JDRF Death Valley 2019

The Death Valley ride raised more than $1.2M to help turn Type 1 into Type None and allowed JDRF to provide support to those with Type 1 and to fund key research into better treatments and an eventual cure.

The Death Valley ride was an awesome experience, as always. Due to limited available flights into Las Vegas, we arrived in Death Valley on Wednesday, a day earlier than the typical schedule. This allowed Kevin and me the opportunity to ride our bikes to Dante's View - 25 miles from, and 5500 feet above, where we were staying. After a very challenging climb - made even tougher due to a strong headwind for the last 5 miles - we got to see some great views from the top.

  

Thanks to Anne for providing terrific SAG support for this ride. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Since we did a tough ride on Thursday, after the mandatory safety meeting on Friday we had the rest of the day free to see some of the fantastic sights in Death Valley National Park.  

We visited: Badwater Basin

Natural Bridge

 Devils Golf Course

 

 Artists Drive and Artists Palette



and Golden Canyon.

 

Ride day Saturday started cool and crisp and turned out to be one of the best ride days ever.

The afternoon highs were only in the upper 80s. We had some wind on the course, but overall it was an outstanding ride and event.

I rode most of the day with a combined group from Columbus, OH and Denmark. They were a fantastic group to ride with, worked well together battling the wind, and finished strong. Thanks to Chris, Chris, Jesper, Mike, and Monica - you all were awesome!

The trip home was a bit eventful, with a surprise diversion and landing in Denver due to bad weather around Chicago and Detroit. We spent a few hours “sleeping” in the Denver airport before catching a 5 AM flight to Indy.

Thank you, as always, for sharing in my ride. This was my 9th ride in Death Valley and 13th overall JDRF ride and each is an emotional event. I truly appreciate your generous support of JDRF over all these years. With each research update, we can see clear progress toward a cure.

Please visit my ride site to see how I did on my fundraising and for links to the stories of my past rides:

https://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=7734&pg=personal&px=1269511

Will I go back for a 10th ride in Death Valley?  God willing and if I am able… I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

8 of 12 in Death Valley

Dear family and friends – all those who have supported me in the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes this year and in the past:

Another Death Valley ride is in the books. Four of us from Indiana ventured west for an awesome weekend in the desert, riding our bikes to raise money for a great cause — to find a cure for diabetes and turn Type 1 into Type None. We joined more than 300 other riders and collectively raised almost $1.5M. Read on for a short recap of the weekend...

On Thursday we arrived in Las Vegas and from there took a two-hour bus ride into Death Valley.

Once we got to the valley, we found our bikes and rode to some nearby sights while waiting for our hotel rooms to be ready.

After the mandatory safety meeting on Friday morning, we rented a Jeep and ventured to some of the more remote areas of the park. Along the way we saw some cactus, tea kettles, self-moving rocks, a house made of beer bottles, and a few ghosts (maybe they moved the rocks?)

  

  

Saturday was ride day and found us ready to go before dawn.

The morning started cool, with the sunrise inspiring awe as it slowly revealed the glorious beauty of the stark desert mountains around us.

The weather was spectacular - hot and dry with high temps in the 90s. We all made the summit at the 51-mile turnaround.

   

    

With the heat of the day and a pretty steady headwind, the second half of the ride was much tougher than the first. We each fought our personal battle to cross the finish line in our own time - safe, sound, smiling and under our own power - the goal of every JDRF rider.

  

  

Thank you, as always, for sharing in my ride. This was my 8th ride in Death Valley and 12th overall JDRF ride and each is an emotional event. I truly appreciate your generous support of JDRF over all these years. I may have been the one pedaling over the miles, but I carried your thoughts, prayers and support with me on each mile, and I would not have made it without you. Thank you! 

Please visit my ride site to see how I did on my fundraising and for links to the stories of my past rides.

https://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=7373&pg=personal&px=1269511

All my best,

Gary

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

2016 JDRF Death Valley Ride Summary

It’s hard to believe that another Death Valley ride has come and gone. This year, only three of us (Dave, Kevin and I) from central Indiana ventured west for an awesome weekend in the desert, riding our bikes to raise money for a great cause: to find a cure for diabetes and turn Type 1 into Type None. 

Early on Thursday morning, we flew into Vegas and then took a 2-hour bus ride into Death Valley. Once we settled in, we spent a little time tooling around in the desert sun and seeing some sights. We ended the day with a couple of beers and welcome dinner back at the ranch.

  

Greeted by a breathtaking sunrise on Friday, we got breakfast and attended the mandatory rider meeting before venturing a bit farther out to the edges of the park in a rented Jeep.

  

We managed to see some wildlife in its “natural" habitat…

  

…and take in some gorgeous views in the back country.

  

Saturday was ride day and we started off in good spirits…

  

…and happily reconnected with good friend John Oakes who has Type 1 and, at 81, was the oldest rider at the event.  What an inspiration!

In the pre-dawn light and cool desert air, I was overcome with joy as I looked down into the valley at the start of the ride. That joy was the first of several emotional moments during the ride. This is a very special place with extraordinary people doing something very big.

This was my ninth JDRF ride and the seventh in Death Valley. Over the years I’ve learned that the weather can be unpredictable but is always a factor in Death Valley. Some years it is extreme desert sun and heat. Last year we were greeted with clouds and rain and flooding. This year it was wind. Lots and lots of wind.

We rode under a wind advisory for most of the day with sustained winds at 25 to 35 mph and gusts to 55 mph. The first half of the ride was either directly into the wind or fighting dramatic cross-winds - so much so that some riders were blown off the road. In the morning, the rest stops had tents set up to shelter the volunteers and riders. By afternoon the tents were down - either blown down by the strong, gusty winds or taken down to avoid damage or injury.

Even with the wind, riding in the desert is amazing and awe-inspiring...

  

And with solitary miles, it is one of the quietest places on earth…

In spite of the strong winds, I managed to reach the top of the pass at 51 miles (another emotional moment) and return with an amazing tailwind all the way to the finish line.  

After 102 miles, I rode in - safe, sound, and smiling and under my own power - the goal of every JDRF rider.

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

All my best,

Gary