YOUR BUTT BELONGS HERE

In February your heart belonged to your valentine. Well, it’s March now and regardless of how you fared romantically your butt belongs with us — on a bike that is — in July, riding to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association.

The 2010 New England Classic rolls out in just 4-1/2 months, just 19 weeks or just 132 days depending on how you choose to count. But no matter how you count it’s closer than you think. And if you haven’t registered to ride yet it’s way too close. What are you waiting for? Spring?? Spring doesn’t really exist in New England. So if you are already sick of winter do your psyche some good and pretend it’s already summer.

What does that mean? That means the NEC is just around the corner and you better get your butt in gear, get registered, start fund-raising and at least think about training!

Don’t believe me? I’ll tell you what. Go down to Parker-Hannifin Chomerics at 77 Dragon Court in Woburn at 1 p.m. Saturday and tell me you don’t see a bunch of cyclists talking about this great ride around New England they are doing to support the American Diabetes Association. There’s no surer sign of summer than a gathering of the NEC Caravan of Crazies.

See you there at the Rider Roundup.

The American Diabetes Association has this to say:

Ketoacidosis (key-toe-ass-i-DOE-sis) is a serious condition that can lead to diabetic coma (passing out for a long time) or even death. When your cells don’t get the glucose they need for energy, your body begins to burn fat for energy, which produces ketones. Ketones are acids that build up in the blood and appear in the urine when your body doesn’t have enough insulin. They are a warning sign that your diabetes is out of control or that you are getting sick. High levels of ketones can poison the body. When levels get too high, you can develop diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.

(Click the above paragraph for full description.)

Ketoacidosis occurs primarily in those with type-1 and, while rare, it does occur in those with type-2.

Please support us in our search for a cure.

Punxsutawney Phil

OK, you varmints, it’s time to crawl out of your hole and get with the program. That’s right, it’s Groundhog Day and I’m back – again – to harass, remind, haunt, plead, implore, beg or whatever else it takes to get you to register for the American Diabetes Association’s 2010 New England Classic.

This year’s tour is shaping up to be the best ever. We’ve already hit the 60-rider mark and are aiming for all-time highs in riders and fund-raising. But we need you to make this happen. If you’re a veteran rider, don’t make like that petulant Punxsutawney character hunkered down on Gobbler’s Knob waiting for spring. Sub-freezing temperatures are absolutely perfect for registering as a rider in the New England Classic. You don’t have to leave the house or even get out of your PJs.

Just go to http://main.diabetes.org/nectourdecure and sign up. Right now! There’s no time like the present to start raising funds for the ADA. In fact, you should take the same approach to fund-raising and training – early and often.

Day One is just 23 weeks from this Saturday and soon you’ll hear more about our annual Rider Roundup on March 6, where you can trade stories from past years, make plans for this year and meet new riders. We’ve got four weeks until the Roundup and I say we should celebrate it with a century – that’s right 100 riders registered. What did you think I was suggesting, a 100-mile training ride? Not yet. But I just may celebrate with a ride to the Roundup if we hit 100 riders.

If Americans don’t eat better and exercise more, diabetes cases will double by 2034 and costs to care for the patients will triple, according to a new report that paints a bleak picture of the future.

Cases to double! Costs to triple!

Come help prevent this prediction from becoming true.

Register, raise funds, and ride the New England Classic.

Our lovely and talented volunteers will be at the booth from 9:00 to 1:00 to answer any questions you might have about the NEC, and what’s involved in participating.

See you there?

Last year, TT1’s Matt Wilson won KOM and was 4th in GC.

Lindsay

You can visit us at the Diabetes EXPO (it’s free!) THIS Saturday, March 14, 2009 at Boston Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 10am – 4pm to meet cyclists already training for the upcoming Tours! We’ve got long-time rider, Lindsay, from the NEC Tour de Cure spinning for the entire event, a total of 6 hrs!

She’s peddling with a purpose and hoping to re-recruit YOU! Stop by the Tour de Cure booth at the EXPO and chat it up with other veteran riders as well.

If you can’t make it out this weekend – you can still take advantage of the great EXPO rate!

• Simply visit: http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=BfjMo1j1kf6kjW96DwhRYw..
• Click the “Register as an Individual (or if you’d rather: “Create a Team”, or “Join a Team”)
• At the Registration page use the Promotional Code  EXPO (all caps) to utilize this ONE TIME $20 registration fee.
• Then, well – you know the drill! Fill out the necessary contact info and registration info we need in order to set you back on track to ride in the NEC Tour de Cure!

http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=1MXf2eDudgMICik7suj0wg..

