My Memorable 2015 NC Tour de Cure Experience

By: Alexandra C. Infanzon

The North Carolina Tour de Cure, hosted by the American Diabetes Association, is in reality much more than your usual bike ride on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

It is my, the community’s, families’, and friends’ opportunity to come together and ride with the common hope that one day there will be a cure for diabetes.

I was very excited on the night before the rides, so excited that I could not fall asleep. The butterflies in my stomach were a sign that I was just hours away from meeting the members of my Team - Team Red, beginning my 10-mile ride with my mother, and joining the hundreds of other cyclists who made a commitment and dedicated their resources to ride in the incredible hills of NC.

When I arrived on Saturday, before sunrise, I immediately detected the overwhelming feeling of excitement. I parked under a tree and headed to the registration table. I noticed the tents were labeled with signs, including registration, VIP, breakfast, and Red Rider packet pick up. In this Tour ride, I registered for the ride that started Sunday as a Red Rider and Team Red Captain, so this day in particular I was volunteering for the riders that were cycling from Cary to Aberdeen in either the 80-mile or the 100-mile route on Team Red. To my surprise there were over 400 cyclists ready at the start line from over 75 different teams! 

To send off the riders, there was a call for all Red Riders to walk to the start of the line and show them they are why we ride, a safety announcement provided by Cycling SpokenHere bike shop, and the National Anthem sung by Lauren Walsh - “Miss Clayton’s Outstanding Teen” 2015. A few minutes after the speeches, Allison Barry, the Tour Manager, counted up to send them off by saying: “ONE!...TWO!...THREE!”. Everyone had a look of determination, focus, and excitement. It’s inspiring!

On Sunday morning I headed to the event again for my ride. At the event I prepared myself with plenty of food and water, took pictures at the VIP tent with members of my Team, including my mother, and checked my bike at the bike safety checkup station. My father, sister, and boyfriend were also at the ride to send us off. At 9:30am sharp we stood in line and waved off to start our ride. The ride was fun and challenging with hills that tested your cycling strengths and capability. Training was a must to finish this ride. When my mother and I finally finished the ride we felt a sense of accomplishment, one that comes from unforgettable personal fulfillment.

In the event’s summary overall, the top three fundraising teams included, Team Cheetah, Team Cisco, and Team Red. The top three fundraising individuals were Tom Droege, Diane Huis, and Christopher Doles. I thank each and every one for supporting this fight and joining the nationwide fight against diabetes.

I hope they find a cure for type 1 and type 2 diabetes this year but if not, I will ride again in next year’s Tour, and then again until one is found and I hope to see you there too.

Guest Post: Questions

By Patrick Mertes

As I prepare for my very first Tour de Cure, I’ve found myself running into many of the same challenges I’ve faced with other endurance activities.  Before ever hopping onto the bike I do a quick self-check-- asking myself the same series of questions each time:

1. What’s my blood sugar at currently?
2. How does that number compare to the last time I checked?
3. How much insulin do I have on board?
4. What are my basal rates looking like?
5. When’s the last time I’ve eaten?  What kind of food was it?

Every so often, the stars will align perfectly in my favor and I will be ready to ride right off the bat.  More times than not, however, some fine (sometimes major) tuning will be required before I can get on the road.

In an ideal world, I’ve scheduled out the time of day I plan on exercising.  Prior to this time, I’ve (hopefully) been able to recognize a predictable trend with my sugars.  I’ve avoided a heavy meal bolus and began cutting back my basals about an hour ahead of “go-time.”
In a more realistic world, I’ve recognized a break in my schedule about 30 minutes ahead of time and a lot more “math” is required (more on this method in a later post).
 
Ultimately, my brief training for Tour has been a pleasurable experience.  I can’t wait to be in good company come May 16th and 17th.

Guest Post: Why I Ride…

By Patrick Mertes

I am riding in the Tour de Cure because I have experienced, first hand, the positive impact the American Diabetes Association Programs can have on an individual living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Sixteen years ago this summer, a nervous, anxious, newly diagnosed, ten year old version of myself made the three hour drive from Raleigh to King, NC to attend my very first summer at the ADA’s Camp Carolina Trails.  Over my seven days at camp, I was surrounded by kids and role model-counselors who were “just like me.”  I was introduced to mentors who taught me that the only limitations diabetes could have on my life were the limitations that I would allow it to have.  Whether or not I realized it at the time, I left camp that summer a different person.  I began to understand the idea that I was a kid living with diabetes, not a diabetic.  

