Tony Cervati is a Type1Rider

Lucky To Have Type 1

2018-01-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

After 900 posts and nearly 10 years since the launch of this blog, it is time for me to officially pull the plug on Type1Rider. The blogger site will stay up as reference material until the new admins change that, and I will also leave the @Type1Rider twitter feed around. I will still be doing what I do, and launching into some new ventures (like tonycervati.com), but I will be shelving this volume of my book. This will be my very last update on each.

I have been Type 1 since 1976, and over these past 42 years I have experienced almost everything a person with Diabetes could have.

The massive changes in technologies - from Diastix to the Artificial Pancreas - to the rise of the internet and how it was leveraged by passionate people to change the face of public acceptance and awareness of this disease.

I have experienced hypos that have tempted fate, and, on the other end of the spectrum, have manipulated the technologies of available treatment devices to yield to my will in winning mountain bike endurance championships.

I have also viewed this disease from the side of a parent of a child with Type 1 when my youngest got diagnosed in July of 2014 at the age of 6.

Through out all my 15,200+ days of living with Type 1 so far - including 100,000 finger pricks, 1000+ pump site changes, 725,000 units of insulin, and 70,000 injections - I have as of yet not a single diabetes related site affect. Not one.

Creating Type1Rider in 2008 has provided a vehicle allowing me to meet some of the most amazing people on Earth. Thank you ALL who have followed me on this journey, and those who have supported all of our efforts. Through T1R we, as a team, a community, have hopefully inspired a few others to pedal a bike regardless of the degree of incline of the hill they are facing.

I am without words to express how much you all mean to me.

In particular I want to mention Steve McGuinn for pushing square pegs through round holes to make things happen, George Scott for just freaking EVERYTHING (without you sir, T1R never happens), Michael Sullivan & Kristin Brewer for telling the world a story, everyone at Trek Bikes (the greatest bicycle company in the world) for the opportunity to represent you and ride rigs of dreams, The UNC Diabetes Care Center for listening when I told them I wanted to try the seemingly impossible, and Mr. Travis Goodman. TPG you sir, my friend, believed at your very core when literally no one else on earth did (sometimes not even myself).

You all believed for no other reason but the power of a guy on a mission to redefine the believed limits with a mountain bike.

Over 4 decades with Diabetes has shown me the world, and afforded me opportunities that most cannot say they have had. Type 1 has taught me that I can face and conquer ANY challenge that will ever be presented to me in life. Any.

It has shown me that I am, indeed, quite fearless, strong, and simply unbreakable. It taught me to squeeze the absolute very most out of each and every day, to take risks, deal positively with setbacks, look at things from unique angles, and to always, always believe.

Those aren't just nice words. They are core components of me now.

Am I lucky to have been diagnosed with Type 1? Yes. Yes I most certainly am.

I honestly and truthfully wouldn't want it any other way....

Keep Choppin'!

Thomas Moore - RIP

2016-09-04T21:30:00.000-04:00

All of us in the DOC, and here at Type1Rider, are completely overcome with sadness with the news of the sudden passing of our dear friend Thomas Moore.

Thomas was the glue of our organizations - T1R, The Blue Heel Society, The Diabetes Monster, and Life Inside the Blue Circle. The small, talented, dedicated group that works on those entities are reeling from this loss.

Thomas was a very unique individual. He understood how powerful grassroot movements could be, and knew how to extend the reach of a cause through hard work, dedication, and relationship building. I believe, outside of his dedication to his family, his biggest strength was to be able to find a benefit for two completely different parties working together.

He was the king of fostering those relationships into long lasting and boulder moving forces.

Thomas also believed in helping, in anyway, grand or small, everyone he contacted affected by Diabetes. If you look at Facebook today, you will seen countless Diabetes organizations singing his praises, and mourning his lost.

Thomas Moore was the true essence of the DOC. Not just a major component of it, but a foundation cornerstone placed at its root levels.

He was a crusader for the little group with big dreams.

He was always a voice that could be heard, although he spoke softly.

He was a leader of of the DOC, and all that it represents.

Thomas was part of our family.

He loved his own family very much, and most of the time, especially lately, our communications where about what they were doing and he enjoyed the times he had with them. Even when things were difficult, he always found a way to accentuate the positive of being with and around them.

We all offer our condolences to Thomas' family and loved ones for their loss.

On a personal note, it wasn't long after Type1Rider came online that Thomas and I met via the interwebs. Thomas took my little fledgling idea and built it into something meaningful using the skills only he possessed.

