Wednesday, June 8, 2022

GR Ride is this Weekend

Tour de Taco team ride last Sunday.
It seems really early in the season to be talking about our JDRF Ride Weekend. That's because it is. Normally we do our big ride in the fall, after a spring and summer's worth of training and fundraising. This year the ride season is kicking off in June (a month earlier than usual) here in Grand Rapids. It's great to have the whole JDRF road show here in our town, but my legs would have appreciated a couple of more months to train.

Considering the short time frame for getting prepped, Mary and I have adjusted our mileage goal for this ride. We usually attempt a century ride, which is 100 miles. In fact, our first JDRF ride ever was a century ride in Death Valley in 2005. The Grand Rapids ride will have two starting locations. The main start is at Millennium Park and the route heads out to Lake Michigan south of Grand Haven. If a rider does that entire route it's 100 miles. Also, since it's an out-and-back route, a rider is halfway done at any point. Just turn around and head back. This is how to get a metric century (100 kilometers or 62 miles), turn around when you've ridden 31 miles.The second starting line is actually on the Lake Michigan shore. Riders who start from there will ride back to Millennium Park. It is a 44 mile route, with no way to shorten it. That's the route Mary and I have decided to do. Although it's not our usual amount of miles, it will be the longest ride we've done in 2022.

We are looking forward to everyone arriving here tomorrow and riding on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Watch for ride day photos soon.

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Back in the Saddle

Mary and Tom at a training ride in May
I haven't written much on this blog in the last couple of years because the JDRF Ride Program has been in kind of a holding pattern as a result of the pandemic. Sure, we were still raising money, but there were no destination rides for two years. But we are back at it for 2022 and we are very excited. This is our 18th year of riding to cure Type 1 Diabetes and we have set a pretty big goal for ourselves. But before we get to our goal, let us give you a little background. 

In September of 1997 our oldest son Jake was diagnosed with T1D as he was entering first grade. Our lives changed overnight. We had to carefully watch what Jake ate, check his blood sugars several times a day, give him shots of insulin, and worry about the long-term complications of the disease. Would our little six-year-old someday go blind or have to have an amputation because of diabetes? We couldn’t sit back, we had to do something to help hasten a cure for this terrible disease. So, we got involved with the local chapter of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

We started by participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes. We also took part in the Promise Gala. We started Jake’s Music Festival to use music and a positive atmosphere to raise funds and bring the message of JDRF to a new audience. Then, 18 years ago, a small group of us from West Michigan started our ride team. Since then, we have raised over 2.5 million dollars for diabetes research.

The money raised by JDRF has helped immensely. Things like the insulin pump and the continuous glucose monitor exist today because of JDRF donations and advocacy. We feel very proud to be part of an organization that is helping to improve the lives of people with T1D.

This year JDRF will be holding one of its national destination rides right here in Grand Rapids on June 11 and we will be there. Our goal for the Grand Rapids ride is $4,000. We have also set a stretch goal for ourselves. JDRF is hosting a ride in Tucson, Arizona on November 19. If we can raise an additional $8,000, we will be riding there as well. That’s a lot of money and we can’t do it without your support.

Donating is simple. Checks can be made out to JDRF (or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and sent to us at 6184 Archer St. NE, Rockford, MI 49341. You can also donate over on the left side of the page, click on “Donate to Tom” or “Donate to Mary” and follow the easy directions.  You can also track our training progress and see photos of the ride.

On behalf of Jake and everyone suffering with diabetes, we thank you for your support.