Amelia Island

Thank you for your generous support of JDRF through my rides over the past 10 years. During that time we have seen significant progress in the search for a cure.

As Jim mentioned in an earlier post, I was originally scheduled to ride in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Sadly, my father passed away in early August and I was unable to join the team for the La Crosse ride.

With excellent support from the JDRF ride program, I was able to change locations and ride my tenth ride at the Amelia Island venue in October. Below is a quick visual summary of the ride… details follow if interested...












As with past rides, the weekend began with a flight on Thursday - this time a hop to Atlanta and then to Jacksonville followed by a 45-minute shuttle ride to the island. Although the Jacksonville, FL area was affected by hurricane Irma, only occasional piles of debris were evidence of the storm. The weather all weekend was hot and muggy with a threat of rain. The surf was high with powerful waves stirred up by storms over the Atlantic. The hotel was a lovely setting with fire pits in the pool area where the riders congregated at night to tell stories and share good cheer.

Ride day had everyone in high spirits as we made our way out of the resort and meandered through the side streets on the north part of the island. We enjoyed downtown Fernandina and a state park at the north end of the island. Incredibly, the humidity was so high in the early morning that my sunglasses were fogged over for most of the first 25 miles.

We looped the island twice with the more residential north sections shaded by trees. The south sections introduced a head wind along with the heat and humidity, increasing the difficulty significantly. On the second pass, some riders were cooling off with chilly water from a garden hose at one of the rest stops. At the southern-most turnaround, I was reminded of Death Valley - the sun was hot, the road was hot, and there was no shelter

Repeating sections of the course meant passing lots of riders going in the opposite direction. It was fun to yell encouragement to each other across the road. I completed 104 miles in just under 6 hours. Later I learned that we were among the first riders in and that Anne, one of my Indiana teammates, was the first woman to complete the 100-mile course. Way to go Anne!

Emotions tend to run high at JDRF rides and this one was no exception. The highlight was meeting other riders and hearing their stories. This year was marked by Type 1 riders, including some teens who raised the money to attend. Also a highlight was Jack, a 90-year old Type-1 rider who won the coveted polka dot Spirit Jersey. He was the same rider who was the top fundraiser in Death Valley a few years ago. Wow… What an inspiration!

Many thanks, as always, for sharing in my ride; I truly appreciate your generous support of JDRF. I may have been the one pedaling, but I carried your thoughts, prayers and support with me on each mile. I would not have made it without you.

My JDRF ride site:  http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=6886&pg=personal&px=1269511

Jim Malone's JDRF Bike Ride at La Crosse, WI 12 Aug 2017

Thank you to all my donors for making this ride possible. As promised, here is my ride summary.

Over 500 riders converged on La Crosse, Wisconsin from JDRF chapters in Connecticut to California, including thirteen riders from Indiana, nearly doubling the number we had last year. We sorely missed our good friend and team's strongest rider, Garry, who had an unexpected death in the family. The Indiana State chapter contributed almost $80,000 out of the $1.5 million raised at this event, a huge success for JDRF and the research they fund.

Saturday morning was cool and crisp, the 7AM temp at the starting line of about 56F, overcast and foggy. Here's a photo at the starting line, where the Indiana team lined up in the front row.

And here I am, rider #374 with my game face on, ready to take on the century ride (100 miles).

We headed west across the Mississippi River and into Minnesota. We then turned south, traveling along the the banks of the river on gently rolling hills for about 30 miles, before crossing into Iowa. We passed through the town of Lansing, celebrating their 150 year anniversary of their annual fish fry. Couldn't stop to eat, but the smell was delicious! South of Lansing we encountered about 10 miles of challenging hills that were no match for the Indiana team, who have been hill training all summer in Morgan County. Here's a picture of Jim on the road, who had to take off the sunglasses because of fog and moisture.

After descending the hills at 38 MPH back into Lansing, we headed north again along the same path we traveled, but now the temp was increasing to about 80F, with a 5-10 MPH head wind. Fortunately the team was led by a strong type 1 diabetes rider who pulled the team all the way, at a decent pace of 16.5 MPH. Matt is the owner of the Wabash Brew Pub, a wonderful nano brewery  on W. 79th St.(recommend you check it out). The last 3 miles were a breeze as we headed back to the finish line in La Crosse. Here I am crossing the finish line with my teammates after 7 hours in the saddle, including  rest stops about every 15 miles, for food, hydration, and of course, potty breaks.

We had two type 1 rides on the team, Matt the experienced biker,  and Meredith, who completed her first century ride, gutting it out with her boyfriend, Ian. Matt and Meredith were our inspiration the entire weekend. Meredith made us all proud by being the 4th highest fund-raiser, over $10,000 on her very first JDRF Bike Ride.

The weekend was not all work and no play. The Indiana team enjoyed many great meals together, fine red wine that we brought with us, and of course plenty of Spotted Cow beer, a cream ale that can only be found in Wisconsin. The beer was so good we brought 6 cases back to Indiana with us! No, I am not sharing!

Thanks again to all my Lilly friends and colleagues who supported me on the ride. Your words of encouragement were a big help to me all summer long.

Jim Malone
13 August 2017