Thirty years ago, I first took part in the New England Classic fundraising bicycle tour to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association. I never imagined I would still be pedaling in that event all these years later and that the NEC and the ADA’s mission would become such a big part of my life.
In that time, I have had the opportunity to do something I truly enjoy while helping to make a difference in the lives of people with diabetes. Ten years ago, I took it to another level when I went to work for the ADA as coordinator of the New England Classic. My passion became my profession, and since then I have been more committed than ever to raising funds and raising awareness of this horrific disease that many people misunderstand.
The New England Classic is now an independent nonprofit that still benefits the American Diabetes Association and earmarks a substantial percentage of its fundraising to Camp Carefree, a life-changing summer camp for kids who live with type 1 diabetes.
On July 13, I will begin pedaling more than 550 miles in seven days around New England with a group of wonderful and wild volunteers and cyclists who have earned the nickname of the Caravan of Crazies. We will leave Billerica, Mass., on Day 1, making our way up and over to the coast of New Hampshire and Maine before turning toward New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Vermont’s Green Mountains and eventually returning to Billerica.
This has been a challenging year for training. I tore my hamstring in both legs while skating in September and playing hockey in January, and an old meniscus injury has been acting up. But those do not, and will not, keep me off my bike. They are minor inconveniences compared to the daily and unending challenges faced by the more than 38 million Americans who live with diabetes.
Beyond having to cope with the everyday reality of managing the disease, people with diabetes face potential complications that include increased risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness due to retinopathy and amputations from neuropathy. The ADA’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Your support fuels that mission.
Please consider a donation in support of my fundraising efforts for the ADA and Camp Carefree. I have more than 38 million reasons for asking.
New England Classic Charity Bike Tour 150/550 - 2024
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 13, 2024 in Bedford, Mass. at Middlesex Community College. 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 $500 for the NEC 150 and $2,900 for the NEC 550.
The 2024 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.
After sharing the first two days of their route with the NEC 150, NEC 550 riders leave coastal Maine, heading west into the White Mountain region, where the challenge rolls north through Conway and on to the Attitash ski area in Bartlett, N.H. The journey continues Day 4 with a climb up Crawford Notch on the way to Bethlehem and Littleton, N.H., before crossing the Connecticut River into Vermont. After a night in Montpelier, riders pedal the river valleys of the Green Mountains 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 Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Mass., on Friday, July 19.
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.