The JDRF Greater New England Chapter is excited to introduce our 2024 Ride to Cure Diabetes Coaches! Our coaches provide support to our riders, help set goals, and assist with training plans as requested. Your physical and mental health are important and we believe that continuing to stay active will help with both. If you have any questions about training, registering, or joining us this season please feel to contact Annamaria Lukes at alukes@jdrf.org.
Doug Cornelius
Doug is an avid recreational cyclist and bike commuter. He gets to commute along the Charles River from Newton to Boston. Those are just some of the 7,000+ miles he rode on his bike in 2022.
Doug became involved with JDRF in 2018 when his son was diagnosed with T1D (type 1 diabetes). He jumped on the JDRF rides the following year to raise money for JDRF and became a coach in 2023.
He biked the 2022 Saratoga Springs Ride on his fixed gear bike. (One Gear to Fight Type One!) But he’ll have gears on his bike for his JDRF Ride this year to help you get to the finish line.
Don Cummings
Don has always had a connection to T1D. His brother was diagnosed in 1971, and T1D continued to impact his family: three of his four sisters live with type 1, and Don himself was diagnosed at the age of 29. Earlier this year, Don’s 13-year-old nephew Max was diagnosed as well. As Don says, “the T1D monster likes us a lot!”. Don’s first JDRF Ride was Asheville in 2007, he survived the Killington Ride in 2009, and he has only missed a couple of years since then. Don joined the Greater New England Chapter as a coach at the 2022 Ride in Saratoga Springs.
From Don: “For those who have ridden with me before, I was the guy with the green Klein. Coach Mike Clark named it ‘Green Lightning’ which has stuck. That bike has been repaired after I survived being struck by a motorist on the Fourth of July in 2019. I moved to a Cannondale Super Six which took some getting used to as I had never ridden on a carbon frame before. I have not yet come up with a name for this bike. I have toyed with ‘Harmony’ as it is black and white, but I am trying to come up with something a bit more creative.
I like to climb so most of my individual training rides involve some good hills. I can’t say that I have a ‘favorite’ ride, but I avoid doing out and backs (except during Ride weekend!). I prefer loops through Central Massachusetts that I extend as the season progresses.
As a T1D cyclist, and one who has benefitted from the availability of T1D management technology, I have participated in several rides and my management protocols have been different for each. For those of you who are T1D and on a pump, I encourage you to explore GlucoseZone®. It is an excellent resource for helping you manage your T1D during all sorts of exercise. I tell you that after attending a seminar at the 2022 TypeOneNation Summit Boston. It was an ‘A-Ha’ moment for me. Before reducing my basal rate by a certain percentage before rides, I was always up and down. One rest stop would see me in the upper 200s, the next in the 70s. I was essentially feeding my insulin. PLEASE talk to your endo before making any changes. I have learned from my siblings that my T1D is not always your T1D. Together, we will defeaT1D!”
Frank Dougherty
Frank has been involved with the JDRF Ride program since 2010 as a volunteer, bike room assistant, rider, and coach. His connection to T1D is his daughter, Julia, who was diagnosed in 2009 at the age of 12. Julia has also participated in the Ride as both a rider and volunteer. Frank lives in Marlborough, MA and is willing to travel anywhere for a training ride!
From Frank: “While I don’t know how many miles I rode last year; I do know that I enjoyed all of them. Some of my favorite rides are training on Cape Cod or the Boston Area; any ride with my daughter Julia, and a new one this year—The Midnight Marathon ride. My favorite saying is ‘That’s not really a hill!’”
Scott Kasper
While Scott may be new to the Greater New England Chapter, he’s certainly not new to New England as he was born in New Haven, CT and lived in the Metro Boston and Worcester areas from 1986 to 2004. In the fall of 2023, Scott and his wife, Rachel, moved back to the Boston/North Shore area and love being “home”!
After two of Scott and Rachel’s sons were diagnosed with T1D, their family participated in JDRF Walks and attended JDRF Galas for many years. In 2011, they found the JDRF Ride and Scott and Rachel both rode their first Ride to Cure in Lake Tahoe. Since that time, his bicycle (named Crush) has become his weapon and it has carried him nearly 40,000 miles in training for 22 JDRF Rides. Through this program, Scott and his family have raised more than $500,000 for T1D research. Two of Scott’s sons and both of his brothers have become JDRF Ride to Cure Riders and his parents have handed out hundred of pounds of fudge and “bike crack” along the way. In 2012, Scott became a Ride to Cure Coach, and is a member of the National Coach Leadership Team.
From Scott: “As you might be able to tell, riding my bicycle and helping others to ride theirs has become my passion. JDRF Ride to Cure has put purpose in my pedals, and mission in my miles! I ride to help make life safer and to find a cure for my family members. I also ride because I have a third son, who does not have T1D and I am driven to ensure that we can prevent him from ever having to hear the diagnosis. Finally, I ride simply because the JDRF Ride to Cure family is truly amazing and I cannot imagine turning the pedals with a more inspiring group of people! There is a saying amongst the cycling community—as we pedal through life it’s not where you ride, but who you ride with that matters most! If you haven’t joined the JDRF Ride to Cure yet, please feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be overjoyed to convince you about why you should!! Keep on pedaling!”
Cathy Ryan
Cathy lives in Vermont with her husband and two cats. She first got involved with JDRF when she bought a road bike 10 years ago and participated in the JDRF Ride to Cure in Burlington, VT. Her niece has type 1 diabetes, so it seemed like a great ride to do with her new bike. The rest is history!
Fun fact: That bike Cathy bought 10 years ago is still going strong – it’s the one she’ll use at the JDRF Ride this year. A good reminder that you don’t have to have the newest bike out there. And her bike commute to work (which she tries to do once a week) is partially along the Burlington Ride route!