Diabetes

Or, Things Start Looking Rocky but are Ignored Through Enthusiasm for the Adventure.

It is a sign that it has been a troubled trip when it is almost a week in before I start posting trip reports, however things are improving greatly and I have the time and the energy to start catching up. Saturday was a day that I had been dreading for sometime. I had volunteered to lead any of this year’s Freewheel training rides that no one else picked up. Unfortunately, this left me with the 70 mile training ride the day before I was scheduled to head out on my trip. We tried and tried to find someone to take the ride for me, but to no avail.

I don’t often put out fundraising pleas to this blog, but this is a cause worthy of all the attention I can muster.  As fellow Oklahomans, you know all to well the severe impact that diabetes is having on our community.  As of 2010, more than 10% of the Oklahoma population had been diagnosed with some form of diabetes, far greater than the national average.  That doesn’t even begin to count the large numbers people who have the disease but remain undiagnosed.   Diabetes is, without a doubt, one of the largest health problems affecting our state.

Many of you have expressed upset, if not downright dismay, at the lack of head shaving from me this year. While I really enjoyed the St. Baldrick’s Day event, this year I am serving on the organizing committee for the Tour de Cure ride in Mustang, Oklahoma. This ride raises critical funding for diabetes research for the American Diabetes Association. As of 2010, over 10% of Oklahoman’s have been diagnosed with some form of diabetes and many more remain undiagnosed. This far outstrips the national average and it one of the most critical health issues facing our state. So, to do my part, I am going to be riding the 62 mile distance on June 23rd in Mustang, OK.