Meet Robin Kern who is raising awareness and funds to fight Type 1 diabetes
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- July
- 10
Please welcome Cycling Central’s newest blogger, Kate Marshall. She is an educator by profession and anactive member of the Westchester Cycle Club who is also tour director of this years Golden Apple ride. She has been cycling and competing in triathlon and cycling events for the past several years. Her new passion is ultra distance cycling. When not out enjoying our beautiful Hudson Valley, she enjoys blogging about her athletic adventures and sharing other’s stories.
Here is her first posting.
33 years ago, a baby girl lay in a hospital bed for three weeks, quietly slipping away. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her. Finally, they tested her blood and diagnosed her with Type 1 diabetes. At that time, there was not much awareness of diabetes, and nobody thought such a young child would have the illness. On June 27th that baby girl, Robin Kern, raised over $13,000 riding her bike in the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes in Sonoma, California. I had the pleasure to meet Robin this week on a Westchester Cycle Club ride, and she told me her amazing story.
Robin, the mother of two young boys and an aspiring singer, made the commitment to do this century ride last fall. She bought a bike and began fundraising. While she works out in a gym everyday, she had not gotten out to ride until about 4 months ago. The official training team in our area is based in NYC, and with a young family, Robin just couldn’t make the sessions. Then, she met Debbie Ramsey, a WCC ride leader, who offered to help her train. Every Wednesday she joined Deb’s ride, and slowly but surely, built up the endurance to tackle Sonoma. However, nothing she encountered during the cool spring rides could prepare her for the heat wave she faced on the day of the ride.
The JDRF riders are mostly friends and family members of people living with diabetes. Robin wanted to inspire kids and show them this is an illness that does not hold her back. Most people only did the 62 mi ride. The course included some very steep climbs, but Robin decided to do the 102 mi route. On the day of the ride, temperatures climbed over 100 degrees and many people dropped out. Every 15 miles Robin had to check her blood levels and adjust her insulin pump, making sure to get enough nutrition and get back on the road. At mile 62 she broke down and had to be iced to prevent heat exhaustion. She thought about dropping out, but instead, got back on her bike. At mile 90 she was still pedaling determinately when they closed the course and told her she would have to stop. At the end, they awarded her with the Spirit Jersey she wore proudly on our ride last Wednesday.
Robin is passionate about advocating for diabetes research to find a cure. But, she is just as passionate about living her life to the fullest and inspiring others to do the same. Lance Armstrong may be the most famous cyclist to overcome adversity and triumph on the bike, but there are many folks closer to home, riding with the local cycling clubs, fighting their own, often silent battles and finding strength and inspiration to accomplish their goals.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 6:14 PM by Randall Wolf. 
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Welcome, Kate. Great, inspiring job, Robin. Keep up the fantastic effort.