The Pan Mass Challenge was personal to the riders who journey 192 miles over two days to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. That was certainly true for the eight riders of Team CLOVER (Courage Lives On Valiantly in Every Rider) who have all watched loved ones battle cancer.

Team CLOVER and another tri-town team, "Team oN A Mission,” pedaled from Sturbridge to Provincetown on Saturday and Sunday to raise money for cancer research.

Heading up Team CLOVER is Old Rochester Regional High School Athletic Director Bill Tilden, who first did the route last year after his mother passed away from cancer.

“It helped me to get my head back on straight,” said Tilden, a Marion resident.

This year, his dad has also been dealing with cancer and just received a good report.

With a desire to keep raising money for research, Tilden took to the road again on Saturday, this time with his daughters, Amanda and Lindsey.

“Last year I rode by myself, but to experience it with them is going to be a whole new treat,” Tilden said before the ride.

Tilden’s friends Maureen and John Mullen of Rochester were also on the team.

Maureen, a physical therapist in the school district, also rode last year.

“I loved it and want to continue to do it,” said Maureen. “I love riding my bike. What better way to give back to something that is so near and dear to me.”

John lost his father to cancer in 2012, and Maureen’s father is currently undergoing treatment for cancer at Dana-Farber. The many hours they’ve spent with family at the hospital have given the couple a desire to give something back.

“There is no better place than Dana-Farber,” said Maureen. “Watching my father in law go through the care he received and now watching my dad, it’s an amazing group of people.”

And, she said, the 192 miles isn’t so daunting because there are people the whole way cheering on riders.

“When you’re riding that ride, you’re inspiring people, but they’re inspiring you at the same time,” Maureen said. “You don’t really realize the physical effort that you are putting forward because the emotional effort you get back is 10 times greater.”

Another tri-town team, Team oN A Mission, was cheered on as they passed a group of supporters on Neck Road in Rochester on Saturday. The team honors Sarah and Chris Marchisio’s mother, who passed away from cancer in 2010, and the siblings’ father, who died of a heart attack in 2012.

Caroline Peucker, Sarah and Chris’s guardian, said they cheered for the riders as children and decided to keep the tradition going. Under heavy rain, Peucker, her daughter Kate and many others yelled words of encouragement for the drenched cyclists.

“We want everyone to know how much we appreciated the fact that they’re fundraising,” Caroline said. “We know how hard it can be. We rode in it last year.”

“We’re better cheerers than riders,” Kate joked.

Team CLOVER has raised $33,114 towards its $34,400 goal and has until Oct. 1 to complete fundraising. Donations can be made on the Pan Mass Challenge website or by check made out to PMC and sent to Bill Tilden, 481 Mill St. Marion, MA 02738. One hundred percent of all donations go to Dana-Farber for cancer research.