Monday, October 11, 1999
Cyclists' inspiration: 10-year-old friend
100-mile ride to aid diabetes research
BY BETTY KIM
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After nine hours of cycling up steep hills and across flat terrains in California, Marcia Allen was ready to throw in the towel.
But when she took a photograph of 10-year-old Christopher Gindele from her jersey pocket, she knew she had to keep going.
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IF YOU GO
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• What: Pancake supper fund-raiser for Kent and Marcia Allen, who are cycling Nov. 6 in Death Valley, Calif., for 10-year-old Christopher Gindele, who has juvenile diabetes.
• When: 4 to 7:30 p.m. Friday.
• Where: Blue Ash Presbyterian Church, 4309 Cooper Road, Blue Ash.
• Minimum donations: $5, $4 seniors, $3 ages 10 and under. Donations can also be sent to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, 10901 Reed Hartman Highway, Cincinnati 45242, in care of the Allen/Gindele team.
• Information: 469-0528.
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“Seeing the picture gave me the strength to continue,” she said of last year's 100-mile ride for juvenile diabetes.
“I only had to cycle for a few hours, but he has to live with this disease every day,” said the 47-year-old Blue Ash resident, who completed the ride along with her husband, Kent, 57.
On Nov. 6, the Allens will hit Death Valley's desolate trail once more.
They will cycle in the third annual Juvenile Diabetes Foundation's 100-mile ride in Death Valley, Calif., home to the lowest elevation in the United States. In the out-and-back trail, cyclists ride 282 feet below sea level before pedaling up a steep 8-mile incline to a height of 1,450 feet.
“I'm really thankful that someone outside my family is willing to take the time out to do this for me,” said Christopher, a Blue Ash resident who was diagnosed with diabetes five years ago.
Since his diagnoses, Christopher, has had to follow a strict diet that limits his sugar intake to just 50 grams a day. He also has to take two insulin shots and check his blood sugar level five to eight times daily. The disease, also called juvenile-onset diabetes, affects 123,000 children and accounts for about 5 percent of all diabetes cases.
“He can't trade his lunch or have cake, and for every 30 minutes of rigorous exercise he needs to supplement himself by having a snack,” said Christopher's mother, Jamie. “It's hard on a kid to have to follow these rules.”
The Allens and Gindeles have been close friends since they met at Blue Ash Presbyterian Church. The Allens decided to participate in the event last year after Mrs. Gindele mentioned the 100-mile ride at one of their dinner parties.
The event will raise nearly $250,000 for juvenile diabetes research, said Andrea Heines, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. The Cincinnati chapter organized the ride two years ago after previous local bike-a-thons failed to generate interest and support. The foundation hoped that Death Valley's extreme conditions would capture people's attention, Ms. Heines said.
And it has. Seventy-five cyclists, up from 50 last year, are participating this year.
The Allens are among 43 cyclists from the Tristate going to Death Valley.
To participate, entrants must raise $3,000. Eighty-three percent of the proceeds go to juvenile diabetes research, with the help of organizations like Northwest Airlines, which flies all the participants for free.
For its part, the Blue Ash Presbyterian Church is sponsoring a pancake supper Friday to help raise funds.
For the Allens, it's their relationship with young Christopher that in spires them to ride.
“Biking 100 miles pales in comparison to being a 10-year-old dealing with a lifetime of blood and insulin shots,” said Mr. Allen, chief financial officer at SCH Technologies and an avid cyclist of 15 years.
In a bike ride where only 50 percent finish, the Allens have a tough task ahead. But if they need motivation they'll just reach back into their pockets and look at Christopher's picture.
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