2010 Ride Dates:

Burlington, VT - July 15 – 18

La Crosse, WI - August 12 – 15

Lake Tahoe, NV - Tour de Tahoe - September 10 – 13

Death Valley, CA - -October 14 – 17

Tucson, AZ - el Tour de Tucson - November 18 – 21

Be sure and visit the JDRF Ride website for more information:
ride.jdrf.org

NEW for 2010!!

La Crosse, WI, is an historic, vibrant city with a flair for the old but sprinkled with the new. Nestled between the bluffs of Wisconsin and the Mississippi River, riders will navigate a course that starts in La Crosse and crosses three states, two bridges and one mighty river. Perfect for the entire family! Discover why cyclists say riding in La Crosse constitutes some of the best biking in the Midwest.

Burlington, VT, (not a new location, but a new course), one of the premier cycling destinations in the United States, offers “classic New England” cycling on some of the most scenic roads in Vermont. This NEW course follows more than 100 miles through historic villages featuring covered bridges and flowing rivers.
Take in spectacular views while cycling along a relatively flat course through the pristine Champlain Valley.

The 72-mile Tour de Tahoe course circumnavigates the highways clockwise around Lake Tahoe in both Nevada and California. Ride around Lake Tahoe at summer’s end offering fresh mountain air and incredible scenic beauty. Tour de Tahoe includes a challenging 800-foot climb to a rest stop overlooking Emerald Bay, a 1,000-foot climb to Spooner Junction and many short rolling ascents and descents totaling over 2,600 vertical feet of elevation gain!

Why I Ride

by Maureen Garelick

Veteran Rider Maureen Garelick tells us why she continues to come back for the Death Valley ride each year.

When I quit playing soccer, I thought I'd start riding my bike more, though I had no ambitions beyond little 5-mile rides. Then, one day, some friends invited me to go riding with them. I rode 33 miles that day, and really enjoyed it. That evening, I get on the phone with my brother Robert, who lives in Boulder, to tell him about it. He tells me, I also rode over 30 miles today. I'm training to do the Ride to Cure Diabetes in Death Valley and I think you should do it with me.

"OK" I said!

Seems kind of innocent, but Rob's son Sam, who I adore, was diagnosed with type 1 at four years old, and I'd do anything for him. I ride primarily for Sam and a cure for Sam and others like him, but there is now an interconnected group of factors that all play into each other. I ride for Sam, but the first year I rode, I lost 20 pounds. I ride to lose weight to ride for Sam. The support I received from my friends and family (and strangers) has been phenomenal and motivates me to keep riding and to keep raising funds for a cure.

The first year I rode I was telling a friend about the ride and a complete stranger standing next to her took $40 out of her pocket and gave it to me. Last year I was at a dinner with people from a cycling club I go to and another stranger wrote me a check for $50! I ride for the people who believe in me for riding for Sam.

I am now pretty addicted to cycling and keep upgrading my bike. But when I'm flagging on the climb to Cherry Creek Reservoir or on the road to Eldorado Canyon, I think about what I'm doing for Sam and his buds, and all the people who believe in me for doing that, and how healthy it helps me be, and it all gives me an extra push.