Cyclist Profile: Mike Clark

We are thrilled to have Mike Clark as a member of the Hope on 2 Wheels Team. Mike is one of two National Head Coaches for the JDRF Ride to Cure, and an all around great guy! Get to know Mike, the self proclaimed Banjo playing bike rider from Michigan, through his answers below:

1. Tell about your connection to T1D (this can be as detailed as you want).

At Coach meetings I used to say that I “have no direct connection” to Type 1. It’s true that my family hasn’t been touched – I actually don’t have a single relative w/ T1D – but for the last 5 years or so I’ve come to treasure the vast number of dear friends and team mates I’ve been lucky enough to meet and ride with via JDRF. They are my connection. 

2. Tell about your cycling background and experiences (i.e. how many JDRF rides have you done, any competition highlights, etc)

Good Lord……I’ve ridden pretty much non-stop since my 9^th grade Sunday School teacher (and Fuji importer) sold me a bike in a box. I’ve been in the bike biz for 31 years. I’ve raced pretty much every kind of race there is, ‘cept track stuff. Road races, crits, cross-country mountain bike stuff, 100 mile mountain bike stuff, 12 & 24 hour mountain bike races, lots of cyclo-cross and now some fat bike events. I was the Michigan State 50+ ‘cross champ in ’09, on the podium in the tandem class for the Barry-Roubaix (a huge local dirt-road race) in ‘10 and ’11, and I’m usually Top 5 (or so) in the local season-long points competition for the training race series in Grand Rapids. I’ve done some guiding for touring companies in Moab and toured across Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest. I ride about 10-12k miles a year these days – mostly leading shop and team rides. A fellow JDRF team mate and I have a 31 month string of at least 1 century a month going.

I believe the term you’re looking for is “Jack of All Trades, Master of None!”

I’m also kinda on a mission to disprove the theory that someone that’s run a bike shop for as long as I have doesn’t have the time or desire to ride!

As for JDRF – I’ve been the coach of the West Mi Team since it’s inception in ’05. They made me Co-National Head Coach in the spring of 2010 (although my perception of that is that I’m Tim’s back-up, not equal) and I’ve been in charge of the Bike Room since 2008. I’ve attended about 28 Rides and ridden…I dunno….22? 23?

My main claim to fame as a cyclist is that I can play the banjo while riding rollers.

3. What bike will you be riding (brand, model, etc) on the Hope ride?

Well – that’s months away so who knows? Most likely is my custom ti Seven Axiom (assuming I convert it back to a geared bike. It’s been a fixie for the past 2 seasons). Otherwise the Cannondale CAAD 9 I used for the Rides last year. (Or some sweet demo I get hooked up with ‘tween now and then)

4. What was your favorite bike ride ever?

Jeez…….that’s like picking your favorite kiss! Standouts include the “sandstorm year” in DV (2007?), my unsupported ride of the Kokopelli Trail from Moab to Fruita Co (to celebrate my 50^th B-Day), riding the “Ronde Van Vaanderen” (the Sportif version of the Tour of Flanders) in Belgium last April (with 19750 other riders!!!) or pretty much any ride w/ good friends. (Geez that sounds corny…True though!!)

5. What’s the one message you want the world to know about you and your efforts related to T1D?

We are going to ride until Type 1 is history. It’s an honor to ride alongside such a passionate and committed group of people. I consider myself VERY blessed to have stumbled across JDRF.

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Do you need a new cycling jersey or shorts for the 2012 riding season? You’ll look great in the Hope on 2 Wheels riding kit, and now you can order one and make a donation to JDRF all at the same time, as a portion of each sale will be donated to JDRF!! Order yours today at http://hopeon2wheels.zaavy.com and enter the password “hope” when prompted

Cyclist Profile: Andrew Chadwick

Andrew Chadwick is a Hope on 2 Wheels rider with a special connection. His brother, Mike Chadwick, is one of the co-founders of the ride!! When you read what Andrew has to say, you’ll understand why we ride!

1. My connection to T1D is my brother, Mike. He was diagnosed when I was 2, so I don’t remember Diabetes not being part of my life.

2. My cycling background comes from my other brother, David – he was a competitive rider through his college years. I rode my bike like any normal kid, and then didn’t ride again until about 2-3 years ago, when I built up a fixed gear and started commuting to work.

3. For Hope On 2 Wheels, I’ll be riding a custom-built frame by Michael Brown/Maestro Frameworks. It actually hasn’t been built yet, but should be ready long before the ride. It’s a sport-tourer, lightly based on the Surly LHT and the Velo-Orange Rando. I’ll be building it up myself with my favorite parts.

4. My favorite ride ever would have to be either – When I did the entire length of the C&O Canal Towpath, over 3 days, at age 12. I rode it with 2 of my friends and one of their dads. The other candidate for best ride would be last year’s El Tour de Tucson for the JDRF. That was my first century, I got to ride it with my brother, and we had an absolute blast.

