Cyclists rolled into Wareham from, quite literally, across the state today, passing through town and stopping to water up at Decas School as participants in the 2010 Pan Mass Challenge.

Decas School was one of 11 water stops set up along the main route of the annual fundraiser to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.  (The event has over 10 routes ranging from a daylong, 47-mile loop beginning and ending in Wellesley and the two-day, 190-mile Sturbridge to Provincetown main route). The race brought approximately 5,000 riders through Wareham as the course traversed the state from starting points this morning in Sturbridge and Wellesley, to tonight's finishing destination of Mass Maritime Academy, in Bourne.  The race finishes in Provincetown tomorrow afternoon.

Station coordinator Jim O'Dowd expected that approximately 4,000 of the event's 5,100 registered riders would stop at the site to grab water, energy bars, fruit, and other snacks.

"I missed a meeting, and got stuck organizing the whole station," Jim joked.  "But I wouldn't be anywhere else than here, it's an amazing weekend."

In addition to providing refreshment, there was a medical tent set up to treat injuries (just a little bit of road-rash was reported) and provide massages, a misting tent to cool riders, and a bike-repair tent.

"We have 60 volunteers that we nurse along all year," said Melissa O'Dowd, Jim's wife and an employee at Dana Farber.  "We're very fortunate to have such a great group."

"We're lucky to have the facilities of Decas, as well," Jim added.  Particularly refrigeration for all the food - which was loaded into a Ryder Truck on Thursday!

And the stories of the volunteers, the participants and the spectators coming to cheer, demonstrated what made the event so special.

The DJ arrived with his father on a tandem bike after spinning tunes at the previous water stop in Lakeville (the water stops are spread about 20 miles apart).

Many of the volunteers were riding in memory of loved ones, and decorated their helmets and their riding equipment accordingly.

Maureen Russo, who passed away from cancer in 2006, loved elephants. So team Maureen has decorated their helmets with her favorite animal in its habitat, adding a little more to the scene each year.

The team from Cape Cod Sea Camp decorates their helmets with "Da' Hedge," in reference to the long hedge in front of their camp in Brewster.  Each year, the campers gather along the hedge to cheer the runners, and it has become a favorite and heartwarming sign for riders, said team member Andy Ross.

And while their efforts perhaps resulted in less sweat than the exertions of the riders, the cheerleaders and supporters were as dedicated as any.

Krisha's Clan was on their fourth costume change as they awaited their friend Krisha Suydan, who was riding with Team Smiths Medical and Friends. In Wrentham, the clan dressed as clowns.  Pirates awaited the team in Dighton, while flappers cheered them on in Lakeville.  They were hula-girls at Decas, and they planned to protect the dormitories and tents where the riders slept in Bourne as karate kids.

Krisha, however, seemed more concerned with resting than protecting the camp.

"I'm really, really sore," she said.