Realizing the subtle distinction between the two was life changing.    

Sixteen years later and I am still making that same drive out to King, NC ever summer.  I firmly believe in the trans-formative power the ADA’s summer camps can have on an impressionable young person living with T1D.  I am also well aware that this kind of programming could not be possible without the substantial amount of financing provided by the American Diabetes Association.       

When our Tour team leader, Ginna Purrington, approached me with the opportunity to take part in this year’s ride, I jumped on the idea.  While my cycling experience is essentially non-existent, I knew the Tour de Cure would serve as an opportunity to fund raise money that would directly affect the vitality of ADA camps across the country.     

Regardless of how close we are to a cure in the future, I find it important to not lose sight of the millions of people affected by diabetes in the present.  The American Diabetes Association has made it their mission to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.    

I am riding to ensure that kids living with diabetes today have the same opportunity I had sixteen years ago.

Guest Post - Living Through the Mission

Living Through the American Diabetes Association’s mission
By: Alexandra Infanzon

Presently, there are nearly 29 million Americans living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the US. According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2013, over 65,000 cyclists in 89 Tour de Cure events across the United States raised more than $26 million to support diabetes research, education, and awareness. That is impressive. These great efforts are implemented for the purpose of one common goal: to find a cure for diabetes. Each Tour event has special features to promote the organization’s mission, which is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Those features include: Team Red, Red Riders, and Champions. In my first year, I fulfilled all three.

In 2013, I joined the planning committee of the first Washington, DC Tour de Cure. I instantly knew I wanted to take a lead so I volunteered to be the Team Red Captain. Team Red is for anyone that wants to join a team but does not know anyone else riding. This team facilitates meet-ups through planned fundraisers, social events, and training rides by the Team Red Captain, in this case me. My team grew from 0 to 45 in one year and ended up raising over $30,000. It comprised of Red-riders and non-Red Riders. 

What is a Red Rider? A Red Rider is anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, on May 28. I won’t forget that day, not only because I was thirsty, sleepy, and showing symptoms but because I had to be hospitalized and that was my biggest fear. After attending camp for diabetes, I learned how to take control and not let it get to me. Everyone has their diagnostic story but my parents were familiar with the disease and they diagnosed me even before my fasting blood glucose came back as 300mg/dL. My entire family came to visit me in the hospital and showed me their support, which still to this day can be seen.

For my first ride I raised over $1,000, which considered me a Champion. At first, I thought it was going to be hard to raise the minimum $250 to ride but two weeks after I registered, my uncle donated $250 and his company made a matching-gift donation which totaled $500! Then my parents, my grandparents, and my entire family donated to my ride!

This year marks my third Tour de Cure ride, but it will be my first in North Carolina. The NC Tour de Cure will be held May 16-17, being unique in the sense that it is the only 2-day Tour event in the nation. The ride starts in Cary and has 7 routes to choose from. The shortest ride consists of a 10-mile route, while the longest is divided into two days, 100 miles to Aberdeen on Saturday and 100 miles back to Cary on Sunday totaling 200 miles. The other distances are 25, 50, 80, 100, or 160. If you’d like to join Team Red, visit nctourdecure.org and register today. 

My mission is to complete one Tour de Cure event per year. I have lived with type 1 diabetes for 13 years, this upcoming May 28, and I will not stop fighting this disease until we have found a cure. 

Together, we can find a cure for diabetes!

Guest Post - Why I Ride

By: Tess Booker

From the time I was diagnosed with type one diabetes in July of 2002 diabetes has always been an ongoing battle. It’s a hard disease to face because each day offers new and different struggles to overcome. No day is the same and diabetes will constantly remind you of that. Although I’ve had my highs and lows with this disease (literally), it is something that has given me passion and a continuous drive to want to better the lives of myself and others with diabetes, and to overcome this disease altogether.

