Newton Native's Sustainable Thinking Leads to Pan-Mass Ride

For Newtonville native Amanda Navaroli King, biking to work was something she did for the environment -- taking a car to work every day, she says, was something she never wanted to do.

But a few months ago, her bike became more than just a way to commute, it became a tool to raise money for cancer research.

King, who now lives in Somerville, is biking the Wellesley-Provincetown route in this weekend's Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC). Her two-day route will total 163 miles. 

"I'm really excited," King says. "I think this is a great organization and I can't wait until Friday night when we can register."

King joins the race with her friend Caroline, who lost a brother-in-law to Melanoma. Her friend's loss, King says, inspired her to take her bike riding to the next level.

Soon, two more of King's friends hopped on board and by June, the group was heading out on 50- to 80-mile bike rides each weekend.

"It's been great for our group of friends," King says. "We meet up a couple times a week and do an extra 20 or 25 miles after work. It's been awesome."

King, who graduated from Newton North, currently runs the office of sustainability at Bentley College in Waltham, where she works to make the university's operations greener and reduce the school's carbon footprint.

Keeping her own carbon footprint in mind, King says she vows to take public transportation where it was feasible. But when she was hired for the Bentley job in 2009, she found biking was more efficient.

Throughout the PMC training process, King says she has learned a lot about the sport of cycling and endurance training. More importantly, though, she's connected with friends and learned the kind of impact organizations like Dana Farber can make.

"[Asking for donations] fosters conversations with your friends. More people than you think have been touched by cancer."

Oftentimes King said she would be approached by a friend or colleague offering to donate, recalling a personal story about how they have been impacted by cancer.

"Those are the moments where have that sadness in your chest...[but] you feel good about doing this," she says.

To date, King has raised around $4,300 for the ride -- surpassing the $4,200 goal set for first year riders in the Wellesley-Provincetown route. Last month, King and her group of friends held a fundraising party where many local businesses donated gift certificates for raffles, which brought in around $1,100. 

With a couple of "really good" 80-mile rides under her belt, King says she is confident for Saturday's start, adding that every time she looks at her PMC handbook or the website, she gets even more excited. 

"It's easy to forget with all the training and the fundraising, [but] the whole point is that we're raising an incredible amount of money for Dana Farber," she says. "That definitely adds some emotion."