Sunday, September 09, 2007

Why we do this

Today provided a great reminder of why we go through all the training and suffer through century rides in deserts and over mountains. This afternoon there was a small get together in Holland for the riders who completed the Whitefish ride. Since Mary had been out there as a volunteer we were invited as well. There was good food, great pictures and wonderful stories. Near the end of the party Dawn Wilson, a Herman Miller employee and brand new JDRF rider, gave a short speech. It seems that Dawn got a little emotional when she crossed the finish line. Now Dawn is one tough rider. She has been kicking it in through training and in Whitefish. So when the tears flowed on the finish line it surprised most everyone. Today she explained, " I finally figured out what this was all about. I thought I was just going out there to do a cool bike ride. But then I found out that (fellow rider) Jake Clark is diabetic. And I kept looking at the picture that had been attached to my bike of this little girl. It hit me that she has diabetes and that's why we're here. This ride changed my life." Dawn may have cried at the finish line, but she had everyone in the room crying today.

We have a great group of riders on the West Michigan team. Half of us have done the ride and the other half go soon. These rides continue to change lives, not just of the riders, but of the kids afflicted with diabetes. Thanks Dawn, for making that point so clear today.

This week's ride totals:
9/3 - 16.4 miles; WPT north (Tom)
9/5 - 13.7 miles; WPT south
9/9 - 23.5 miles; Tunnel Park to Kirk Park (Ottawa County) and back
Total: 37.2 miles (Mary)
Total: 53.6 miles (Tom)

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