After just recently completing the Bionic Pancreas trial I have first handedly seen the direction we are going towards with improving diabetes management. While the Bionic Pancreas is no cure, it is a HUGE advancement in the diabetic realm and something that I hope all type ones get to experience one day. After 13 years with diabetes, the 11 days I was on the Bionic Pancreas was the first time I felt that I could take a step back and just let my artificial pancreas do all the work (and trust me it most certainly did not disappoint). It was my first dia-vacation ever and it felt great! The feeling of dodging low blood sugars and being comfortable with knowing I would not experience them while participating in the study was absolutely amazing and indescribable.

The ADA has always had a special place in my heart. This began because of their overnight summer camp, Camp Carolina Trails. I attended camp every year as a camper and it gave me the community and support system to not let diabetes control me and bring me down. This summer will be my third year as a counselor, and the lasting positive impact Carolina Trails gives me still continues to grow beyond measures each and every year.

Furthermore, in January of this year I took a position as an intern under Allison Barry (Raleigh Tour Event Manager) and dedicate my time the past few months to helping plan Tour and organize team efforts as well as individual riders registration. This opportunity has shown me much more about all the wonderful contributions that the ADA does in efforts to fund a cure, raise awareness for type one and type two diabetes, and to protect the rights of people with diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure is so much more than a cycling event to me. It is my opportunity to step out and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by diabetes. With your help, we will fight for a future where a parent does not have to hear that their child has diabetes. A future where an adult does not have to face the uncertain times ahead after receiving a diabetes diagnosis. A future where you and I will know that we had a part in making this possible.

I truly appreciate your support. Together we can Stop Diabetes!

Guest Post - Cycling Despite Diabetes: Once a Dream, Now a Reality

By: Alexandra C. Infanzon

Diabetes. To some, it is a lifestyle cause and effect. To others, it defines why someone would wake up early every morning and check their blood sugar, eat at constant time intervals while counting their nutrient ratios and ensuring their food is proportional, exercise daily, maintain healthy drinking-water habits, and travel to the nearest pharmacy every month to pick up his or her prescriptions. My definition of diabetes is the latter. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12, while I was in sixth grade. That summer I went to a diabetes camp where I learned how to take insulin shots and prick my fingers to check my blood sugar 5 times a day from doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and personal trainers. Fast forward to present day, thirteen years later, I volunteer for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and I ride in the Tour de Cure because I want to find a cure to Stop Diabetes so future generations can live without developing it. I want to make diabetes a disease of the past.

Three years ago, while I was studying for my Master’s in Public Health, at George Washington University, I approached the ADA office in Washington, DC to see if I could get involved with their Tour de Cure event. A few interviews later, I landed the Team Red Captain position for the Inaugural Tour de Cure event at the nation’s capital. I was thrilled because this was my opportunity to kick diabetes in the butt! I could raise funds for research, advocacy, and education, but also be at the grassroots level where I could engage with people who live with the same fear of consequences if their blood sugar is too high or too low as I do. It is really unpredictable, but speaking with others and sharing experiences taught me that I am not alone and I can overcome the challenges.

My experiences riding in several Tours have been phenomenal. My first year, I participated in the Northern Virginia Tour de Cure to get some experience as a volunteer helping get people registered during the morning hours, while, in my second year I rode for the first time in the DC Tour de Cure. I rode 14 miles with my mother, age 51, around the closed-roads in the city. We were the very last ones to reach the finish line. I loved every second of it.

This year will be my third year as Team Red Captain, participating in Tour in a third state. In this moment I am registered to ride for the Charlotte Tour de Cure to get another ride’s perspective in May 3. And two weeks later I will ride in NC Tour de Cure in Cary. I can’t wait to find out what these rides will teach me and the memories I will build that will fuel my passion for riding.

I have now started a chain reaction in North Carolina. If you would like to participate on Team Red NC, register here: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TourAdmin?team_id=691922&pg=team&fr_id=10172 and take the ride of your life!

Over the past dozen years I have, in one way or another (or several at time), been a part of the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure event.   I have not only participated as a cyclist, but assisted as an organizer, co-chair member, board member, keynote speaker, wrench, sag wagon staff, and clean-up crew on many Tours around the country.

I have enjoyed serving in all those positions, on all those rides, and have experienced so much performing those diverse posts.

As part of our continued relationship with the Raleigh, NC chapter of the ADA, I am again supporting their upcoming Tour de Cure event.