It didn't take long before he has arranged meetings with sponsors, taught me how to use social media to everyone's advantage, and brought a fresh emphasis on what was indeed possible by a single diabetic on a bicycle.

Thomas believed, more than anyone I think, and definitely more then I, in the work we did attacking Tour Divide. All of the behind the scenes work - the countless interviews, speaking engagements, posts, social media entries - where all the hard work of Thomas Moore.

I never took the time, after all was said and done, to truly and appropriately thank him in an appropriate way for all of that. I'm not even sure that I ever could.

Not that he needed or cared about that... he was just forwarding the cause for every diabetic.... He did not need, nor search out, accolades or acknowledgement.

Thomas was the man behind the scene. Working for the common good for all of us.

The Diabletes Online Community has lost a true super hero, a tremendously dedicated man, and, most assuredly, one of its brightest blue candles.

RIP in my dear friend.

From myself, and the other 28 millions of folks in the US with diabetes....

Thank you for everything.

Thank you Thomas.

#GumbyDammit

2016-05-30T18:11:00.001-04:00

All gave some.

Some gave all.

We humbly and forever thank you and your families.

2015-10-17T13:31:00.000-04:00

2015-09-11T08:38:00.000-04:00

We will never forget.

Fearlessness

2015-07-08T15:37:00.001-04:00

My Memorable 2015 NC Tour de Cure Experience

2015-05-29T13:40:00.004-04:00

By: Alexandra C. Infanzon

The North Carolina Tour de Cure, hosted by the American Diabetes Association, is in reality much more than your usual bike ride on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

It is my, the community’s, families’, and friends’ opportunity to come together and ride with the common hope that one day there will be a cure for diabetes.

I was very excited on the night before the rides, so excited that I could not fall asleep. The butterflies in my stomach were a sign that I was just hours away from meeting the members of my Team - Team Red, beginning my 10-mile ride with my mother, and joining the hundreds of other cyclists who made a commitment and dedicated their resources to ride in the incredible hills of NC.

When I arrived on Saturday, before sunrise, I immediately detected the overwhelming feeling of excitement. I parked under a tree and headed to the registration table. I noticed the tents were labeled with signs, including registration, VIP, breakfast, and Red Rider packet pick up. In this Tour ride, I registered for the ride that started Sunday as a Red Rider and Team Red Captain, so this day in particular I was volunteering for the riders that were cycling from Cary to Aberdeen in either the 80-mile or the 100-mile route on Team Red. To my surprise there were over 400 cyclists ready at the start line from over 75 different teams!

To send off the riders, there was a call for all Red Riders to walk to the start of the line and show them they are why we ride, a safety announcement provided by Cycling SpokenHere bike shop, and the National Anthem sung by Lauren Walsh - “Miss Clayton’s Outstanding Teen” 2015. A few minutes after the speeches, Allison Barry, the Tour Manager, counted up to send them off by saying: “ONE!...TWO!...THREE!”. Everyone had a look of determination, focus, and excitement. It’s inspiring!

On Sunday morning I headed to the event again for my ride. At the event I prepared myself with plenty of food and water, took pictures at the VIP tent with members of my Team, including my mother, and checked my bike at the bike safety checkup station. My father, sister, and boyfriend were also at the ride to send us off. At 9:30am sharp we stood in line and waved off to start our ride. The ride was fun and challenging with hills that tested your cycling strengths and capability. Training was a must to finish this ride. When my mother and I finally finished the ride we felt a sense of accomplishment, one that comes from unforgettable personal fulfillment.

In the event’s summary overall, the top three fundraising teams included, Team Cheetah, Team Cisco, and Team Red. The top three fundraising individuals were Tom Droege, Diane Huis, and Christopher Doles. I thank each and every one for supporting this fight and joining the nationwide fight against diabetes.

I hope they find a cure for type 1 and type 2 diabetes this year but if not, I will ride again in next year’s Tour, and then again until one is found and I hope to see you there too.

2015-05-25T17:11:00.002-04:00

Remember.

2015-05-14T08:19:00.000-04:00

Legend.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King

Guest Post: Questions

2015-05-08T07:43:00.000-04:00

By Patrick Mertes

As I prepare for my very first Tour de Cure, I’ve found myself running into many of the same challenges I’ve faced with other endurance activities. Before ever hopping onto the bike I do a quick self-check-- asking myself the same series of questions each time:

1. What’s my blood sugar at currently?
2. How does that number compare to the last time I checked?
3. How much insulin do I have on board?
4. What are my basal rates looking like?
5. When’s the last time I’ve eaten? What kind of food was it?

