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Ride to Cure Diabetes

The Ride to Cure Diabetes is an annual charity fundraiser benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) that is held in various locations across the United States. The events are organized as non-competitive, daylong 100-mile cycling events. The organization holds 5 rides each season, which runs from July to November each year. The first ride was held in Death Valley, California in 1998 and raised over $30,000 for the type 1 diabetes research. As it’s following increased, the event spread to Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin. In 2014, the event took place in 5 different states and raised over $6.2 million.

Organization

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is a major charitable organization dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research. JDRF’s mission is to “progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without T1D.” The organization’s headquarters are in New York City, with branches throughout the United States. It also has international affiliates in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Program

The Ride to Cure Diabetes was created in 1998 as a fundraiser in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Differing from other fundraisers, the event had a relatively small number of participants that raised a significant amount of money for type 1 diabetes research. Today, the rides are managed by the nationally-based Ride to Cure program, and each state’s Chapter helps to promote the event and organize local Ride teams. Participants of all fitness levels may choose from one of several Ride locations and ride their own desired distance, which usually varies between 30 and 100 miles. Riders must commit to a fundraising minimum that is based on the Ride location they choose. This fundraising enables them to participate in the entire Ride weekend, beginning on a Thursday night leading up to the Ride Day on Saturday. Leading up to this weekend, riders who travel to the United States from around the world receive expert coaching and training up to months in advance from USA Cycling certified coaches.

Locations

In 2014, the fundraising event took place in 5 different states, Burlington, VT, Death Valley, CA, Greenville, SC, Lake Tahoe, NV, Nashville, TN, and Tucson, AZ. Of the 5 different locations, 3 are stand-alone events, and two are third party events where JDRF represents one group of many that participate. The ride in Greenville, South Carolina is part of the Hincapie Gran Fondo event. This unique event offers cyclists a chance to ride with professional cyclist George Hincapie, a record breaking 17 time Tour de France participant. The second third party event that the Ride to Cure Diabetes partakes in is the El Tour de Tucson in Tucson, Arizona. This event is one of the largest road cycling events in the United States, and JDRF's Ride to Cure Diabetes represents one of the teams that participates with the other 10,000 riders. The events raised a collective $6.2 million towards Diabetes Research, making it one of the organization’s top fundraising initiatives to date along with the Walk to Cure Diabetes program.