A Great Cause, A Great Ride

Many of you have expressed upset, if not downright dismay, at the lack of head shaving from me this year. While I really enjoyed the St. Baldrick’s Day event, this year I am serving on the organizing committee for the Tour de Cure ride in Mustang, Oklahoma. This ride raises critical funding for diabetes research for the American Diabetes Association. As of 2010, over 10% of Oklahoman’s have been diagnosed with some form of diabetes and many more remain undiagnosed. This far outstrips the national average and it one of the most critical health issues facing our state. So, to do my part, I am going to be riding the 62 mile distance on June 23rd in Mustang, OK.

Well, I can already hear the taunts, “You do that distance on your days off, for fun! There’s no torture or humiliation in that. Why do you think I gave you money to get your head shaved, for charity? No, I gave it to you to see you humiliated and in pain.”

OK, I get that. If that’s not enough pain, suffering and silliness for you, I’ll give you a bonus. Starting on June 3rd, I will be taking a two-week bicycle journey across Oklahoma. For the first week I will be carrying all of my gear, food and water as I do a self-contained ride down to Frederick, OK, near the Texas border. At Frederick, OK, I will join up with 800 other crazy people for Oklahoma Freewheel which will take me to South Haven, KS six days later. Here is a rough map of my route. With the 70 mile training ride I am leading the day before I leave town and the official Tour de Cure ride the week after I get back, it works out to over 800 miles in only three weeks. So, if it’s torture you want, just think of me out there in the Oklahoma wilderness dragging my sorry self through the heat, humidity and hills.  See sample illustration below:

 And if it is general humiliation you are looking for, I promise to look as silly as these guys throughout the entire trip:

In all seriousness, this is a great cause and if you can, it would mean a lot to me and to many Oklahoman’s if you could donate.  You can donate to my ride directly at http://main.diabetes.org/goto/NathanLorenz.  Any contribution will be greatly appreciated.

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