Andrew Roy doesn’t get much chance to ride a bike in Suzhou, China.

“Traffic’s a little strange here,” Roy said in a recent phone interview.

Still, Roy, a Waterville native, is able to train for the upcoming Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. A 192-mile bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown, Mass., the Pan-Mass Challenge raises money to support cancer research and treatment through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.

Since April, Roy’s training has consisted of morning runs and spins on a stationary bike.

“I don’t get a long ride in, but at least I build up the strength,” Roy, 28, said.

A 2002 graduate of Waterville Senior High School, Roy played football and tennis for the Purple Panthers. This year will be his fifth year riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge. Roy’s Pan-Mass Challenge experience began when he started work with Hollingsworth and Vose, a paper company based in East Walpole, Mass.

This year, Roy will go over $20,000 raised for the Pan-Mass Challenge. Anyone wishing to sponsor Roy can do so at his web page, www.pmc.org/ar0105.

The event takes place over two days, Aug. 3-4. Roy has lived in China since Feb., 2011, will take part while visiting the United States for two weeks.

“I make it to the States every three months or so,” said Roy, who is in China working as a project engineer for Hollingsworth and Vose.

On the first day, participants ride from Sturbridge to Bourne. On Day 2, the pack rides from Bourne to Provincetown. In four years, Roy has logged 768 miles in the event.

“It’s extremely humbling to see how 3,000 riders can come together for an event,” Roy said.

Even more humbling, Roy said, is seeing all the people the ride has helped. Roy is lucky in that his family hasn’t been hit by cancer, but he’s seen the impact the disease has through friends and family.

“All those grateful people, they come out and cheer everybody on. Everybody’s gracious, and you’re a hero. You almost feel guilty about it because you didn’t have to go through a battle with cancer personally,” Roy said.

Roy has worked for Hollingsworth and Vose since graduating from the University of Maine with an electrical engineering degree in 2007. Along with China, the job has taken Roy to Oregon and England. He’ll ride with the Hollingsworth and Vose team.

“I’ll rent a bike,” Roy said. “Mine’s in storage.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

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