Why I ask for your support and your money (it may surprise you)

Why Do I Ask You For Money?
For the last six years, I've been asking you for money. And giving my own away too, in support of the American Diabetes Association, mostly. And you've responded with enthusiasm! Over that time span, together, we've raised over $10,000!

This year - 2013 - is no different from the past few years. I'm asking you for money in support of my Tour de Cure campaign. I ride, you give. 100 miles, every one of them backed by your dollars. And they matter. But maybe not just the way you think they do.

Tomorrow I'll be once again asking for your support. One final big crazy event before this year's TdC on June 15th. Before that 100 mile ride, I'm going to ride 100 miles, going nowhere, on a stationary trainer in front of Denny's Central Park Bikes in Okemos, MI.

Inevitably, folks ask me: why? why do such long rides? why be so public about it? Here are a few good reasons:

1. I *feel* your support, every bit of it, with every pedal stroke. It sustains me and keeps me pedaling when I think about all the people out there who've chosen to lend a little confidence in me by giving away some of their hard-earned cash. It is the way I maintain my behavior changes.

To put it another way, I create a public account of this journey to get and stay healthy. And by creating that account, I am account-able. You see it. I know it. And hopefully you create accounts of your own. Maybe lighthearted, but I hope also inspiring. These accounts could change your life. Or someone else's. For the better.

2. Clinically, since May of 2007, I don't *have* diabetes anymore. My risk factors are in check and my blood glucose values are in the normal range. So are my cardiac risk factors.

But this doesn't mean I am back to the way I was. I don't *have* diabetes because I *do* diabetes. That includes being mindful about eating and exercising. It includes, for me, riding a bike. Those things make me healthy. They have made a big, big difference in my life. One that I can prove with evidence from my medical chart, from my health care expenditures, and from my overall quality of life.

3. I *do diabetes* publicly to inspire others. And it really has done that. I know because people tell me. They write with questions about how to start riding a bike. They write to ask what to do differently when they have a new diagnosis. Or to ask how to help a loved one who has one.

I am happy and proud to show to the world what, to some, might be embarrassing. Before and After.

I do this because for me, the change was real. And I believe it can be real for many others too.

So why do I ask you for money? It is a symbol of your commitment. An invitation to join the team. To help me and others - especially those you love - *do diabetes* so fewer of us *have* it.

Your dollar is a beginning. I'd rather have you beside me on a bike going down the road, or better yet, I'd like to have your own account to keep the account-ability going. There is real research to show that this sort of group dynamic really works to keep people healthy. I won't bore you with it here. But let me ask one more time:

Support my campaign here: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/billhdTdC2013

Then make a further investment in a change. For you or someone you love.

Thank you!