Join the Global Fight Against Cancer - Donate to The Jimmy Fund Now!

This weekend I'll be riding my bike 192 miles in my fourth annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. The PMC, as it is known, is a charity bike ride raising money for life-saving cancer treatment and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through donations to The Jimmy Fund. One hundred percent of all rider-raised donations go directly to the Jimmy Fund, there is no event overhead thanks to thousands of volunteers and hundreds of corporate sponsors!

As an active cyclist, I am not as challenged by the cycling as I am the fund raising! With a $4,200 commitment pledged the day I register, I must raise the money or have my credit card charged for the balance. The ride is in four days and I still need to raise nearly $2,000!

Will you join in the global fight against cancer and make a donation to The PMC and The Jimmy Fund? Will you go out for steak tacos instead of a steak dinner and donate the difference to The Jimmy Fund? Will you buy a beer instead of a martini and donate the difference to The Jimmy Fund? Will you order a salad instead of a three course meal and donate the difference to The Jimmy Fund? Will you eat in instead of going out altogether and donate the money you saved to the Jimmy Fund?

 To make a 100% tax-deductible donation online, please visit http://www.pmc.org


From the Pan-Mass Challenge web site:

Cancer Facts & Figures


Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by either the runaway growth of cells or the failure of cells to die normally. Cancer can arise in any organ of the body and strikes one of every two American men and one of every three American women at some point in their lives.


Each year, nearly 1.4 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the United States, a figure that does not include the 900,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed annually. Cancer is the second leading cause of death (after heart disease) in the United States, accounting for 560,000 deaths every year. While more than 3 million people are diagnosed with cancer around the globe each year, the figure most likely represents just a percentage of people who have the disease but remain undiagnosed due to decreased access to health care in different parts of the world. There are more than 100 different varieties of cancer, which can be divided into six major categories. Carcinomas, the most common type of cancer, originate in tissues that cover a surface or line a cavity of the body. Sarcomas begin in tissue that connects, supports or surrounds other tissues and organs. Lymphomas are cancers of the lymph system, the circulatory system that bathes and cleanses the body's cells. Leukemias involve blood-forming tissues and blood cells. As their name indicates, brain tumors are cancers that begin in the brain, and skin cancers, including dangerous melanomas, originate in the skin. Cancers are considered metastatic if they spread via the blood or lymphatic system to other parts of the body to form secondary tumors.

Pan-Mass Challenge 2009 Recap

The hills of Sturbridge and Provincetown and the 2009 Pan-Mass Challenge might be behind me, but my fund raising continues along with the global fight against cancer. Will you join me in the fight and make a donation to The Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute? Every dollar of your donation will go directly cancer research and treatments, I promise. The PMC allocates 100% of all rider-raised donations directly to The Jimmy Fund, and I'm a rider!

Please visit http://www.pmc.org/profile/SD0131 to make tax-deductible donation. If each unique visitor to my site visits http://www.pmc.org/profile/SD0131 over the next 10 days and donates just $10, we would raise over $8,000 for the the fight against cancer! Ever dollar counts in this fight, please consider donating!

Now, for those of you who follow me on Twitter you got a little taste of what its like to ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown, Massachusetts (practically across the whole state!) In two days, I spent about 12 hours in the saddle of my bike riding 192 miles and burning approximately 14,000 calories along the way! I had to eat a lot to stay fueled up and full of energy to keep pedaling.

Here now is a Tweet-cap of the weekend for those of you who missed it on Twitter:

5:26 AM Aug 1st 6 minutes to the start of the 2009 Pan Mass Challenge!! Have you donated yet? http://www.pmc.org/profile/SD0131 #PMC

5:30 AM Aug 1st PMC 2009 is on!! 192 miles in the fight against cancer! #PMC http://mypict.me/gcP1

7:10 AM Aug 1st Rest stop 1. First 25 miles were hilly, foggy and cool. Its warming up and so am I. #PMC

7:11 AM Aug 1st First rest stop fuel: 1/2 PBJ and banana. Filled a bottle with gatorade. #PMC

8:27 AM Aug 1st Water stop 2; mile 42. More hills, sun is out, rising temps. #PMC http://mypict.me/gf55

8:28 AM Aug 1st Water stop 2: whole fluffer nutter, an orange, and grape gatorade. Rolling on... #PMC

[@OishiiEats makes an online donation and I receive an email notification on my Blackberry]

8:29 AM Aug 1st @OishiiEats you're an all-star, thank you for your donation!!!

