Tour de Cure wrap up

Tour de Cure was a challenging and emotional day this year.  While this is true every year, this year Jerry’s death caused us to experience a different set of challenges and emotions.  I have written a tribute to my friend and colleague in the fight to find a cure for diabetes.

John Fullerton

This post will be about others who participated in the day’s events.

This has been a rainy spring and Saturday morning was no different.  It rained throughout the night, presenting some challenges in the morning.  The weather was less than perfect but riders and volunteers came anyway. The forecast predicted better weather by the time we began and it had cleared up some by the time the first group left St. Vincent’s 119.  The rain ceased by the time the 37 mile and 20 mile group left an hour later.  I had originally planned on riding 64 miles but then on Friday changed to 37 miles.  In the end, I rode 20 miles.  Because of the weather, my role as chair of the event, and wanting to be back at 119 to help with anything that needed to be done, I turned around at the first rest stop.  My co-captain for Team Red, John Fullerton, also decided to turn around at that point.  We rode back in together.  John led the team to raise over $20,000 this year.  It is an honor to work with him on this event.

I also want to recognize Michael and Angie Rosen.  They were new members on the Tour de Cure committee this year.  Michael’s  team, Team Phoenix, raised over $16,000 with Michael raising over $10,000 of that total.  He and Angie put their hearts and souls in making Tour de Cure a success and I cannot thank them enough.

Why we ride

We have great support from local bike shops.  Bike Link was out doing pre-ride adjustments on bikes and Cahaba Cycles was on the route for SAG support.

Donna Sibley leads and organizes volunteers. This is a huge job and she is fantastic at doing it year in and year out.

We also have a fantastic group of HAM radio operators and SAG drivers who patrol the route, stop traffic at busy intersections and work to keep all of the riders safe.  JVann Martin leads this dedicated group of volunteers and we appreciate them every year.

Finally,  none of this would be possible without the dedicated staff at the ADA office.  Aimee Johnson, executive director, leads a group of staff and interns who work for hours and hours on our events.  Taylor, Virginia, Lindsey, Rachel, Katie, Angie – I know I am missing some of the interns and apologize for that.

We ride to raise money to support programs and to fund research to find a cure for diabetes. This year our goal is $170,000.  So far, Tour de Cure participants and sponsors have raised $157.000 towards that goal.  We still have a month to complete our fundraising efforts and, hopefully, we will reach that goal.

Bike Link

Finishing the ride

Michael Rosen and Millie Jackson

Be passionate: Remembering Jerry Pope

Passionate. A little feisty and a ball of fire at times. A great sense of humor and a broad smile.  These are things I will remember about Jerry Pope, friend, fellow cyclist, Red Rider and Champion fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association. Jerry is an example of someone who lived life with passion against great odds.  In 1981 he was paralyzed after an accident.  Later he developed Type 2 diabetes.  In 2010 he became a double amputee.  But those were not the things that defined Jerry.  Yes, life was difficult in many ways but he didn’t let his circumstances beat him.  He was an athlete – he skied, golfed, played tennis and cycled on a hand cycle.  He was a business man.  He was a friend to many, many people. Unfortunately Jerry passed away during Tour de Cure. He was coming back in and most likely had a heart attack.  Heart problems are one of the related complications of diabetes. Read his story in his words here (and you can donate in his memory).

I met Jerry shortly after I came to Tuscaloosa and before I took up cycling.  Once I started cycling, I saw him out on the roads and rode with him many times.  We shared a passion for raising awareness about diabetes and for finding ways to educate people about the disease.  Jerry and I spoke quite a bit about fundraising efforts and how to get people involved in Tour de Cure. We shared our successes and our frustrations in our efforts. The morning of Tour de Cure he told me he had 26,000 miles on his hand cycle and that it was time to buy a new one. He also told me that he wanted to be an inspiration to others – he wanted people to see that diabetes was not a limitation for living life to the fullest.  Jerry did inspire all of us and will continue to.  This year, as in the past, he spoke before the riders left. He also spoke at our kick off event.  In fact, I think he tried to encourage people every chance he had to do so.

