Dear Friends and Family,
You all know that I like to ride. A lot. Long distances, lots of climbing, great locations. When I do a ride that checks all these boxes and raises money for a good cause, well, that’s just icing on the gravy.
The New England Classic Charity Bike Tour (NEC Bike Tour) is organized and operated exclusively to raise funds for charitable purposes in support of the American Diabetes Association and their summer camp for kids with diabetes, Camp Carefree.
This will be the 6th time that I’ve ridden this event. This 7 day ride, beginning on July 12th, across mountainous northern New England will cover 550 miles and 30,000 feet of climbing. (Mt. Everest is 29,032’.) My training numbers are down this year as the Ride the Rockies event has been discontinued. Additionally, my enthusiasm for pickleball sometimes gets in the way. I may be a bit slower, but I’m intent on completing it for this very worthwhile cause.
Here are a few numbers to consider:
- 37.3 million, or approximately 1 in 10: The estimated number of children and adults in the United States who have diabetes.
- Of the 37.3 million, 28.7 million are diagnosed, and 8.5 million were undiagnosed.
- 96 million: The estimated number of Americans who have prediabetes
- Every 23 seconds someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with diabetes.
- 283,000 children and adolescents under age 20 have diagnosed diabetes. This includes 244,000 with type 1 diabetes.
The easiest way to pledge is to click the DONATE button at the top of this page.
If you would prefer to write a check, you can make it out to New England Classic Charity Bike Tour and send it to me at 40 Wilson Road, Bedford, MA 01730. You may also donate through your Donor-Advised Fund. I can also arrange to take cash, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal or crypto. (Just kidding, I don’t know how to take crypto.)
I am very grateful to all of those who are willing to help. Thank you as always for your support.
Larry
New England Classic Charity Bike Tour is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization EIN #: 87-1108618
New England Classic Charity Bike Tour 150/550 - 2025
The New England Classic Charity Bike Tour is a multi-day fundraising cycling event that offers two-day and seven-day options starting Saturday, July 12, 2025 in Billerica, Mass. at Courtyard Marriott. The 150-mile NEC 150 and 550-mile NEC 550 travel the same route for the first two days. Indoor, air-conditioned accommodations and breakfast and dinner are included with the fundraising minimum of $600 for the NEC 150 and $3,000 for the NEC 550.
The 2025 New England Classic Charity Bike Tour will benefit the American Diabetes Association. Through research, education and advocacy, the ADA pursues its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. More than 30 million Americans live with diabetes.
NEC 150 riders travel the back roads of the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts into southern New Hampshire and along the seacoast with a destination of Durham, N.H. The Day 2 route takes riders to coastal Maine past beaches, rocky coves and quaint villages. Day 2 ends with dinner and a celebration, then riders take chartered buses back to Bedford while their bicycles are transported there safely.
As Day Three begins, the NEC 550 riders will leave coastal Maine, heading west into the White Mountains region, where the challenge rolls north through Conway and on to the Attitash Grand Summit Resort in Bartlett, New Hampshire.
The journey continues on Day Four with a climb up Crawford Notch on the way to Bethlehem and Littleton, N.H., before turning South at the Connecticut River and riding through the Upper Valley. After a night in West Lebanon, NH, riders cross the river into Vermont and pedal on scenic Route 100 to the Killington area and the welcome comfort of a ski resort.
The trek continues through Vermont and then back into the Monadnock region of New Hampshire with an overnight in Keene, N.H. The final leg heads to Central Massachusetts, winding its way to the finish at the Courtyard by Marriott in Billerica, Massachusetts, on Friday, July 18.
The New England Classic Charity Bike Tour (NEC Bike Tour) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. The purpose of the NEC Bike Tour is to raise funds exclusively for charitable purposes in support of the American Diabetes Association and their summer camp for kids with diabetes, Camp Carefree.