10:19 AM Aug 1st Lunch stop, mile 70; 4 hours on the bike so far, 5,353 calories burned. 42 to go, have you donated? http://www.pmc.org/profile/SD0131 #PMC

10:20 AM Aug 1st PMC lunch stop: ate turkey sandwich, tortellini salad, 2 slices of watermelon, bag of yukon gold chip, and a oatmeal raisin cookie. #PMC

[I also drank 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of Vitamin Water XXX with lunch, and filled my bike bottle with more Vitamin Water XXX.]

11:19 AM Aug 1st Water stop: mile 84 Lakeville. The ice couch to sooth some burning muscles...almost to Bourne! #PMC http://mypict.me/gi4D

11:20 AM Aug 1st Mile 84: slice of watermelon and two fig newtons. 1 more bottle of gatorade. #PMC

12:21 PM Aug 1st Last Saturday water stop: 100.5 miles!!!! 5h 45m on the bike so far!! Almost to Bourne, I can almost taste the @harpoon_brewery beer :)

12:22 PM Aug 1st Last Saturday water stop: 1/2 PBJ and a bottle of gatorade...almost there... Need to dig deep! #PMC

1:06 PM Aug 1st Day 1 PMC finished!! 109 miles, 6 hours 15 minutes! Time for food, shower, massage and beer! #PMC

2:28 PM Aug 1st 109 miles, 8,203 calories, and my reward: fresh @harpoon_brewery beer! #PMC http://mypict.me/gm3v


After 6+ hours of riding and 8,203 calories burned on Saturday, I was hungry and I earned the right to eat! While relaxing at the Mass Maritime Academy campus in Bourne, MA, I ate one grilled BBQ chicken sandwich, one cheeseburger with ketchup and mustard, two slices of pizza, a baked potato with butter, a second baked potato with butter and shredded cheese, some carrots and green peppers, and three small chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. I also drank a Harpoon IPA and several bottles of water.

Saturday caloric expenditure: 8,203 calories
Saturday caloric intake: Approx. 6,100 calories

After a 4am wake-up Sunday morning, I packed my bag, put on my shorts and shirt and headed off the ship, yes I slept in a bunk on a huge maritime training ship, and began day two of cycling, eating, and feeling great about what I was doing!

My friend Kristen wanted me to pretend I wasn't happy about being awake

5:10 AM Aug 2nd @KyNamDoan I'm awake, about to head out on day 2 of the #PMC, last 83 miles of a 192 mile charity ride raising money to fight cancer!

5:37 AM Aug 2nd @KyNamDoan absolutely! http://www.pmc.org & if you would like to donate http://www.pmc.org/profile/SD0131 The Jimmy Fund is the beneficiary

[@KyNamDoan makes a donation online and I receive an email notification on my Blackberry]

7:23 AM Aug 2nd @KyNamDoan you are awesome!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

7:24 AM Aug 2nd 23 miles down; rolling hill after rolling hill through sandwich and barnstable - 60 miles to P-town! #PMC

7:38 AM Aug 2nd Water stop 1; 23 miles: 3 raspberry Fruit & Grain bars and a bag of Terra yukon gold chips. 1 bottle of gatorade #PMC
[Every year during the PMC, campers and counselors from the Cape Cod Sea Camps in Brewster line the hedge at the edge of the camp's property and cheer for riders as they go by. 'Da Hedge is one of the highlights of Sunday's ride, the cheers are LOUD!]

