April Fools’ Day has come and gone and that means New England Classic riders need to get down to business. There are almost 24 million people in this country with diabetes counting on us to get serious about raising the funds that will help improve their lives and find a cure for the disease they battle every day.

It looks like here in New England we can actually put aside those plans for building an ark and tune up the bike. Get on the road and start training folks. It’s now less than 100 days – 99 to be exact – before we roll out of Chomerics on Day 1 of the NEC. A well-trained butt is a happy butt so we need you to get yours on the bike so it’s merrily riding along with us in July.

As for fund raising, the sooner you get started the sooner you’ll have raised well more than the minimum.  It’s all about just asking. Whether it’s in person, by phone, in a letter or email, you need to take that first step of asking people if they would like to help defeat an insidious disease afflicting their neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. That’s no exaggeration. Almost 8 percent of the U.S. population or about 1 in 13 people have diabetes.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t be shy. Make your fund-raising efforts something everyone will want to be a part of. Maybe this time of year you can give out jelly beans to everyone who contributes. And when they say, “But diabetes and candy don’t seem to mix,” simply explain that the NEC is “a sweet ride to beat diabetes”. At the same time you’re reminding them that the simple pleasure of a sweet treat that they take for granted isn’t such a simple matter for people with diabetes.

Now don’t finish reading this and make the mistake of telling your self that July is still a long way off. It’s really not. With your training and fund-raising it pays to build momentum early. No ride is too short because every mile in the saddle makes a difference.  No contribution is too small because every dollar makes a difference.

See you on the road.

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.

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.

You can get to them under the “Rider Pages” links on the right of the page, or go to

http://www.n1hts.org/pictures/nec-2009/

See here for the scoop

Unfortunately for New Englanders the ride on the sun-baked asphalt will probably have to wait at least until May. But your best cycling buddies are hoping you’ll join them Feb. 28 at Clark University in Worcester for the American Diabetes Association’s 2^nd Annual New England Classic Rider Roundup. Follow this link for directions to Clark where we’ll be meeting in the Grace Conference Room of the Higgins University Center: www.clarku.edu/admissions/visit/directions.cfm

We’ll be hanging out from 1 to 4 p.m. to share a few memories, and laughs, from last year’s ride and to talk about plans for the 2009 New England Classic, July 11-17.

Be sure to bring along any fun photos you may have from last year and more importantly bring along any cyclists you think might want to join us in having a great time on a great ride for a great cause. We’ll answer any questions they have about the route, training or fund-raising. And this year we hope to have someone available to tell us about diabetes research and the great work being done by the American Diabetes Association.

Haven’t registered for this year’s ride yet? Well go to www.newenglandclassic.org

and sign up now to join us for another adventure!

Until then we’re looking forward to seeing you at the roundup.

Tim Wilson

New England Classic Organizing Committee

Euphoric mother greets less than euphoric daughter

Photo: Jim Evans

First and foremost, thank you to all the sponsors. Your donations are what this is all about. On behalf of the 24 million Americans with diabetes, thank you for your support and commitment.

Thanks to the riders. It was tough, it was fun. It was a swell week.

Thanks to the volunteers. It can’t be done without you.

Thanks to Bob and Erik, our mechanics who really went above and beyond the call to keep us all going.

Thanks to Bill Lacy who organized this whole thing for, like, what? 120 years in a row now? It runs like clockwork.

Thanks to the organizing committee members who divide up the chores to make it all a bit easier for everyone

Thanks to the route markers who keep us from getting lost.

Thanks to the cities and towns we pass through for granting us permits.

Thanks to the staff of the American Diabetes Association, especially Faith Linsky, for putting together another spectacular event.

And, from all of us – the riders, volunteers, and persons living with diabetes – thanks to the American Diabetes Association for taking the lead in fighting this disease.

It’s a very warm day. Very warm. And sunny. We left the Franklin Pierce campus and were greeted almost immediately by several New Hampshire style uphills. The kind that aren’t terribly steep (at least by White and Green Mountain standards) but they go on forever. A few of those, then back to Massachusetts where the riders can smell the barn. Quick rest stops. Long pace lines. Nothing stands in the way of getting back. Because as much as we all love the ride, it’s been seven long, hard days on the road and the site of one’s own home and hearth is most welcome.

So we’re all in. And all on our way back to where ever it is we came from.

See  you next year.

Join us July 11 – 17, 2009 for the 2009 New England Classic.