People ask "why do you bother to ride 45 miles on a Saturday when you could just ask people to give to the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp) and be done with it?"
I also did the Walk For A Cure here in Minneapolis as well and people asked the same thing. It did seem to be enough to tell them that my wife, Liz, is a Type 2 diabetic. It wasn't enough that Greg Lundholm -- best man in my wedding and one of my very closest friends -- died a year after I got married in a horrible way stemming from Type 1 diabetes complications.
So this year I thought about it. A bit of background, first: I am NOT a crazy biker! I don't have toe clips, or a top-of-the-line bike, I don't wear padded shorts or Team Jerseys. I just ride around a nearby lake sometimes or out to the Coon Rapids Dam on the Mississippi to have devotions at sunrise. Sometimes.
I DIDN'T train for weeks for the Tour de Cure. I didn't time myself. I'm just an ordinary "shmoe" trying to do a good thing -- raise money for research into the causes, prevention and cures of Type 1 and 2 diabetes.
I'm writing this six hours after I finished the Tour de Cure in Minneapolis -- in dead last place! I ache from head-to-toe. My arms are even sore, my butt, legs and neck are sore. I have three naproxene in me. After I showered (immediately upon arriving home), I fell asleep instantly for an hour. Woke up, had supper, watched storms hit the northern Minneapolis suburbs and now came to the computer.
I ride in the Tour de Cure -- the 45 mile version; you can also do 5 mile or 20 mile -- because it hurts me. I was exhausted, sunburned and my legs were trembling with "pre-cramps". All I needed to do was peddle a little harder and my legs would explode into full-scale, falling down agonizing cramps. I was asked four times if I wanted to ride in the "saggin' wagon" and turned them down all four times. I can make it alone.
Because, despite all the support, research and help -- someone who is Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes has to face life with diabetes alone. So if I push myself to the limit and start to hurt, I feel like I can, in some "mystical" (or half-baked...) way, feel some of their pain. And because my pain will go away overnight, maybe some of the pain they feel will dissapate with it. Maybe my pain can take away some of their pain.
I know it's crazy, but after much reflection, I realize now that that's why I ride in the Tour de Cure.
May 31, 2008
Why I Ride In the Tour de Cure Against Diabetes
Guy Stewart is a husband; a father, father-in-law, grandfather, friend, writer, and recently retired teacher, and school counselor who maintains a SF/YA/Childrens writing blog by the name of POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS
that showcases his opinion and offers his writing up for comment. He has almost 70 publications to his credit including one book (1993 CSS Publishing)! He also maintains blogs for the West Suburban Summer School and GUY'S GOTTA TALK ABOUT DIABETES, ALZHEIMER'S & BREAST CANCER!
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3 comments:
Good on ya, Guy. Forty-five miles is indeed an accomplishment. I hope your legs feel better soon. And that sooner or later the Tour de Cure becomes unnecessary.
I didn't know Greg was your best man. You may remember that he grew up next door to me.
Good for you Guy! Great read.
Leah
"I am NOT a crazy biker! I don't have toe clips, or a top-of-the-line bike, I don't wear padded shorts or Team Jerseys."
This is the one thing that irritates me about people's assumptions when I tell them I'm a biker/cyclist. They ask what kind of bike I have, what kind of toeclips, what brand of biking gear. And I laugh and tell them I ride some 30 year old Schwinn that Kevin's dad gave me, some plain old shoes and regular old thrift store clothes. And they give me weird looks for it too - at least the others who bike a lot.
That was a while ago, hopefully you've recovered by now
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