On Saturday I rode with a group ride sponsored, in part, by the ADA from Boulder, up LeftHand Canyon to Jamestown and back. I met other diabetic riders and a mom whose 27 year old son was just diagnosed with type 1. She is afraid for his future and his present - not accepting the change in lifestyle very well... I also met a man (on a mountain bike!) who talked to me about why I ride and in the middle of it he reached into his pocket and gave me all the cash he had ($5) and stated that he would like to sponsor me on my ride. really??? AWESOME! Diabetes affects everyone, not just the person with the disease... I will ride with Red Riders - a team of all diabetics. Here are some details below and if you are tired of hearing my talk about the ride... go to the next blog posting! Oh, and if you feel like donating to my ride... http://main.diabetes.org/goto/KarynBrown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTwEYYZWndE
“Being a diabetic athlete means a dedication to trial and error. Every diabetic athlete I have ever met or read about is a meticulous record-keeper and is in his or her own way a scientist, continuously experimenting on his or her body to find the best combination of insulin, food, stress, exercise. The crazy thing is that the combination keeps changing and it is highly personalized, so there has to be a willingness to continuously revamp, re-evaluate, re-organize. Having diabetes and being committed to performance requires a degree of mental flexibility that deserves recognition and celebration. It is symbolic of what all of us as humans have to do to perform at high levels.
One could think I just want special recognition, and maybe I do. Why? Because receiving the recognition on race day gives me and my fellow diabetics the motivation to continue seeing the glass half full on the days when our blood sugar soars to 400 for no explainable reason, or when we have no desire to eat but we must or risk passing out if we don’t.
If you are a person surviving diabetes, I implore you to ride this year and do everything you can to declare your status, so others on the course and in the wider community have the opportunity to celebrate and be inspired by you.”
(Mari says a lot more stuff, and you can read that on the Tour de Cure Colorado site if you like.)
But like her, I’m going to implore you if you’re a diabetic and you cycle to get out there this year and ride in a Tour de Cure in your state. Contact the coordinator and ask them if they’ve got the RED Rider team. If you are not diabetic, ride anyway or volunteer to help on the day of the ride!
And now I'm off my high horse...
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