Every so often, the stars will align perfectly in my favor and I will be ready to ride right off the bat. More times than not, however, some fine (sometimes major) tuning will be required before I can get on the road.

In an ideal world, I’ve scheduled out the time of day I plan on exercising. Prior to this time, I’ve (hopefully) been able to recognize a predictable trend with my sugars. I’ve avoided a heavy meal bolus and began cutting back my basals about an hour ahead of “go-time.”
In a more realistic world, I’ve recognized a break in my schedule about 30 minutes ahead of time and a lot more “math” is required (more on this method in a later post).

Ultimately, my brief training for Tour has been a pleasurable experience. I can’t wait to be in good company come May 16th and 17th.

Guest Post: Why I Ride…

2015-05-05T14:37:00.000-04:00

By Patrick Mertes

I am riding in the Tour de Cure because I have experienced, first hand, the positive impact the American Diabetes Association Programs can have on an individual living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Sixteen years ago this summer, a nervous, anxious, newly diagnosed, ten year old version of myself made the three hour drive from Raleigh to King, NC to attend my very first summer at the ADA’s Camp Carolina Trails. Over my seven days at camp, I was surrounded by kids and role model-counselors who were “just like me.” I was introduced to mentors who taught me that the only limitations diabetes could have on my life were the limitations that I would allow it to have. Whether or not I realized it at the time, I left camp that summer a different person. I began to understand the idea that I was a kid living with diabetes, not a diabetic.

Realizing the subtle distinction between the two was life changing.

Sixteen years later and I am still making that same drive out to King, NC ever summer. I firmly believe in the trans-formative power the ADA’s summer camps can have on an impressionable young person living with T1D. I am also well aware that this kind of programming could not be possible without the substantial amount of financing provided by the American Diabetes Association.

When our Tour team leader, Ginna Purrington, approached me with the opportunity to take part in this year’s ride, I jumped on the idea. While my cycling experience is essentially non-existent, I knew the Tour de Cure would serve as an opportunity to fund raise money that would directly affect the vitality of ADA camps across the country.

Regardless of how close we are to a cure in the future, I find it important to not lose sight of the millions of people affected by diabetes in the present. The American Diabetes Association has made it their mission to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

I am riding to ensure that kids living with diabetes today have the same opportunity I had sixteen years ago.

Guest Post - Living Through the Mission

2015-04-30T07:56:00.001-04:00

Living Through the American Diabetes Association’s mission
By: Alexandra Infanzon

Presently, there are nearly 29 million Americans living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the US. According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2013, over 65,000 cyclists in 89 Tour de Cure events across the United States raised more than $26 million to support diabetes research, education, and awareness. That is impressive. These great efforts are implemented for the purpose of one common goal: to find a cure for diabetes. Each Tour event has special features to promote the organization’s mission, which is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Those features include: Team Red, Red Riders, and Champions. In my first year, I fulfilled all three.

In 2013, I joined the planning committee of the first Washington, DC Tour de Cure. I instantly knew I wanted to take a lead so I volunteered to be the Team Red Captain. Team Red is for anyone that wants to join a team but does not know anyone else riding. This team facilitates meet-ups through planned fundraisers, social events, and training rides by the Team Red Captain, in this case me. My team grew from 0 to 45 in one year and ended up raising over $30,000. It comprised of Red-riders and non-Red Riders.

What is a Red Rider? A Red Rider is anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, on May 28. I won’t forget that day, not only because I was thirsty, sleepy, and showing symptoms but because I had to be hospitalized and that was my biggest fear. After attending camp for diabetes, I learned how to take control and not let it get to me. Everyone has their diagnostic story but my parents were familiar with the disease and they diagnosed me even before my fasting blood glucose came back as 300mg/dL. My entire family came to visit me in the hospital and showed me their support, which still to this day can be seen.

For my first ride I raised over $1,000, which considered me a Champion. At first, I thought it was going to be hard to raise the minimum $250 to ride but two weeks after I registered, my uncle donated $250 and his company made a matching-gift donation which totaled $500! Then my parents, my grandparents, and my entire family donated to my ride!

This year marks my third Tour de Cure ride, but it will be my first in North Carolina. The NC Tour de Cure will be held May 16-17, being unique in the sense that it is the only 2-day Tour event in the nation. The ride starts in Cary and has 7 routes to choose from. The shortest ride consists of a 10-mile route, while the longest is divided into two days, 100 miles to Aberdeen on Saturday and 100 miles back to Cary on Sunday totaling 200 miles. The other distances are 25, 50, 80, 100, or 160. If you’d like to join Team Red, visit nctourdecure.org and register today.

