Tour de Cure racing against diabetes

By Jeremy Twitchell

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 5:27 p.m.

For competitive cyclists Bruce Balch and Keith Edmiston of Las Vegas, Saturday morning’s ride in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure in Henderson was a relatively leisurely one.

There was no competition, no need for strategy and no trophies at stake.

But the red jerseys they wore suggested that despite the absence of those elements, this was their most important race of the season.

Balch and Edmiston wore the jerseys designating them as Red Riders in the Tour de Cure ride, meaning that they have been diagnosed with the disease.

They were among roughly 400 cyclists who participated in the Tour de Cure, who collectively raised almost $100,000.

Both men said they rode to demonstrate that a diabetes diagnosis doesn’t preclude an active, meaningful life.

“Having (diabetes), for me, it’s like more of a speed bump,” Edmiston said. “You do what you have to do to move past it and onto the next level.”

Balch said he was diagnosed with diabetes in his mid-40s despite being in excellent health as a competitive cyclist at the time. For him, the Red Rider jersey was a chance to teach the world two important lessons about diabetes.

“One; it can happen to anybody,” Balch said. “The second thing is it doesn’t slow you down. It’s not a debilitating condition. That’s what I hope people will get out of this — you control your diabetes.”

Riders were able to take one of three routes: 100 kilometers, 50 kilometers or 25 kilometers. Each rider paid a $20 entry fee and was asked to solicit additional donations, but coming up with additional funds was not required.

Mary Stokes, president of the American Diabetes Association’s Las Vegas Chapter, said the event looked like it would come very close to reaching its goal of $100,000. She said the association didn’t want to scare off anyone by requiring a certain donation level.

“We encourage people to just pay their registration fee and come out and enjoy the event because we know that they’ll come back, and maybe next year the economy will be better, their situation will be better and they’ll be able to raise a bit more,” Stokes said.

Overall, Stokes said, riders seemed to be very pleased by the event’s route and organization.

“They loved it,” she said. “Loved it, loved it, loved it.”

New riders Lee Gottheimer and Aniela Hoffman of Summerlin said they just got into cycling, and chose to enter in the Tour de Cure event because of the reviews they had heard from other cyclists who had participated.

“It was fun,” Hoffman said. “It was just a great, beautiful day and a wonderful cause.”

Gottheimer said he and Hoffman were able to raise $400, thanks largely in part to a $100 donation from a friend in Ireland who is on the verge of developing diabetes.

“It was great to participate, because (diabetes) affects so many people,” he said.