More than 30 years ago I got involved with a fundraising bike ride for the American Diabetes Association called the New England Classic. A lot has changed since then, but I am still at it.
I started with the two-day, 150-mile route, and after a few years graduated to riding 550 miles in seven days through four New England states. Eventually I got my whole family involved. My fabulous wife, Marlene, ran one of the rest stops for a number of years. All three of my sons, Sean, Brian and Colin, spent time volunteering on the gear truck loading and unloading luggage and supplies at each day's destination.
To answer the question many ask: I do not nor does anyone in our family have diabetes. Taking on a cycling challenge got me involved but I stayed for the mission. In fact, after 20 years riding in the New England Classic or NEC, I went to work for the ADA as coordinator of the event. I now not only count dozens of people living with diabetes as my friends, but I serve more than 38 million Americans living with this disease. Diabetes requires constant vigilance to keep it under control and on a daily basis poses a disabling and deadly threat even to those who do their best to manage life with the disease.
When the financial strains of COVID required the ADA to downsize the Tour de Cure series of cycling events, the New England Classic was eliminated. But a determined group of riders and volunteers formed an independent nonprofit to keep the event alive along with the fundraising dollars it generated to support ADA research, education and advocacy. The NEC also came to the rescue of the ADA's Camp Carefree for kids living with diabetes that takes place each summer in New Hampshire. As an outside organization, the now New England Classic Charity Bike Tour was able to earmark funds for the camp to keep it alive for the past three years.
Last year some hydration issues kept me from completing all seven days of the NEC on my bike. This year I am determined to pedal every single mile of this crazy 550-mile-plus around New England.
Please consider a donation to support our efforts to make a difference in the lives of people living with diabetes. You may not know it, but chances are strong that one of those people is a family member, friend or colleague.
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.