WHY WE RIDE TO FIGHT DIABETES
Since 1992, my family and I have supported the American Diabetes Association through its fundraising bicycle tours. Our initial connection was my bicycle, but in the more than 30 years of our involvement it has become a personal passion to help the ADA deliver on its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
There are 40 million people in the United States living with diabetes. Regardless of the type, diabetes can lead to severe, and in some cases, life-threatening complications. These include heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, wounds that won’t heal, and leg amputation, among others. Diabetes is relentless, requiring 24/7 vigilance to lower risk of long-term and immediate health consequences. Beyond that, diabetes is expensive for those who live with it and the systems that support them.
I started riding in one-day ADA Tour de Cure cycling events in the early ‘90s knowing little about diabetes or what it takes to ride more than 50 miles in a day. By 1995 I was pedaling 150 miles in a weekend on the New England Classic Tour de Cure and three years later embarked on my first weeklong, 550-mile New England Classic that took us on a loop through four New England states. In that time, I made friends with hundreds of people living with diabetes and our family made their fight ours. My wife, Marlene, and our three sons, Sean, Brian and Colin, joined what we call “The Caravan of Crazies” as volunteers and sometimes riders on the seven-day NEC.
Fast forward to 2014 and I made my passion my profession by going to work for the American Diabetes Association as coordinator of the New England Classic and overall supporting the organization’s efforts to raise funds and awareness in New England. The havoc inflicted on all of us by Covid did not spare the ADA and the NEC. Tour de Cure events in New England shrank from five to a single one-day event now taking place in Lexington, Mass., that I coordinate. The NEC is no longer a Tour de Cure event, but a dedicated group of riders and volunteers kept it going by forming a separate nonprofit to support the ADA and launched the New England Classic Charity Bike Tour in 2022.
I’m proud to say I have served as the ADA liaison to the New England Classic, which has been able to earmark its funding to support the ADA’s Camp Carefree, a weeklong camp for kids from 8 to 17. It is no exaggeration to say that camp is life-changing for these kids. It provides a unique blend of adventure, education, mentorship, and fun, that develops the critical skills needed to thrive while managing diabetes. At camp these children develop social skills, self-respect, and lifelong friendships. They meet others just like them in an environment that encourages independence, builds self-confidence, lays the foundation of a healthy lifestyle through education, nutrition, exercise, blood sugar management, and emotional wellbeing. I have visited camp many times and can also say that, like at any other summer camp, the kids have a blast.
Programs like Camp Carefree, the research the ADA funds and the education and advocacy it delivers is the good news. The bad news is that diabetes lasts a lifetime. So, until there is a cure, we continue to ride to fight diabetes. On July 11, I set off riding once again on the New England with Marlene joining us as a volunteer. The NEC has evolved from a weeklong event to a four-day tour as we strive to get more butts on bikes to beat diabetes.
Here’s where you come in. Any donation you can make to fuel the mission of the ADA and Camp Carefree is greatly appreciated. I thank you in advance on behalf of my many friends living with diabetes. Your support truly makes a difference in their lives.