My mission is to complete one Tour de Cure event per year. I have lived with type 1 diabetes for 13 years, this upcoming May 28, and I will not stop fighting this disease until we have found a cure.

Together, we can find a cure for diabetes!

2015-04-22T09:57:00.000-04:00

Meredith College Masters Thesis Participant

Chris Newport earned her Master of Science in Nutrition at Meredith College after completing Meredith's Dietetic Internship program and becoming a Registered Dietitian. As the owner of a sports nutrition and endurance coaching company, Chris pursued her master’s degree in order to more effectively serve her clients and help them reach their fitness goals.

For Chris' thesis I was the proverbial lone "guinea pig".

This is basically a promo clip for Meredith College, that just got released in February of this year, but it does discuss & show quite a bit about the work we did for Tour Divide. That work laid the ground work for figuring out the diabetes related nutritional for extreme endurance sports, and what other athletes with diabetes still follow as a basis today.

Guest Post - Why I Ride

2015-04-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

By: Tess Booker

From the time I was diagnosed with type one diabetes in July of 2002 diabetes has always been an ongoing battle. It’s a hard disease to face because each day offers new and different struggles to overcome. No day is the same and diabetes will constantly remind you of that. Although I’ve had my highs and lows with this disease (literally), it is something that has given me passion and a continuous drive to want to better the lives of myself and others with diabetes, and to overcome this disease altogether.

After just recently completing the Bionic Pancreas trial I have first handedly seen the direction we are going towards with improving diabetes management. While the Bionic Pancreas is no cure, it is a HUGE advancement in the diabetic realm and something that I hope all type ones get to experience one day. After 13 years with diabetes, the 11 days I was on the Bionic Pancreas was the first time I felt that I could take a step back and just let my artificial pancreas do all the work (and trust me it most certainly did not disappoint). It was my first dia-vacation ever and it felt great! The feeling of dodging low blood sugars and being comfortable with knowing I would not experience them while participating in the study was absolutely amazing and indescribable.

The ADA has always had a special place in my heart. This began because of their overnight summer camp, Camp Carolina Trails. I attended camp every year as a camper and it gave me the community and support system to not let diabetes control me and bring me down. This summer will be my third year as a counselor, and the lasting positive impact Carolina Trails gives me still continues to grow beyond measures each and every year.

Furthermore, in January of this year I took a position as an intern under Allison Barry (Raleigh Tour Event Manager) and dedicate my time the past few months to helping plan Tour and organize team efforts as well as individual riders registration. This opportunity has shown me much more about all the wonderful contributions that the ADA does in efforts to fund a cure, raise awareness for type one and type two diabetes, and to protect the rights of people with diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure is so much more than a cycling event to me. It is my opportunity to step out and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by diabetes. With your help, we will fight for a future where a parent does not have to hear that their child has diabetes. A future where an adult does not have to face the uncertain times ahead after receiving a diabetes diagnosis. A future where you and I will know that we had a part in making this possible.

I truly appreciate your support. Together we can Stop Diabetes!

2015-04-16T10:05:00.002-04:00

Of course we ALL already knew how this would turn out:

Guest Post - Cycling Despite Diabetes: Once a Dream, Now a Reality

2015-04-10T09:01:00.000-04:00

By: Alexandra C. Infanzon

Diabetes. To some, it is a lifestyle cause and effect. To others, it defines why someone would wake up early every morning and check their blood sugar, eat at constant time intervals while counting their nutrient ratios and ensuring their food is proportional, exercise daily, maintain healthy drinking-water habits, and travel to the nearest pharmacy every month to pick up his or her prescriptions. My definition of diabetes is the latter. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12, while I was in sixth grade. That summer I went to a diabetes camp where I learned how to take insulin shots and prick my fingers to check my blood sugar 5 times a day from doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and personal trainers. Fast forward to present day, thirteen years later, I volunteer for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and I ride in the Tour de Cure because I want to find a cure to Stop Diabetes so future generations can live without developing it. I want to make diabetes a disease of the past.

Three years ago, while I was studying for my Master’s in Public Health, at George Washington University, I approached the ADA office in Washington, DC to see if I could get involved with their Tour de Cure event. A few interviews later, I landed the Team Red Captain position for the Inaugural Tour de Cure event at the nation’s capital. I was thrilled because this was my opportunity to kick diabetes in the butt! I could raise funds for research, advocacy, and education, but also be at the grassroots level where I could engage with people who live with the same fear of consequences if their blood sugar is too high or too low as I do. It is really unpredictable, but speaking with others and sharing experiences taught me that I am not alone and I can overcome the challenges.

