first time doing the full ride, and we woke at 3:30am at a hotel in Worcester to get him to the start on time. My wife has ridden the Pan-Mass before with friends who ride on a team called The Midnight Riders, so my son was able to join them to raise money and complete the ride.
Getting to the Start
To help us figure things out, members of The Midnight Riders met us near the start at 4:30am before grabbing some breakfast. They were so helpful. Really, everyone at the Pan-Mass is.
After a final gear check, we parted ways, and I headed to the starting line to see if I could get a good spot to watch the participants begin the ride. For the fifteen minutes or so before it started, I was the sole spectator standing on a grassy hill as almost seven thousand riders congregated. It was remarkable. Off in the distance, a news reporter was setting up, and a few others were milling about. But aside from them, no one else was around—it was just me and an army of two-wheel enthusiasts.
And as I waited there, watching this horde ready itself with little fanfare in the wee hours of the morning, one thought kept circling around my head: people are amazing. The willingness to take on such an adventure on behalf of others—and put their bodies through such happy agony—is truly inspiring. I couldn’t help but feel that this large gathering was indicative of something much bigger. That it reflected a million small, quiet gestures happening every day around the world, without anyone taking notice at all.
Gathering in the dark for the chance to do something good.
Beauty All Around
I didn’t catch the name of the woman who sang the National Anthem, but her voice was beautiful. Listening in the early dawn light, I surveyed the mass preparing to take flight and felt privileged to witness such a statement of the human spirit. There’s a lot that humanity does that’s ugly, but there are these currents in our nature—these ripples of hope and persistence—that reflect something so pure and selfless, it has to make you pause and think: we’re not all bad. In fact, I’d say, on the contrary, most of us are good people trying to do good things.
Are we imperfect? Sure. Do we get it wrong a lot? Yep. But I truly believe there’s an 80/20 rule when it comes to mankind. Not like the business 80/20 rule where 20% of events cause 80% of the positive results, but that at least 80% of people are really trying to make the world better. Sometimes they might act in their own self-interest or be too short-sighted, but by and large, they want to be a help rather than a hurt.
Perception Vs. Reality
I know it can seem like it’s all bad out there if you spend too much time surfing the internet, but I challenge you to head to the start of the Pan-Mass Challenge and claim that human integrity is beyond hope. Go ahead. I won’t believe you.
Watching the Pan-Mass riders coming out of the dark to participate in this beautiful ride for charity, I imagined millions more people standing quietly behind them, doing what they can to make the world a better place. To do something for their families and friends. To see how they can positively influence the people they care about. Maybe they make mistakes in their decision-making as a parent or a friend. Maybe they get it wrong at work. But they try, and try again—willing to get it wrong for the chance to get it right.
A tidal wave of the human spirit.
Human Intent
At the start, I saw a couple of riders get knocked off their bikes in the scrum, even though people were moving out in a civil and orderly fashion. But it was just like life: people get knocked down by the torrent. Yet even after being ridden over, these eternal optimists dusted themselves off with a smile and pedaled on. They had been knocked down at the very beginning and were still undeterred. They would ride, smiling, because they were getting to participate in something that physically matched the beauty of their intent as human beings.
It’s easy to see the negative in the world today. The nihilism. The selfishness. The internet trolls and the conspiracy theories. It can make you think the world is a much darker place than it really is. But when you get off social media—and take a look around at what’s happening in real life—everything doesn’t look as bleak as you believed.
It’s quite beautiful out there, and it’s happening every second of every day: people just trying to make life better for others. It’s what a parent does every day. A grandparent. A sister. A brother. A friend. And how amazing all these efforts are. When you see thousands of people gathering to ride for the single purpose of raising money for cancer research, it becomes much easier to see all of that.