Jerry speaking at the kick off for Tour de Cure

Jerry inspired me to try harder and to continue to work to raise awareness about diabetes.  He was a man of faith as well.  One of the last things he said to me this morning was that no matter what was going on in our lives there was always someone who had something worse. He believed that God watched over him and I know he did.   As I sat and waited at the emergency room for his brother to arrive, I had an image of Jerry’s smile in my mind. I think he now looking down over all of us, smiling.

Live life to the fullest.  Find your passion and pursue it.  Don’t let your circumstances limit you. This is how I will remember Jerry and will try to honor his memory by following my passion.

Tour de Cure: Year three

photo by Jenny Ruley

This is the third year that I will participate in Tour de Cure, one of the main fundraisers for the American Diabetes Association.  I have chaired the Alabama committee this year, though I have fantastic committee members who have really done most of the hard work in Birmingham.

Tour de Cure Alabama kicks off at 6:30 am Saturday morning.  There is still time to come out and ride with us.  There are several routes ranging from 20 miles to 105 miles.  The ride is well supported with great SAG and ham operators.

Why do I ride in Tour?  Because of all my family members who are diabetic.   Because I want to see funds raised for research to find a cure and to provide education and support for those living with diabetes. I have seen first hand what this disease does to a person’s life and it is not pleasant.  Let’s help find a cure together.  Come out and ride with us Saturday if you live in Alabama or find your local Tour de Cure and participate in it.  You can also donate to an individual or a team through the link above.

Wisdom wins

It seemed like a good plan but one should really always listen to James Spann.  When he says it is going to be really cold and rain, he is generally right.  This race was not on my plan but I was really looking for an opportunity to get in a good open swim.  Due to the weather forecast, I had decided that if all I did was the swim, I would be fine with that.

I arrived at Lake Guntersville on Friday afternoon. The rain had not yet started and I was hoping that maybe it would hold off.  I talked to the Race Director who said the swim would now start at the boat launch instead of the dock.  It turned out to start from the dock though on Saturday morning.  I’m not sure what changed.  I drove the bike course and tried to drive the run course but I think the run course might be partially on a trail.  The first three miles of the bike course are in the state park and are fairly hilly.  There were some sections of flat road outside the park but also some more hills.  In the rain I knew the course would be treacherous. Krista Schultz called me on Friday evening and we chatted about the options. It was good to talk to her about the race and other things.

I checked into the Lodge and had dinner.  My room overlooked the lake and had a balcony.  I got all my gear together and tried to figure out how much I needed.  I had gone home to pick up a few more cold weather pieces but I wondered how much good they would be in the rain?  The rain finally started and it rained all night.

At 5:15 am I woke up, stepped out on the balcony, listened to the constant downpour and felt the 40 degree cold and wind.  I  went back inside, texted two friends who were also planning on racing and said I was going back to bed.  I have nothing to prove here and I don’t want to get sick or injured just to do a race. I sent an e-mail to the race director so he would know I was not coming.  Then I went back to bed.  I heard from both friends.  Neither one raced.  Both went and set up and then also decided it was not worth it to be out in the cold and rain.  Later I saw another friend who also decided not to race.  And when I arrived home I heard from a friend who was the USAT official for the race who said several people either stopped or dropped out on the bike course.  It just was not a good day for racing.  I know there were people who finished.  Good for them. I had to decide the best course of action for myself and that course was not to put myself in a situation where I might face injury.  The roads were pretty wet and slick and there were puddles all over.  It would not have been a good ride for me.

Raleigh 70.3 is June 2, less than a month away, and that is where my energy will be focused for the next few weeks. As Sam told me months ago, all the races leading to Raleigh would just be training days. I’m looking foward to the trip and the challenge of the race.

“Once more to the breach, dear friends, once more.”