8:38 AM Aug 2nd At 'Da Hedge in Brewster, mile 38 (147) #PMC http://mypict.me/gFe4

8:48 AM Aug 2nd Brewster water stop, Nickerson State Park, mile 39. #PMC http://mypict.me/gFes

8:50 AM Aug 2nd Brewster water stop, mile 39: PBJ sandwich, some fruit, and a bottle of gatorade. #PMC

10:02 AM Aug 2nd Wellfleet water stop, mile 57. Last stop before P-town! Ate some fruit and half a turkey sandwich. P-town here I come! #PMC

11:29 AM Aug 2nd PMC 2009 is finished!! 185 miles, 13,989 calories burned! ~12 hours in the saddle! Must eat and drink...recap to come! #PMC

What a day! Once I showered up I ate a cheeseburger and a hot dog and sucked down a tasty Harpoon IPA. I then went to lunch with my wife and her family and ate a large Cobb salad with ranch dressing. I also ate a whole 5oz. bag of Terra Dark Russet potato chips (that's the big bag) and drank a Vitamin10 water on the drive home. What an insatiable appetite! Burning 14,000 calories gives me carte blanche to eat whatever I want!

Sunday's Caloric Expenditure: 5,800 calories
Sunday's Caloric Intake: Approx. 4,750 calories

I'm already looking forward to the 2010 Pan-Mass Challenge. Want to join me?!

Save the taste buds!

Imagine life without your favorite foods. Imagine everything began to taste too salty, very bitter, or even metallic. For all the people that will be diagnosed with cancer this year, the chemotherapy treatments they will undergo will take their appetites and change the way their favorite food tastes. Imagine if chocolate no longer tasted like chocolate!

Please make a small donation and join my campaign to save the taste buds - join the fight against cancer: http://www.pmc.org/egifts/SD0131


Each year nearly 1.4 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the United States, a figure that does not include the 900,000 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed annually. Cancer is the second leading cause of death (after heart disease) in the United States, accounting for 560,000 deaths every year. While more than 3 million people are diagnosed with cancer around the globe each year, the figure most likely represents just a percentage of people who have the disease but remain undiagnosed due to decreased access to health care in different parts of the world.

The treatments that cancer patients must endure are painful. Chemotherapy makes their hair fall out. It alters the way their food tastes. It destroys their appetite. As if receiving the news that "it's cancer" isn't bad enough, the treatments needed to kill the cancer are so toxic that sometimes they kill the patient too.

This summer on August 1st and 2nd I will be riding 192 miles (309 kilometers) across the state of Massachusetts in my third Pan-Mass Challenge. Over the last two years I raised over $10,000 in memory of my family and friends that have been taken away by cancer. I expect that this year, due to the economy, my fund raising is going to be an even bigger challenge. I have set a modest goal of $5,000 this year with 100% of every dollar going directly to the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

My family has seen it's share of cancer over the years. My grandmother, one of my great aunts, and lots of cousins; only one survivor. Friends from high school and summer camp who never saw their 30th birthday. Cancer does not discriminate. Cancer doesn't care how old you are or if you have children. Cancer never takes the day off, and neither should we.

So readers, I'm asking you to think about your life, your family, your friends. The probability is very high that you know someone who has had cancer. Please consider that this ride, the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, gives 100% of the rider-raised donations directly to The Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for the treatments and research that save lives. It helps fund early detection programs that often times mean the difference between life and death. Every dollar raised brings us all one step closer to a cure.

I am asking you to please make a 100% tax-deductible donation to help in the continuing fight against cancer; each donation brings us all closer to a cure.

To donate online, go to http://www.pmc.org/egifts/SD0131

PS: I’d like to ask one more favor. It would be so great if you would share this post with one of your friends or family members and ask them to make a a donation too. Just think how much more money we could raise in our effort to rid our lives of this horrible disease.

Eating Tandoori Chicken in Chennai

When I tell my colleagues that I like going to India, many of them think I'm nuts; twenty hours on a plane and all that air and noise pollution surely can't be fun. My response is usually something like, "I think the food is great and I get to experience things that are unique to that part of the world; India is a fascinating country. And, I like the solitude on the plane." They still think I'm nuts.

Even though I'm in India on business, the trip tends to be all about the food for me. Dinners are usually at restaurants in five-star hotels in the city, like Peshwari in the Sheraton Chola or Lotus Thai in The Park hotel. When we work late at the office, we usually eat at our own hotel, the Fortune Select Palms, in the Zodiac restaurant/lounge. The Zodiac offers a variety of foods, including a buffet full of delicious Indian offerings. My favorite dish however is on the menu, the tandoori chicken, India's version of barbecued chicken. Sure the hotel is in the south and tandoori is a traditionally found in the north, but this chicken is GOOD. It is a statler chicken breast, which means it is the boneless breast of chicken with a drumette attached, covered in spicy goodness, cooked in a Tandoor oven, and served with a wedge of lime and some carrot and cabbage slaw.


