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"Worship is man's full reason for existence. Worship is why we are born and why we are born again." A.W. Tozer

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Why I'm Riding

So I'm going to take a little detour from focusing solely on worship to something else that is coming up that I really want to mention. Here is the topic for this post.


The Tour de Cure is put on by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). It is a series of cycling events all around the country to help fundraising efforts of the ADA. The ADA is set on helping those that are living with diabetes through advocacy, information and education initiatives. They are also set on working to find a cure for diabetes. This is the mission of the ADA:
To prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
Currently there's not a cure for diabetes though there have been some great advances in technology and information on living with diabetes. The Tour de Cure is one of those specific fundraising events to help the ADA. People register for the Tour as individuals or as teams. Then they are instructed to raise funds to participate in the event.

Now, you may be wondering why I am participating in this event. Some of you may not know that my wife is a Type 1 diabetic. She was diagnosed at 2.5 years of age. Learning how to deal with diabetes has been her life. She was the one that first told me of this event and we did it together for the first time last year. We always enjoy being able to do things together, riding bikes being one of them, and this was extra special because it was helping an organization that has been working hard for Mary since she was diagnosed. I had never really known much about diabetes until I met Mary in college and once we started dating, it became something that I had to deal with as well. I had to learn about it and how it affected Mary and what to do when her blood sugars were either high or low. It was a whole new experience for me and one I'm still continuing to learn. So when we decided to do the Tour de Cure, I knew we were riding for a great cause. We had raised funds and awareness for the ADA. Now we may not be around when a cure is found. It would be a blessing for Mary if that were to happen in her lifetime, however, we still have the assurance that we are helping a great cause, and that some day a cure will be found and we were able to play a tiny role in that process. I also have a grandmother that struggles with Type 2 diabetes.

We are taking part of the Tour de Cure again this year coming up on May 2nd. And my wife and I are once again in the midst of fundraising efforts. If you would like to help sponsor me on my ride, you can click here or click on the Tour de Cure badge on the right side of this blog. I would also encourage you to take part in a Tour de Cure that is happening near where you might live. They are all over the country and you can find a ride near you from the Tour de Cure webpage. Help the ADA in their efforts to fight diabetes.

1 comment:

  1. Ryan,

    I appreciate your story, I saw this linked through a Facebook site for the event. I am a pastor/church planter in White House, TN and I have been type-one diabetic for 20 years, since the age of 15. I am going to be riding here in the Springfield, TN event on May 22nd. Be blessed and thanks for sharing your story!

    Kris Freeman
    www.myrevolutionchurch.com

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