However, this year as the Type1Rider team sat down with the ADA we brainstormed about other ways to not only promote the only 2 day Tour de Cure in the country, but, spotlight and share the stories of participants in these events.  I really wanted to find a way to tell the stories of not only what it is like to prepare to ride in an event like this, but to explore the personal and heartfelt reasoning WHY these individuals are drawn to the Tour de Cure.

Therefore, starting this week, and following in the weeks leading up to the May 16th & 17th event, we will be showcasing guest blog posts from some of the riders and volunteers participating in this year's event.

Please take some time to read these guest posts, as they are from people cut from the same cloth as ourselves.  Having our live's forever changed by this disease.

Why not visit the NC ADA TdC page to find or start a team of your own for this year's event!

Keep choppin'!!

Guest post - "Greatness because of Diabetes"

Emma & Mini-Type1Rider 

Type1Rider.org is pleased to present a Guest post from one of our favorite Dmom's, Author, Advocate, and Creator (with her Daughter Emma) of 'Diabetic Barbie'...Amy Ermel. We also would like to express our most profound gratitude for the masterpiece in creating BY HAND, the Type1Rider Outfit pictured above. If you would like to inquire on how to get the accessories available for Girls & Boys (Including the Outfit in the picture), you can contact Amy HERE

First of all, I would like to say that I am honored to be writing a guest post for Type1Rider.org, thank you very much for the opportunity! 

My daughter, Emma is 8 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 4  years ago. Since that day, I have learned so many things to say the least. I think I would like to dedicate this post to one in particular though...greatness.

When the doctor walked in the room and gave us the official diagnosis, I never would have thought that anything great or positive could have come of it. I thought that we were destined for a life of battles with food, needles, blood sugars, and insulin. I thought that it would consume us and take over every single aspect of our lives. I thought that there could never possibly be anything that would shine some light on our now darkened spirits. Boy was I wrong!

A mere 5 months after Emma was diagnosed, she approached me and asked if we could set up a lemonade stand out front of our house to raise money for "the people looking for a cure." She looked up at me with such innocent and determined eyes, that there was no way I could say no.

Seeing as how it was November, we convinced her to switch it to hot chocolate..contacted JDRF, made a few phone calls....and managed to raise $1200 in 3 hours time on November 14th (World Diabetes Day). As I sit here now thinking of that night, I can remember her face....her little 4 year old face...standing there with such hope in her eyes. She was on marshmallow duty naturally...what other job would a 4 year old want, right? She stood there for 3 hours filling cup after cup with marshmallows, chatting with hundreds of people about her diabetes, telling them that she was helping to find a cure. To say I was proud, would be the understatement of the century. That night was one of the first moments that I saw her "greatness". I saw the incredible amount of potential and drive and determination that lies within a person living with diabetes.

One day last year, Emma came home from school and told me that her friends had been talking about how there was going to be a bald version of a Barbie doll made to support kids dealing with cancer and other diseases involving hair loss. She once again looked up at me with those same innocent and determined eyes and asked me so matter of factly why there wasn't a doll out in the stores that had diabetes. I decided to make a toy insulin pump and blood sugar meter for her to play with on one of her own dolls. I thought there is no way that I could ever take on a toy manufacturer and help her make this dream a reality. I thought that it would just be left at that...a toy for only her to play with.

Well, Emma decided that she wanted other kids to be able to play with them too. She wanted other kids to have something that made them feel special. She wanted to keep going with this idea...and really, with that greatness and that drive that lies inside her....who was I to say no? So, we created a Facebook page to gain support for our campaign to make this a reality available in stores...and we have nearly 6,000 supporters.

I think back to that day of diagnosis and I want to wipe away the tears of that old me and force myself to look at my daughter through clear focused eyes. I want her to see that greatness...that drive...the flickering light that is the embers of hope that burns from her gaze. I see it now. I see it and I know that no matter what this life throws our way and no matter how many times diabetes tries to bring us to our knees.....we will make it. We will do better than just make it...we will leap over every hurdle with style and we will make things happen. We will make change happen all because of her greatness.

You can visit Amy's Blog HERE

To purchase a "virtual cup of hot chocolate" to help Emma support JDRF, please click on the following link: http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=21134

To support Emma in her dream of a Diabetic Barbie, or other doll[s],  please click on the following link and click "like" on her Facebook page and share with others to spread the word! : http://www.facebook.com/DiabeticBarbie