**RIDING FOR A CAUSE.** Hull’s Lisa, Caroline, Stuart, and Julia Patterson will participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge bicycle trek across Massachusetts next month to raise money for cancer research in honor of their neighbor, Hull Times Publisher Patti Abbate, who died in May after battling pancreatic cancer. The family will include Abbate’s photo on their jerseys.[Courtesy photo]

By Victoria Dolan

For her 17th year riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, Hullonian Lisa Patterson and her family have decided to dedicate their ride to their neighbor and friend, late Hull Times Publisher Patricia Abbate.

The Pan-Mass Challenge is a Massachusetts bike-a-thon that raises millions of dollars for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Participants ride anywhere from 25 to 200 miles and collect pledges to donate to the cancer center.

Abbate was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, and Lisa Patterson dedicated her 2021 ride to her then as well. After Abbate died in May, Patterson decided to dedicate this summer’s ride to her neighbor again, “to remember her and honor her.”

Late Hull Times Publisher Patti Abbate, who died in May.

Lisa Patterson’s whole family is involved in the ride this year. She will ride with her husband, Stuart, who has been participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge for 10 years, and her daughter, Julia. Her son, Brad, will be riding and raising money virtually from Washington D.C., and her other daughter, Caroline, (or “KK”), will be volunteering during the ride.

“They all knew Patti,” she said. “We miss her terribly.”

Stuart Patterson agreed, noting that “Patti is really in our hearts this year.”

He added that “it means a lot” that his children are ready to support the cause. “They’re younger than 30, but they know people like Patti who have suffered from cancer,” he said. “I’m really proud of them for being willing to do the ride.”

The ride itself is certainly no picnic. Lisa Patterson is planning to bike an 85-mile loop and raise $4,000 out of the PMC’s goal of 68 million dollars. Since she is riding for Patti, some of the money will go toward pancreatic cancer.

“It’s a wonderful way to raise an incredible amount of money,” said Stuart Patterson.

The family will be riding as part of a new team of bikers, Team PopSciCycles. The team is named after the McGraw/Patterson Division of Population Sciences at Dana-Farber and was created in honor of Stuart’s father, Dr. W. Bradford Patterson, who was instrumental in the founding and growth of the division.

Team PopSciCycles has a “Pedal Partner,” Ellie, whom they are riding for as well. Teams are matched with children getting treatment at Dana Farber.

“She’s sort of an inspiration,” said Lisa Patterson. Ellie is eight years old, and Team PopSciCycles will get to meet her at the third water stop on their route. “That’s always an incredible thing.”

In preparation for the ride, the Patterson family has been training. They rode a 50-mile route to Duxbury from Hull on July 3, and will continue getting ready for the ride until the day arrives on Aug. 6.

The family is definitely excited about their ride.

“It’s a very powerful weekend,” said Lisa Patterson. “It’s very moving, but you have a lot of fun too.”

On the challenging ride, one of the many things pushing the family forward will be their memories of Patti. Stuart Patterson remembers her through her business.

“She invited me to speak at one of the many organizations she was responsible for,” he said. “She was so well connected and with such a wonderful personality, and was such a wonderful, powerful, entrepreneur… she was just a dynamo.”

Lisa Patterson likes to remember “hanging out on her porch and always looking at the sunset.” Abbate was a sunset lover, she said, and was always taking a photo. “I think when I see sunsets now, I think so much of Patti.”

Abbate’s “attitude toward her cancer was incredible,” she added. “I think she tried to make the people around her feel better and was very willing to talk about it which brings good awareness.”

“I think we all thought we had a little bit more time with her,” she said. “She’s going to be missed by so many people.”

Their bike ride “is a small thing to do for her, but if we can bring more awareness to pancreatic cancer that would make Patti really happy…she wouldn’t want us to be sad,” she said.

The Patterson family will ride on Aug. 6 with a photo of Abbate on their jerseys. Anybody can participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge by walking, riding, or running, and making a donation. You can learn more about the Pattersons’ ride and donate to the Pan-Mass Challenge at https://profile.pmc.org/LP0071.