Peabody Man Rides 190 Miles for Girl With Leukemia

Peabody resident Derek Jones is riding 190 miles this weekend, but the distance itself isn’t what’s most noteworthy about his feat, it’s who he’s riding for.

Jones, a Georgetown police officer, will embark on his fifth straight two-day ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge to help kids suffering from cancer by raising support for the Jimmy Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

And in particular this year, Jones is part of Team Mickey, which is riding in support of one little girl who has suffered with a rare form of cancer for most of her life thus far.

The past months have been a roller coaster for the Nicholas family, as they've struggled to bring normalcy back into their household and to their four young children, after their youngest daughter McKinley Rose Nicholas, now two, was 

It has been over 220 days since her bone marrow transplant and McKinley Rose is still fighting. According to parents Mark and Erica Nicholas of Georgetown, formerly of Danvers, McKinley is doing as well as can be expected after her cancer diagnosis and ensuing treatment.

But, after most of the last year spent either in the hospital or the Ronald McDonald House at Mass. General Hospital, the Nicholas’ had some exciting news: a team would be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) in McKinley’s name.

Over Aug. 6 and 7, Team Mickey will ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown in the 32nd annual event. Jones and friend Tim Miles, a Georgetown Cub master who Jones met while participating in the ride a few years ago and have been riding together ever since, will both be sporting Team Mickey shirts this year.

They recently presented McKinley with her own team shirt, with the Team Mickey logo and her picture on the back beside the phrase: “190 Miles Powered By McKinley Rose.”

“We are asking sponsors to help make the difference. The PMC riders can’t eradicate cancer alone. We have to do it together to end cancer and we won’t stop riding until we do,” write Jones and Miles in their support letter.

The nationally recognized PMC draws more than 5,000 cyclists, who hail from 36 states and six countries. The 2011 goal is to raise $34 million for Dana-Farber.

Since the charity was founded more than 30 years ago by Billy Starr, who lost his mother to melanoma at the age of 49, the PMC has raised over $300 million for cancer research. It is the largest single contributor to the Jimmy Fund, bringing in nearly 50 percent of its annual revenue. 

Click here to donate to Team Mickey and support the Pan-Mass Challenge.