This offer is valid ONLY from Friday, 3/12/09, at 6am through Sunday, 3/15/09, until 11:45pm.

Register today & tell your teammates!

If you are a returning Team Captain:

• ( re)recruit at least 5 other riders for your team
• raise $5,000 as a team

You will get our new ADA Tour de Cure arm warmers! These slick sleeves will keep you comfortable while blazing trails in near-blizzard conditions!

Hope to see you this weekend – or hear from you soon!

Warm regards,
~Ryan, your-Friendly-Neighborhood-ADA-Guy
Associate Manager, New England Classic Tour de Cure
American Diabetes Association
80 Elm Street
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (888) 342-2383 x3456
Fax: (207) 774-7714
rwilliams@diabetes.org

JOIN OUR FIGHT AGAINST DIABETES:
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=KEak01kVjDvNseqSaScrJA..
Who Are YOU Fighting For?
American Diabetes Association
Cure. Care. Commitment.

These days there’s no getting away from conversations about the economy whether it’s referred to as the downturn, the meltdown or the crisis. When fund-raisers are having the conversations, today’s economic mess is called something else – an obstacle. But just like those mountain roads we must conquer on our bicycles, this obstacle can be overcome if we pick up our effort.

Some of the people who made pledges last year may not be able to match them this year. And some may not be able to pledge at all. But the one thing we can count on not declining is the toll of diabetes. Diabetes remains a silent killer with no cure. It affects children and adults of all ages. Diabetes can cause life-threatening complications that can result in blindness, heart disease, stroke, amputation and premature death.

There is no downturn in this disease for the 23.6 million people with diabetes and their families.

That is why when we do our fund-raising we can’t accept bringing in a little less. We have to work harder to bring in a little more. With other sources of funding strained, the American Diabetes Association is counting on cyclists to pick up the slack. We have to think of the NEC as an economic stimulus package for the fight against diabetes. The people living with this disease and the researchers working to cure it need us.

So if it took 100 pledges to raise $2,000 last year we have to be willing to go after 200 pledges to raise that much or more. When you ask for pledges and people hesitate, remind them that every dollar counts. If they talk about what they’ve lost in investments point out that getting an hour of diabetes research for $50 is a great return on investment. And if a business owner talks about how tough the economy has been, explain how tough diabetes can be on business. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average economic cost (lost workdays, lost productivity, increased health insurance claims, etc) to a company of 50-100 employees is $57,090. For a company of 1,000 employees the cost is $523,325.

So when you think people might not be able to afford to make a pledge think again. We can’t afford not to ask.

]]> http://www.newenglandclassic.org/2009/03/02/dont-quit-before-you-make-the-climb/feed/ 0 http://www.newenglandclassic.org/2009/02/14/amgen-tour-of-california/ http://www.newenglandclassic.org/2009/02/14/amgen-tour-of-california/#comments Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:02:18 +0000 admin http://www.newenglandclassic.org/?p=148 The Amgen Tour of California begins today in Sacramento.  Many of the heavy hitters will be there with 17 teams in total including 8 pro tour teams. Astana (with Lance) is, of course, generating lots of interest as is last year’s Tour de France winner, Carlos Sastre (ESP, Cervélo).

Really, lots of big names are there: Armstrong, Leipheimer, Horner, Sastre, Hushovd, Danielson, Zabriski, Popovch, Vande Velde, Basso, Boonen, Schleck,  Cancellara, O’Grady, Voight, Cavendish, Landis, Hamilton, Rodriquez, Pena, and the list goes on.

Also among the teams is Team Type 1 (team number 12). If you don’t know them, Team Type 1 was “founded in 2004 [and]  fulfilled the dream of two collegiate cyclists living with Type 1 diabetes, Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge.”

So join us in wishing good luck to Phil and Team Type 1

• 121 Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX)
• 122 * Fabio Calabria (AUS)
• 124 Christopher Jones (USA)
• 125 Valeriy Kobzarenko (UKR)
• 126 Darren Lill (RSA)
• 123 Ian Macgregor (USA)
• 127 * Phil Southerland (USA)
• 128 Matthew Wilson (AUS)

You can watch the Tour of California with Phil Ligget on Versus TV or online at http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/

* Riders with Type 1

Meet Team Type 1, below