My experiences riding in several Tours have been phenomenal. My first year, I participated in the Northern Virginia Tour de Cure to get some experience as a volunteer helping get people registered during the morning hours, while, in my second year I rode for the first time in the DC Tour de Cure. I rode 14 miles with my mother, age 51, around the closed-roads in the city. We were the very last ones to reach the finish line. I loved every second of it.

This year will be my third year as Team Red Captain, participating in Tour in a third state. In this moment I am registered to ride for the Charlotte Tour de Cure to get another ride’s perspective in May 3. And two weeks later I will ride in NC Tour de Cure in Cary. I can’t wait to find out what these rides will teach me and the memories I will build that will fuel my passion for riding.

I have now started a chain reaction in North Carolina. If you would like to participate on Team Red NC, register here: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TourAdmin?team_id=691922&pg=team&fr_id=10172 and take the ride of your life!

2015-04-09T11:12:00.002-04:00

Over the past dozen years I have, in one way or another (or several at time), been a part of the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure event. I have not only participated as a cyclist, but assisted as an organizer, co-chair member, board member, keynote speaker, wrench, sag wagon staff, and clean-up crew on many Tours around the country.

I have enjoyed serving in all those positions, on all those rides, and have experienced so much performing those diverse posts.

As part of our continued relationship with the Raleigh, NC chapter of the ADA, I am again supporting their upcoming Tour de Cure event.

However, this year as the Type1Rider team sat down with the ADA we brainstormed about other ways to not only promote the only 2 day Tour de Cure in the country, but, spotlight and share the stories of participants in these events. I really wanted to find a way to tell the stories of not only what it is like to prepare to ride in an event like this, but to explore the personal and heartfelt reasoning WHY these individuals are drawn to the Tour de Cure.

Therefore, starting this week, and following in the weeks leading up to the May 16th & 17th event, we will be showcasing guest blog posts from some of the riders and volunteers participating in this year's event.

Please take some time to read these guest posts, as they are from people cut from the same cloth as ourselves. Having our live's forever changed by this disease.

Why not visit the NC ADA TdC page to find or start a team of your own for this year's event!

Keep choppin'!!

2015-02-26T15:54:00.001-05:00

2015-02-22T17:37:00.003-05:00

In 2012 I met Ryan Reed at an ADA cycling event in Chapel Hill. At the time he was about 2 years into his Type 1 diagnosis, and was racing NASCAR events and running Ryan's Mission. As we spoke before the event, his attitude and ideas were (are) very similar to mine. Although our sports are nothing alike (if I am doing 190mph on my bike I must have fallen off a cliff or something) we talked about the similarities of trying to do BG testing during events, insulin sensitivity during stress, and other fairly common topics.

I remember telling the folks at the ADA National Office at a meeting later that year, that Ryan Reed was the celebrity voice the Diabetes Online Community needed. The spokesman for the masses. Someone for the victims of Type 1 to look up to, and to emulate.

We saw Ryan a few months ago at the Charlotte race, and I was scheduled to speak at his hospitality fan zone tent before the night time race. It was great to see him, and to see how much he influenced and inspired the mass of younger people with Type 1 who had came over to meet him.

Yesterday afternoon, Ryan Reed won the NASCAR Xfinity Series 300 mile race at Daytona International speedway. I was texted the result while in my car, and I was literally yelling with excitement of the fabulous news!!

His first win couldn't have happened in a more special way to a young man who has the respect of all, and has inspired so many. What moved me MOST however, was here was a dude with Type 1 driving a race car at the highest level and winning - proving to my very young Type 1 son that ANYTHING, anything at all, is possible.

Take two minutes and watch his well spoken and meaningful emotional Victory Lane interview here:

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/videos/2015/2/21/xfinity-series-daytona-international-speedway-victory-lane.html

There are no limits.

Diabetes or not.

Congratulations Ryan, and a sincere thank you, my Type 1 Brother.

2015-01-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Episode 12 of OmniPod's Ask Tony & Diane video series has been published. If it wasn't overly obvious by the way I looked and sounded, this was an EXTREMELY hard segment for Diane and I to film. I felt so bad for the editors of the shoot. We had to stop over 1/2 dozen times to dry tears, and collect ourselves.

http://suited.myomnipod.com/tony/ask-tony-and-diane-familiar-diagnosis/

Thank you to everyone for the continued support, and for watching the Ask Tony & Diane series this year.

Keep Choppin!

2014-12-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

2014-12-14T06:20:00.003-05:00

2014-11-24T18:44:00.001-05:00

2014-11-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

2014-11-13T12:30:00.003-05:00