Hennessey’s Journey Leads to PMC, Family

Just a few weeks shy of his second birthday, Wrentham’s Dave Hennessey’s father Steve passed away from melanoma. Unfortunately for the then-youngster, he never really got to know his father at all.
“I was too young to remember anything about him,” Hennessey said. “I knew that he was a Foxboro police officer and was part of the Dare Program so he was known by everyone. Growing up all I had heard was stories.”
While Hennessey was too young to remember his dad, his uncle Tim Brightman of Franklin, kept his brother’s spirit alive by riding the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Pan Mass Challenge in his brother’s memory. Over the past few years Hennessey was looking for a charitable endeavor to honor the father he did not really know; never did he realize that the charity he was looking for was right under his nose.
“My uncle was extremely involved with the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) and this year was going to be his 30th ride since my father’s passing,” he said. “My wife and I had a baby girl recently and everything just seemed to come together and click for me this year. I decided to ride in my first PMC while my uncle was completing his 30th.”
When his uncle began riding three decades ago, the fundraising amount was under $1000; today it’s a minimum of $4800 for the 2-day ride or $4000 for one day. In addition to the fundraising issue, Hennessey was unsure of himself doing the full 2-day ride.
“I decided to take part in the one day 112-mile ride from Sturbridge to Bourne, not knowing exactly how physical it would be on my body,” Hennessey said. “There was also a fear of the fundraising as I had no idea how I was going to raise the money.”
Luckily he had someone participating in the race who already knew a little about fundraising. Thus far, Hennessey has raised $5250 for Dana Farber.
In addition to providing his nephew with tips on securing donations, Brightman also helped him pick out a bike to ride and then asked him if he wanted to join his team – Phat Tuesday.
“We originally lived in Norton, but when I moved to Wrentham he invited me to ride with him. Tuesday nights at 6 we went on a 27-mile bike ride,” Hennessey said. “I got to meet the group while learning from them. After three or four months we started to add additional rides during the week to get ready.”
With only a few more weeks before the PMC ride, Brightman took his team on a surprise ride during when of their nightly warmups.
“I really wasn’t paying attention to the route we were taking, I was just trying to keep up with the rest of the team,” Hennessey said. “And then we came out on a road right near the cemetery where my father was buried. It was the first time that the two of us were there at the same time.”
As the actual PMC got closer, Hennessey was just hoping to keep up with his uncle and the rest of the team. At this point, his longest ride to date was only 55 miles and although he had planned a 75-mile ride, the rainy weekends put a stop to that. Nonetheless, he had committed to the ride and he was going to do it.
“That morning we got up at 3:30 a.m., grabbed our stuff and headed out to register. When I first woke up I was like, ok this is the real deal and at 5:30 a.m. we started the trek to Bourne,” he said. “Prior to this there was so much leading up to the race, but once you get on your bike your emotions take over. There was the history of the PMC and all that it stood for, the amount of people that were out there volunteering, the spectators on the side of the rode and the riders – everything was positive and everyone was working toward the same goal.”
About 80 miles into the 112-mile ride, Hennessey said he started to feel some pain, but he quickly shook it off and kept pedaling.
“You’re feeling it, but once you look up and see the people on the side of the road you remember what you came for,” he said. “With the adrenaline kicking in you just push through it.”
By the time he completed his leg of the PMC, Hennessey said he was totally exhausted and was walking like a cowboy for a while. However, when he got ready to leave for home and his teammates were getting ready for the second leg of the ride, guilt set in.
“I did feel guilty about not continuing with them, but I was hooked and will do the entire ride next year,” Hennessey said. “With my uncle riding for my father for 30 years it made me wonder why I never started this earlier. This event is something that you’re immediately addicted to.”
Although Hennessey has a long way to go to catch up with his uncle, he knows that the PMC is going to be an event that is circled on his calendar for many years to come; especially now that the fear of fundraising is gone.