The count down begins!

6 days to go until the Saratoga Springs Tour de Cure! Every year I am in awe of the number of people who participate and their passion for fundraising for the American Diabetes Association. This year is no different. The Tour is on track to have 2,000 cyclists registered and reach the goal of $1 million! Thank you to the riders and sponsors like Empire Blue Cross who have chosen to be part of this historic year.  The Saratoga Tour will be the 1^st Tour in NY to reach a million dollars and we are on track to be ranked as the #2 Tour in the whole country out of over 84 Tours. This is an amazing accomplishment and is proof that the cyclists in the Capital District are passionate about Tour and helping people with diabetes. 

The Tour de Cure Start Line

As we count down the days to the Tour, I thought you might want to know what goes on behind the scenes at the Tour. Believe it or not the planning for the next year’s Tour begins almost as soon as the current year’s Tour ends. Every Tour has a special Planning Committee made of volunteers who help plan every aspect of the Tour de Cure. They begin in August convening for a debriefing meeting and continue meeting every month throughout the year.  Carmine Costanzo is chairman of the committee and he keeps the whole team on task. He is a perfect example of how volunteers don't just do the work ~ they make it work.

 The #1 priority for the Planning Committee is safety. The logistics committee is a very talented group headed up by Jerry Jurcynski. Jerry has been part of Tour for many years and his passion for the Tour de Cure is unparalleled. As you can imagine planning the 5 different routes has its challenges. The logistics crew goes over every route turn by turn to make sure the appropriate signage, painted route marking, police and flaggers are in place. Just when they thought everything was buttoned up this year, it was brought to our attention that a section of the 100 mile route was closed due to bridge work. Then another stretch was found to be gravel.  Thanks to Brent Pierce who made many trips to Saratoga to look at the roads all these changes were put into the cue sheets. Alan Vollmer, John Debrita, George Hermance, and Kevin Shaughnessy all have dedicated many hours of planning to ensure that the roads are safe for the rider of all levels. 

Lori Meehan-Richards Rest Stop Captain
of 100 mile stop at Bermuda Triangle

As you are riding along have you stopped at a Rest Stop? There is a team of volunteers whose job it is to make sure all the rest stops are manned, porta potties are ordered and all the supplies are ready to be picked up. Jim Masi and Jackie Hill make this job look easy but again, it takes many volunteer hours to make sure the rest stops are perfect. 

Did you know that we have a group of volunteers who take charge of communications for Tour? Lee Palmer gathers HAM radio volunteers for Tour setting up a command center at the school in addition to many other who volunteer to head out on the routes for the day ensuring rider safety. Have a medical emergency? Nancy Toleno is stationed at the school to help you.

Tyler Ruhle and Anne Moore
putting up banners.

In addition to your experience out on the road the experience you have at the high school is the priority of the more members of the Planning Committee.  From the minute you arrive at the school you will notice many volunteers with yellow shirts. Throughout the year Anne Moore and Nancy Piscatelli work hard to recruit and place all 250 volunteers for the Day of Tour.  Many of these volunteers head into the kitchen headed up by committee member Linda Mossop to help prepare for the breakfast and lunch for over 2,000 people.  Another large group of volunteers help the riders check in. Linda Kibby, the registration committee member, helps the check in area run smoothly.  You can hand in your donations and get your prizes with ease and speed so you can head to the start line stress free.  

Red Rider Kaileigh Moore

The Tour de Cure is all about the Red Rider. A Red Rider is a person living with diabetes who is riding in the Tour. Kristin Farina, Brian Dwyer, Mark Johnson and Ellen Brodie are committee members whose job it is to make sure the Red Riders have everything they need.  Red Riders receive special cycling jerseys, t-shirts, goodie bags and more. Most important they receive a big thank you!

There is still time be a part of the Tour de Cure go to the Tour website to register as a cyclist or to donate. Please call the ADA office if you would like to volunteer. We especially need help with clean up and break down after the Tour. 

The Albany office of the American Diabetes Association has a staff of 4. On the day of Tour we turn into an army of hundreds because of all the dedicated volunteers. Every balloon, pen, bathroom supply, breakfast and lunch supplies, photograph, music, banner, folded t-shirt, and every spin bike are ready for you because of a volunteer.  On behalf of the Albany staff, Thank You to the Planning Committee for your dedication throughout the year and to all the day of event volunteers who give up a weekend to give back.  Make sure if you are at the Tour you take a moment to thank a volunteer - they get paid six figures – S-M-I-L-E-S.