I ate this chicken twice during my last visit to India in March and I can't wait to go back and have it again. The chicken is tender, the rub is spicy, and the accompanying mint chutney (not pictured) offers both a cooling and flavorful touch to this dish.

On my next trip I'm going to explore the food stalls that line Old Mahabalipuram Road outside of my office; I may need some Pepto afterwards, but I hope it will be worth it. Remember when you're traveling, follow your nose...and your stomach. Be adventurous in life and at the dinner table.

Author's note: I'm raising money for the The Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support my recent ride in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride. Will you make a donation to support the advancement of cancer research and administration of life-saving cancer treatments?

The Best Thai Food....in India!

Here is another dining adventure from my last trip to India - Thai food! After a long day at the office, some colleagues and I went to The Park hotel for some Thai food at Lotus. The Park is a 5-star hotel located in downtown Chennai with three restaurants and two night clubs. The hotel is built on land previously occupied by the Gemini Film Studios, one of the first studios in Chennai that sparked the film industry in Tamil Nadu.

Anyway, the food at Lotus was outstanding. We had a few appetizers, of which the most noteworthy was the shrimp spring rolls pictures below. It was a whole shrimp wrapped inside of a spring roll wrapper with some green onions and cabbage. Five different sauces accompanied the plate of spring rolls and can be seen presented on my plate below with one spring roll. Each sauce was a perfect accompaniment for the sweet and savory, crispy shrimp spring roll.


For my main course, I decided to try the chicken pad thai. In my opinion a Thai restaurant is only as good as it's Tom Yum Soup and it's Pad Thai. This Pad Thai at Lotus was excellent! The rice noodles were cooked perfectly, the chicken was tender, and the spicy seasonings left me feeling very satisfied with my choice. We actually ate at Lotus the night before as well, and I had the green curry which was also excellent.


Finally, a note about the service at Lotus and in India in general. At each of the fine restaurants we ate at, both this recent trip in March and my trip last September, the service is generally good. It was often hard to find a waiter when we needed a drink, however when our food is brought to the table, the server will plate the food as seen in the picture below. When returning to the table to check on us, if he sees any empty plates, he will serve up some more from the dishes. This level of service is appreciated to a certain extent, but the service was not perfect.

On a side note, my colleague Nick, being served in the photo, made a snarky comment about me taking pictures of the food. I justified my picture taking by mentioning my blog, and blurred out his face in the picture to protect him from the abuse he would otherwise certainly receive from fellow bloggers for his ignorance.

And remember when your traveling, whether for business or pleasure, follow your nose...and your stomach. Be adventurous in life and at the dinner table.

Author's note: I'm raising money for the The Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support my recent ride in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride. Will you make a donation to support the advancement of cancer research and administration of life-saving cancer treatments?

My Fight Against Cancer in the PMC

(Please allow me to deviate from the food theme for a special appeal)

No, I am not sick, unless you consider riding 192 miles in two days on a bicycle sick. Cancer has touched too close to home for me though. My paternal grandmother, my great aunt, my great aunt's son and one her daughters. Someone I went to high school with and someone I went to summer camp with. There are others too, all taken away by cancer. One friend of my family is a two-time survivor. One of my neighbors is also a survivor. There are many others. How many people do you know that have been affected by cancer?

On August 4th and 5th I will be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a 192-mile charity bicycle ride across Massachusetts, from Sturbridge to Provincetown, raising money for to support life-saving research and treatment at The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through The Jimmy Fund. I will train all spring and summer, cycling close to 2,000 miles in preparation.

Now I know I don't know most of you personally but I'd be surprised if you didn't know someone affected by cancer. I've committed to raising $3,600 for this event and am asking for your help. Please consider making a contribution, helping me reach my goal. Consider passing on the foie gras, the filet mignon or that extra bottle of wine at dinner, and make a donation. You can make a pledge online by following this link: http://www.pmc.org/mypmc/profiles.asp?eGiftID=SD0131

Thank you for reading, thank you for your support and most importantly, thank you for your contribution.

Much love,
Scott (aka One Food Guy)