By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
SHREWSBURY — The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is sponsoring a series of bicycle rides throughout the country to help raise money to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
For a few local residents, they will do their part in raising funds as they are in the process of training for a 100-mile ride that will begin and end in Burlington, Vermont.
“It is an amazing weekend,” said Philip Keller. “The JDRF is an incredibly supportive and kind organization with great volunteers, and the ride itself is inspiring.”
Keller, a physics teacher at Holmdel High School, and his daughter, Jane, are members of JDRF’s Central Jersey Chapter in Shrewsbury and will be participating in JDRF’s Ride to Cure Diabetes in Vermont for the second year in a row from July 7-10.
“Last year we were able to get up to 77 miles, and that’s partially why we want to go back to the same ride again because we haven’t done the whole route yet so we’re hoping this year to do the full hundred,” Keller said.
The ride in Burlington takes participants through several areas, including Ferrisburgh, Vergennes and Middlebury. The route offers views of historic farms and villages, Lake Champlain and the Green and Adirondack mountains.
The course features rolling hills and several mileage options from 20 to 100 miles that accommodate everyone from beginning cyclists to seasoned veterans.
“You do not have to be an elite rider,” Keller said. “If you don’t want to ride 100 miles, you can just turn around sooner.
“[Jane and I] are not hardcore athletes … [and] there are riders of all kind out there just riding for the cause.”
During the ride, JDRF staff and volunteers are placed at aid stations throughout the course to provide food, drinks and to assist with any issues cyclists might be experiencing.
“My favorite part of the ride is being able to see all of the other riders with Type 1 diabetes,” Jane said. “One of my favorite things is that there’s two different types of jerseys in two different colors — one for the riders with Type 1 diabetes and one for everyone else — and it is great that there are people of all ages from everywhere participating.”
Jane, a student at High Tech High School in Lincroft, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 8 years old.
“Really, almost from the very beginning we’ve been involved with the JDRF,” Keller said. “They sent someone over to be a mentor a week into her diagnosis and just showed up at our house with books and treats and information and support.”
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which an individual’s pancreas stops producing insulin, which is a hormone essential to turning food into energy.
“With Type 1 diabetes there are no days off and there is no cure — yet,” Jane, now 17, stated on her page on the JDRF website.
“JDRF is working every day to change that. Every dollar you donate to our ride will help JDRF continue to fund critical research that impacts the lives of millions of children, adults and families affected by Type 1 diabetes.”
Other areas JDRF’s Ride to Cure Diabetes will take place include La Crosse, Wisconsin; Lake Tahoe, California; Death Valley, California; Greenville, South Carolina; Amelia Island, Florida and Tucson, Arizona.
Keller said individuals ride for their local chapter and mentioned he and his daughter have been training for several weeks to get ready for the upcoming ride.
“When the weather’s good we get out and ride all over [Monmouth County] two or three days a week, and when the weather’s bad we ride on trainers in our garage,” he said. “That’s how you train — you ride.
“Monmouth County has amazing places to ride, and we feel really lucky to have all this great riding around here.
“[The Vermont ride] is the best weekend of the year, and we’re looking forward to it and are so lucky to be part of it.
“It is just so much fun and so important.”