From the Inside Out

On July 23, I will be cycling in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure fundraising event at Texas Motor Speedway. More than 23.6 million Americans — including some of my own family members and friends — suffer from diabetes. During this event, I’ll be joining with riders from across North Texas to help ride for a cure.

Gary and I will be cycling the course with the Cisco corporate team, and I need sponsors to help me reach my fundraising goal of $150. All proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association and will help us make a difference in the fight against diabetes.

If you’d like to sponsor me, click here to visit my personal site and make a donation.

Together, we can all make a difference!

I just completed my 32-mile Tour de Cure cycling journey so what’s next? Well, I’m seriously considering participation in the annual City of Richardson Corporate Challenge. It’s an 8-week Olympic style competition involving 22 athletic and non-athletic events. Participants are comprised of employees, spouses, managers, retirees and volunteers from the Richardson-area business community. The Corporate Challenge kicks-off with an opening ceremony and then continues with competitions in physical events ranging from softball, cycling, basketball and flag football, to the more sedentary events including darts, billiards and miniature golf. The Challenge wraps up with a closing ceremony in October.

I’m thinking about participating in the 9-mile bike race in September. This would be unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Instead of focusing on distance, this competition focuses on speed. The cycling teams work together to help their lead riders get the fastest course times, and then the top two male and female riders combine their times for ranking among companies. In past years, the Cisco team has medaled in this event. It would be really fun to participate.

Gary and I are going to try the qualifying route this weekend to see if our speeds are up to par. The good news for me is that they desperately need female riders, especially competitive ones. I’m not sure how fast I am, but I think I might be able to do it. Besides, I still have a few weeks to train and get faster. It’ll be fun to try, and if I can’t do it, I can still participate in the recreational ride to help support the team and give them more points.

I’ll keep everyone posted and let you know how it goes. In the mean time, here are a few more pictures from our Tour de Cure ride this weekend.

The “early” riders from the Cisco Team. I’m the short one in the back waving.

The 32, 15, and 5-milers from the Cisco team posing with our banner.

Now for the crazy fun shot!

Me and Gary with a couple of Team Cisco riders at the first rest stop.

After work on Friday, Gary and I traveled to Ft. Worth to begin our “Tour de Cure” weekend. Tour de Cure is a series of cycling events held in 43 states nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The North Texas cycling event was being held this year at the Texas Motor Speedway. We decided to spend the night nearby at the Marriott Hotel & Golf Club at Champions Circle so we wouldn’t have a long drive early in the morning. Tour de Cure registration started at 6 am, and our ride was scheduled to begin at 7 am.

After getting a few hours of sleep, we got up around 5:30 am and made our way to the track a few minutes after 6:00. Riders were already there getting prepped for their journey. We joined them and met up with the rest of our group in the “Team Cisco” tent near the starting line. Team Cisco was comprised of 18 riders — each riding various distances. Routes ranged from a minimum of 5 miles and a maximum of 100 miles. I rode the 32-mile course, and Gary rode the 64-mile course.

At 7 am, our team lined up at the start of the course. All riders began with a lap on the Texas Motor Speedway track with a pace car leading the way. It was a blast being able to ride on the actual Speedway track. Below is a picture of the starting line.

Ready for the ride to start!

The first rest stop was at the 10-mile mark. It’s a great place to take a quick break and stock up on snacks or water/gatorade.

A look back at the route we traveled to arrive at the first rest stop. After leaving the speedway, most of the course was comprised of small country roads.

A quick picture of me and Gary before starting the next leg of the course.

We came across the second rest stop about six miles later. It was a nice, shady area with more water, healthy snacks, and mechanics (in case you needed assistance with your bike). This was the turn around point for riders following the 32-mile route.

Gary got ready to depart for the 60-mile course as I turned back to follow the 32-mile path.

I finished the 32-mile course a little after 10 am. Volunteers were cheering for everyone at the finish line. It felt great to be done! At the end of the ride, I joined back up with other Team Cisco riders at the tent to share ride stories and get some much needed rest. Also, because Cisco raised over 13K, we were eligible for free massages. After resting, I journeyed over to the massage tent and took advantage of a nice chair massage — just what my aching muscles needed after a long ride!

The Tour de Cure event also had a number of other fun activities at the finish line — live band, free pizza, sponsor tents with give aways, free GMC test drives, Humane Society exhibit, and various snacks/drinks. It was a fun, festive atmosphere. It also provided some good entertainment while I was waiting for Gary to finish his long ride.

The Cisco team hung out together, cheered riders crossing the finish line and took some group pictures towards the end of the event. I’ll share those later when I get copies. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. I was using my iPhone so I didn’t take a large number of pics today.

All in all, it was a fantastic day! I had a great time at the event. It was well organized and benefited a fantastic cause. I hope to be able to do it again next year. For now though, I’m recuperating — and resting my sore, tired body!

On July 24, I will be cycling in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure fundraising event at Texas Motor Speedway. More than 23.6 million Americans — including some of my own family members and friends — suffer from diabetes. During this event, I’ll be joining with riders from across North Texas to help ride for a cure.

Gary and I will be cycling the 32-mile course with the Cisco corporate team, and I need sponsors to help me reach my fundraising goal of $150. All proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association and will help us make a difference in the fight against diabetes.

If you’d like to sponsor me, click here to visit my personal site and make a donation.

Together, we can all make a difference!