You can almost see it as the sun peaks over the Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome. Your resistance increases as you tighten your grip on the handlebars. The finish line is less than a mile away and before you speed up to finish strong, you see the crosswalk ahead as a handful of teenagers dart across the street. Suddenly your surroundings become clearer and you realize you’re five miles from home in Nutley, New Jersey. But that’s the beauty of the JDRF My Ride – it’s your ride, your distance and your experience entirely. Over 3,000 riders joined JDRF for our very first My Ride season which attracted riders from all over the country, even globally, to hit the pavement, their local parks and their indoor trainers to raise funds for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to change their in-person event plans, JDRF My Ride has seen no shortage of spirit, community and inspiration during the season. On October 2-3, riders convened virtually for the JDRF My Ride Celebration, presented by Livongo, where thousands of riders tuned in to share stories, recognize each other’s accomplishments and celebrate as one community. The celebration not only recognized special participants with honor jerseys for Spirit, Promise and Youth riders, but gave everyone a chance to celebrate raising over $5 Million (and counting)!

During the broadcast, riders had the opportunity to hear powerful stories from the community like Kimberly from Utah, who battled COVID-19 in June, whose resilience empowered her to hop back in the saddle after her recovery, and Petra in Ohio whose idea to plant sunflower seeds where she trains, led to over $12,000 raised for JDRF.

Luckily, My Ride season isn’t over yet and there is plenty of time to join a community of riders who aren’t stopping anytime soon. If you missed the My Ride Celebration, you can still watch it below, which is sure to inspire your next ride indoors or out.

For those looking to join the current season, JDRF has plenty in store for the remainder of the year including fundraising perks, like this year’s jersey, which can be redeemed through the end of the calendar year. November 14^th is also World Diabetes Day, which occurs during National Diabetes Awareness Month. Riders will have the chance to participate in JDRF’s World Diabetes Day  24-Hour Ride Challenge, sponsored by Novo Nordisk which challenges JDRF riders, walkers AND runners to see how many times they can circle the globe together.

No matter how JDRF riders have pedaled through the season this year during times of change, it’s clear that they will always enjoy the ride and will stop at absolutely nothing to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.

To register for My Ride, visit ride.jdrf.org.