SOME CALL HER GRANDMA, WE CALL HER COACH

Behind every great JDRF Ride to Cure cyclist sits an even greater coach.  Gritty.  Relentless.  Demanding.  Unwilling to take "no" or "c'mon grandma I'm tired" for an answer.  The type of coach who calls you mid way through a grueling practice ride, pushing you to pick up the pace and hurry home to mind her crippled hound dog. 

But buddy do we love our coach.  In fact, our world revolves around her.  She has been tasked blessed with the purpose of raising three generations of boys.  It began with my father in ‘52, my brother and I a few decades later and into the new millennium with Adam and Braeden.  Fifty years of raising boys is bound to cause some wrinkles, but in our opinion, there is no face more beautiful.

Coach turned 95 yesterday.  Blessing 1a is that the world has had her for all these years.  Blessing 1b is that she gets to see her great grandsons run and play on the farm like the generations of Rogers boys before them. 

Didn’t get her a birthday gift?  Don’t fret, she proudly accepts JDRF donations! :)

SITTING ON THE SHOULDERS OF UNCLES

Uncles were created for no other reason than to carry nephews on their shoulders.  From the dawn of recorded history, its just what uncles and nephews do.  Don't believe me?  Just check out this creepy ancient photo - my Latin is a little shaky but I'm pretty certain thats some class uncle-nephew bonding

You think maternal instincts are strong?  Wait until you're an uncle.  I can sense the minute when his legs start to give and he's in need of a little boost.  Or when he wants to see what its like to be a 7 footer.  Or when he wants to stick his head through the branches of a tree.  Or when he pees his pants and doesn't want to walk anymore, and nobody tells said uncle that he has peed his pants, until the uncle asks about a mile later why his neck is so wet (true story...talk about some uncle dedication) 

But, truth be told, when I lift Braeden or Adam onto my shoulders, they are really lifting me.  There is no greater feeling than to have one of those little guys up there, laughing all the way.  A lot of love goes into that shoulders-to-nephew-butt connection and I'll miss the day when they are too hefty to hoist (given B's pursuit of all things food - do all diabetics eat this much!? - that may not be too far away).

There is a metaphor in all of this though; some day Braeden will be an uncle and a mighty fine one at that, and the folks at JDRF are doing their work to make sure he gets there and stays an uncle for the long haul.  And the folks like YOU are doing your work to make sure the JDRF has the fuel to keep the research moving.  As Isaac Newton once famously requoted, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."  So join me and 

PUT BRAEDEN ON YOUR SHOULDERS TODAY

RECAP FROM THE DESERT

Saturday, November 19th 2011 - JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes in Tuscon, Arizona... 
...0 miles and 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  

Now I know what you're thinking - 0 miles? missing a 1 and a 0 in there right!? - but sadly this little uncle was medically disqualified from the ride.  I had some minor hip surgery (these beauties take work, ladies) about two weeks before the ride and to my dismay, my doc was adamant that I stay off the bike.  So instead of hitting the roads, I worked the refreshment tents with the vigor of a 111 mile biker with grade A hips - making 500+ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, slicing bananas into peel-and-go pieces and pouring countless cups of water and gatorade for the masses.  While disappointed I wasn't on a bike, I had a blast and met some pretty amazing people along the way.  Plus, I got this sweet jersey for my volunteering efforts!  Even better yet, I got to meet this incredible little lady who received a jersey for being absolutely amazing (story follows):

Mallory, 6 was the life of our Tucson gathering. She was there to root on her dad, who was riding to give her a cure. Mallory was diagnosed with Type 1 when she was 2 years old and was thoroughly disappointed when told she was (way) too young to ride with JDRF. You must be at least 13. But, she wasn't discouraged. Her parents helped her keep tally of the miles as she rode her bike in her neighborhood through the summer. She finished the 111 mile ride before her dad.  Pretty inspiring let me tell you. 


Now on to the green stuff - for all those who donated, THANK YOU!  With your support, Allen and I raised over $9,000 for JDRF.  You are all fantastic and I can't thank you enough for your kindness and generosity.  I fully believe that with your donation, we are that much closer to finding a cure for my man Braeden and his future heartthrob Mallory.  In all, the Tucson riders received donations totaling more than $400,000 (wow!) and the JDRF riders for all rides in 2011 raised around $5MM! (REALLY WOW!)  


Below are some pictures from the Tuscon ride (in which Allen completely kicked tail) - I invite you to kick back, put off work for the next little bit and enjoy the slide show




Pretty cool, yeah?  Well now comes the even more fun news - Allen and I are up to our fundraising and biking antics again!  We're heading to the metropolis of La Crosse, Wisconsin for a JDRF 100 miler on August 18th.  Not only will my tail end be on a bike for sure this year but we're going to SHATTER last year's fundraising total.  Ahem, with a little help from our friends of course!