5. My message? I think the best I can come up with is that we can’t wait for anyone else to step up and try to make a cure happen. If we want to find it, we’ve got to fund it.

Do you need a new cycling jersey or shorts for the 2012 riding season? You’ll look great in the Hope on 2 Wheels riding kit, and now you can order one and make a donation to JDRF all at the same time, as a portion of each sale will be donated to JDRF!! Order yours today at http://hopeon2wheels.zaavy.com and enter the password “hope” when prompted

Cyclist Profile: Josh Stahl

As you read his post you’ll see that Josh Stahl, who comes to Hope on 2 Wheels from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, may be a man of few words. What’s more accurate, though, is that the few words he has chosen send a powerful message about why he rides!

1. Tell about your connection to T1D: I am the father to a 4 year old Type 1 Diabetic. His name is Gavin and he is the bravest little man with the way he handles this disease.

2. Tell about your cycling background and experiences (i.e. how many JDRF rides have you done, any competition highlights, etc): I have completed 1 Ride to Cure diabetes in Lake Tahoe (Sep, 2011). In this ride I was awarded the prestigious JDRF Spirit jersey (Polka Dot) which goes to the Rider who most exemplifies what the ride is all about.

3. What bike will you be riding on the Hope ride? 2011 Cannondale Synapse 5 Road Bike

4. What was your favorite bike ride ever? Lake Tahoe 2011, that is until we partake in the first Hope on 2 Wheels ride in June of 2012.

5. What’s the one message you want the world to know about you and your efforts related to T1D? I will not stop riding until the day I ride because we have found a cure.

Gavin cannot take a break from diabetes so I will not take a break either.

Thanks Josh!! Good luck in your Ride!!

Do you need a new cycling jersey or shorts for the 2012 riding season? You’ll look great in the Hope on 2 Wheels riding kit, and now you can order one and make a donation to JDRF all at the same time, as a portion of each sale will be donated to JDRF!! Order yours today at http://hopeon2wheels.zaavy.com and enter the password “hope” when prompted.

Cyclist Profile: Matt Schmitz

Each of the Hope on 2 Wheels cyclists was asked the following series of questions:

1. What is your connection to T1D?
2. What is your background and experience in cycling?
3. What bike will you be riding on Hope on 2 Wheels?
4. What is you favorite ride ever?
5. What is the message that you want the world to know about you and your efforts related to T1D?

Over the next several weeks we will share those responses with you one at a time so that you will have a chance to get to know our Team.  Here, in no particular order, is the first of those:

Meet Matt Schmitz:

1. I have Type 1 diabetes. I was diagnosed at age 19 when they found sugar in my urine during a routine drug test for a summer job. At the time I was either asymptomatic or had failed to recognize any of the symptoms. My fasting blood sugar was in the 300s and I was told I was one of the lucky few who was diagnosed prior to ending up in a hospital. I’ve now had Type 1 for 8.5 years.

2. Last year was my first year participating in the JDRF Ride to Cure program. I found out about the program online and decided I wanted to have a personal challenge/goal to meet and that it was time for me to start being an active member of the diabetes community and the efforts to find a cure. For me it was a huge leap as I’d never ridden a bike farther than a leisurely 20 mile ride in the local forest preserves or as a way to get around before I’d gotten my drivers license. As part of my training for the full 100 mile Ride to Cure route I decided to participate in the Chicagoland Tour de Cure where I completed my first metric century ever. After a great spring and summer of riding culminating in the JDRF Ride to Cure weekend in La Crosse, WI, I was officially hooked and began racing this past fall in the Chicago Cyclocross Cup.

3. I’ll be riding my 2012 Cannondale CAADX 5 105…we’ve already been through a lot of good times together.

4.  My favorite ride was the 2011 JDRF Ride to Cure weekend in La Crosse, Wi.

5. Type 1 diabetes is 24/7 – 365. It’s always there. No matter how well controlled your diabetes is there’s no saying when something could change. Our efforts to find a cure should be equally committed. I often get asked by family and friends “What’s it like having diabetes?” and I think that it shocks many of them when I respond that I can’t really remember what it’s like not having diabetes. For a long time after I was diagnosed I attempted to keep it a secret from as many people as was feasible so that I could remain “normal.” I didn’t want Type 1 to define me or control my life so I wasn’t open about it with people unless they had to know – this was my disease and I could handle it. As I became more comfortable with having Type 1 it gradually became my new “normal” and I accepted that just by being open about Type 1, it didn’t define me. In fact I was probably giving Type 1 more control of my life by worrying about appearing “normal” all the time and not wanting people to find out about it, because as I said before it’s always there. I’m motivated to rid the world of Type 1 diabetes so that kids won’t have to go through hiding this from their friends or becoming used to a new “normal.” I’m motivated so that others won’t have to have milestones of how long they’ve lived with Type 1. I’m motivated so that parents won’t have to worry and lose countless hours of sleep to making sure their child sleeps safely through the night. I’m motivated to make sure that someday we won’t be going off to a Ride to Cure but instead a Ride to Celebrate weekend.