Type 1 Doesn’t Stand A Chance

Especially not with help like this.  I am so happy to announce that Westoba Credit Union has come on board as a Silver Sponsor for our Team Manitoba Support Van!

Westoba Credit Union – now active in Western Manitoba for nearly 50 years – has a long and unique story in our community.  With involvement at all kinds of local events, Westoba has stepped up to the plate again and again to make living in Westman such a great experience.



And now, they’ve decided that Juvenile Diabetes is one disease we can live without.  With their generous contribution to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada, we welcome them to the fight.

And you can join in on the fight, too, by joining us on August 28th at the Trans Canada and 1st Street North.  With your $10 donation to the JDRF you can cycle along with us as we ride through Brandon.  Join us at Murray’s on Richmond for a shorter ride – 5kms instead of 12kms – and drop your rock in the pond.

If we get enough ripples going, nothing can stop us ‘til we beat Type 1!

This is What Community is About

With the National Team getting closer and closer with each passing hour, it’s getting hard to concentrate on anything but the AMAZING trip I am about to embark on with my son, Brandon. 

That is why I am so pleased to announce that Benmarks Sound has come on board as the Gold Sponsor for our Cyclebetes Team Manitoba Support Van!

The folks at Benmarks are the kind of people that bring a smile to your face.  When I spoke initially to them I was a little hesitant, suggesting a bronze, or perhaps a silver sponsorship.  When I ended up speaking to the owner, Brad Danielson, he made it clear that this is a cause worth supporting.

Brad came through in a big way.  With Diabetes in his family, it’s something that hits home and he wants to see a cure for this disease as much as anyone else.

I’ve spoken to Brad a couple of times about Juvenile Diabetes and I know that above all else, the reason he wants to see this thing beaten is for the 80+ kids that are diagnosed in our province each year.  Like myself, he finds it too hard to accept that 1 in 800 kids will live with thousands of needles each year.

We are so thankful to Brad, his wife Deanna and the rest of the crew at Benmarks for making this happen and helping to get my son closer to his goal!

How’s THIS for Can-Do Spirit!

The Wheat City Derby Dolls heard about our Cyclebetes community bike ride that’s taking place on August 28th in Brandon and said, “Hey! What about us!?”

The Derby Dolls are Westman’s Roller Derby League.  The ladies have organized and are making the Community Ride happen. 

Our police escort runs out at the 8th street bridge, but  we’ll be greeted by the smiling faces of some of the members of the Derby Dolls, who will finish out the last kilometre or so of the ride with us!

Not only are they going to provide us with an escort into the Riverbank Discovery Centre, but they’ll also be bringing family members and friends along for the ride…helping us raise money for a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.

Thanks, Dolls!  It’s great to have your support…see you next Saturday!

3 Hours and $2,300 Later…

…and Beemer is now 2/3 of the way to his goal!

All I can say is wow!

Tyler Glen from Star FM came out to Murray Chevrolet Cadillac here in Brandon, but the city limits didn’t keep good folks away from a great cause.

A gentleman heard Beemer on the radio and drove to the dealership…from over 50 miles away…to come meet “the young lad who was biking across the prairies!” and give a donation.

We had friends and friends of friends from right across the city come out and support Brandon, helping him get closer to his goal.  Lots of families came out too, and some very special kids who live with Type 1.

We signed up some more folks for the Community Bike Ride next weekend and talked with a lot of people about what it’s like to live with Type 1 – the reason we’re doing all this!

We got to meet a very cool kid – Porter – who was sadly diagnosed with Type 1 in June.  His parents and their friends came together and raised hundreds and hundreds of dollars, and delivered it to us today at the dealership!  We’re definitely going to get that family on board with Cyclebetes next year! ;o)

It’s not hard to raise some big dollars for such a great cause when dozens and dozens of families show up with open hearts.  Thank you AGAIN to the folks who live in this community!

Wow! What Can I Say?

The support just keeps rolling in, and I can’t believe how much of a CAN DO spirit some folks have.

Take, for instance, the folks at Murray Chevrolet.  Not only have they made a huge commitment in supporting the Cyclebetes National Relay, but they’ve gone to the next level provincially, as well!

The entire dealership is pitching in and staff and family members are coming out to help with a community BBQ.  CKLQ will be on location the entire time, and Murray’s has graciously provided Team Manitoba with a place to collect pledges and share information about the Community Bike Ride (August 28th, more details here).

ALL THE PROCEEDS from the BBQ are going to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help find a cure for Type 1.

Join us at Murray’s from 11-2pm on August 21st…come and meet Team Manitoba’s Youth Ambassador, Brandon, who’s just 8 years old and will be cycling hundreds of kilometres over the next 10 days.

If you want to support Beemer and his goal of $5,000, you can view his online sponsorship page here.

Support from Centum Mortgage

I want to send a big thank you out to Hellen Burnell of Centum Mortgage Choice.

Hellen’s come on board with an extremely generous donation to support Beemer in his goal of raising $5000.  CMC has shown that they are committed to this cause and to finding a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.

I know from personal experience that working with Hellen to help figure out the tangle of mortgage options is such a help.  She knows the products available and how to get you into the right one.

I’ve Gone 1,200 Kms, and I haven’t even started yet.

Okay folks, here we go.  This is my big push.

If you know me, you likely know my son Brandon, who we like to call Beemer.  And, if you know Beemer, you likely know that he has Type 1 Diabetes.

He wants your help:  he’s looking to raise $5,000 this year to help fund a cure for juvenile diabetes.  Please donate here.

So, you may be wondering how he got diabetes. Did he eat too much sugar?  Is he a lazy kid? 

Absolutely not…but I’m going to get back to that in a second.

Type 1 Diabetes is an auto-immune disease that strikes thousands of children each year, killing part of their pancreas and leaving them dependant on insulin injections and constant blood glucose monitoring.

For life.

So is he lazy?  Nope!  Brandon has already cycled over 200kms this year training to ride from Ontario to Alberta with a national relay team.  d00ds, seriously, he’s 8 freekin’ years old and he’s going to ride with the National Relay team known as Cyclebetes.

This is one tough kid, and it shows.  He refuses – daily – to let this disease beat him.  When was the last time you cycled 20kms?  He’s done it twice.  In the last week.

It doesn’t just affect Beemer, but the whole family, too.  Here’s how his little brother Andy is dealing with it:

 

Again, if you can help out, please donate here.

Every bit helps and you can be my son’s hero (as well as the hero of over 250,000 kids worldwide).

Beemer and I leave on August 26th to join the Cyclebetes National team.  I’ve been training hard and I’m ready to take my son across a couple of great provinces and hundreds of kilometres closer to a cure.