It’s nearly impossible not to know a person with this disease. Nearly 24 million Americans are courageously battling it every day. 57 million more are currently at risk for developing it. You can help both find a cure for it and prevent it simply by taking part in a bike ride. “It” is Diabetes and the fundraising event for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the Tour de Cure.
The Tour de Cure is a group of fun bicycle rides of various distances from 15 miles for the beginner to 100 miles for the ultra athletes. The 62.5 and 100 rides go all the way around Oneida Lake! The ride which begins and ends at Verona Beach State Park is being held this year on Sunday, June 5th. Over 700 people signed up last year and road through some harsh weather conditions. I have been requested to provide a nicer forecast for this year so more can share in the fun.
I’ll personally be taking on the 62.5 mile course in between my weekend evening shifts on television. Over the past year I got involved with triathlons and competitive cycling, so this seemed like a perfect fit for a long training ride for me. But it is more than just that. My sister and other close relatives have Diabetes and I could easily see myself going down that trail if it were not for exercising. I’ve already begun my ramping up of mileage on my bike in the basement and can’t wait for spring to arrive for training outdoors. Look for more updates as we get closer to June and then after the ride.
Daily exercise like my bicycling is a great way to combat this disease. Exercise is an important role in controlling diabetes for Mike Cummins from the Onondaga Community College lacrosse team. He spoke at the kickoff and 2010 awards dinner that the ADA hosted Wednesday evening at the Turning Stone Resort. A few years back Mike discovered he was diabetic and described how he deals with living with the problems the disease presents for an athlete.
CNYcentral is a proud sponsor of the Tour de Cure Verona Beach. If you would like to learn more or sign up for this event you can find more information here on the ADA website or here on Facebook.com.