See, all that education is worth something.  I can connect Shakespeare and triathlon.  This line from Henry V kept coming to mind this week after I registered for the Lake Guntersville Olympic Triathlon that will be on Saturday.  Here I go again. My goal is to complete the open water swim.  I did not realize that this triathlon also features jumping in the water when I registered, though off a dock rather than a river boat.  The challenge this weekend may be the hills and the rain since there is now a 90% chance of rain. But I am ready to try again. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Tomorrow, but not this weekend

I had been feeling fairly anxious about the Capital of Dreams triathlon for a while – river swim, jump in the water, wetsuit… all things I had not experienced. Due to our weather this spring, a few more things were added to the list this week – point to point swim, fast current, not only jump in, but jump off a boat.  I practiced jumping in the deep end of the pool but it just isn’t the same as jumping off a boat into the middle of 65 degree river.  I did think I could do it though. I really wanted to see how my swim was shaping up as I get closer to Raleigh and I haven’t had a chance to get in the open water.

I was almost last in line.  There were 3-4 guys behind me and they all looked like they could swim right over me.  That made me nervous. (One was actually back stroking so I probably would have been ok.)   I really dismissed the news article that appeared yesterday because I know that Team Magic is not going to put us in a river where we would be put in danger. The other thing weighing on me was jumping in the cold water, even with a wet suit on, and being too stunned to move or losing my googles.  (Losing my googles in a major fear since I only have sight in one eye. I can’t see much without my glasses as it is.)

We were supposed to jump out away from the boat.  I was wondering what would happen if we didn’t get far enough out. Would we get sucked under the boat?  That made me nervous. What if I couldn’t jump out away from the boat?  I really didn’t think I would sink that far with the wet suit on but I knew I would go under water. But when my number was finally up, I just could not do it.  It looked too far – both down and back to the dock.  We had to round a slight bend and my depth perception was giving me problems with seeing. I knew that when I got in the water that I would just being looking for the next buoy and be siting for the tent in the park.  I also knew a jet ski or a boat would be near by.  The designated last place finisher went in but I still couldn’t.  Everyone was very kind and tried to help me and encourage me.  I could have gone in from the sprint start just to get in the water. It was not my day to jump off a boat into a cold river though.

I have never been much of a jumper.  My mom kept from jumping off things as a child or out of trees or things that most kids do.  She was so afraid I would get hurt or would lose the sight in my good eye.

I could have also gone ahead and done the bike and run but I was pretty drained from trying several times to make myself jump off the boat.  In the end, I just gathered everything up and went back to my room and packed.

One of the cardinal rules of triathlon is “don’t do anything new on race day.”   I had several new things on this morning that I really had no way to practice ahead of time.  The river venue didn’t allow for getting in the water before the race like other venues do.  This is a great race venue, by the way, it is just not what I have been used to doing.  Getting in before the race helps me calm down some.  I was repeating, “it’s only water” to myself and I know that is true. I also have brand new tires on my bike, but I am certain they would not have been any problem at all.

The positive side was meeting other team members from e3tri.  How fun!  And they all had great races!  I also felt very supported by the Team Magic group, Cathy Pagani, Brian Darr, and by my friends who posted on Facebook.  Thanks to all of you. Special thanks to Trish Seay who came to cheer for me and found me when she couldn’t spot me on the course.

Oh, and I learned how to put on my wet suit. Not all was lost.

So, now I go forward.

Riding, running and resting

I’ve been fairly busy the past few weeks.  Like many people, I have also thought about the bombing at the Boston Marathon quite a bit.  It has been difficult to know what to write.  I ran several times over the past two weeks, including a run sponsored by the local running store in Tuscaloosa to remember the victims of the bombing.

I have also been riding quite a bit.  My training is increasing as I get closer to Raleigh.  Last weekend I rode in the Old Howard 100. I only rode 45 miles but it was a good ride.  It was colder than I thought it would be and it was fairly windy that day – going out and going in.  Odd how that happens.

I also finally visited Greensboro.  We rode through the town but I stopped on the way home to visit HERObikes and Pie Lab.

I have also rested this week.  I found that I was fairly exhausted between training, work, other commitments and the end of the semester.  I just needed a bit of rest.  I’m ready to get going again.