Riding for those who never get a break

When the miles become difficult, Pat McAleer looks down at a name written on a piece of tape affixed to his bicycle's handlebar.

"That's why I'm doing this," he reminds himself. "Get back on that bike."

McAleer carried that motivation through Sparta last week as part of Ride Pat Ride, a solo, self-supported bicycle journey from the Pacific Ocean to Virginia Beach, Virginia. The retired financial adviser is trying to raise $250,000 for Breakthrough T1D in honor of his daughter, Mary Kate, and others who live with type 1 diabetes.

Determination has carried McAleer forward since he ritually dipped his bicycle tire into the Pacific Ocean at La Push, Washington, on July 15. McAleer is following the Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier Route across the country. The original plan called for more than 5,000 miles, but a change made to avoid wildfire smoke in Canada will bring the final distance closer to 4,500 miles.

The route and the cause came together over several years. McAleer has ridden bicycles since childhood. "I mean, that was freedom," McAleer said of riding a bicycle as a child. "It was better than getting your license, practically, maybe on par with it."

Later in life, after biking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and completing other long-distance trips and meeting cyclists who had crossed the country, the idea started to take shape.

"It just got in my mind," McAleer said. "I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do it as a fundraiser."

"My incredible wife, Molly, thinks I'm insane, but she supports me," McAleer said. "I think if this went any longer, though, she would kill me."

Retirement after more than 30 years as a financial adviser gave him the time. A northern route gave him a better chance of avoiding the worst summer heat. What made the undertaking necessary in his mind, however, was his daughter Mary Kate's experience.

Mary Kate was 10 in 2009 when she began acting a bit unusual, often tired and sleeping during the afternoon, something she had never done. McAleer's wife suspected mono or another illness and took her to the pediatrician. After initial tests, the family was told to go directly to an emergency room.

The diagnosis was type 1 diabetes.

What now?

According to Tomah Health, type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone that allows blood sugar to enter the body's cells and provide energy. The disease usually occurs when the immune system mistakenly destroys the pancreas's insulin-producing cells.

Type 1 diabetes affects nearly every part of a person's daily routine because blood sugar must be monitored and managed continuously. People need insulin every day and must consider how food, exercise, illness, stress, and other factors may change their blood-sugar levels. Blood sugar that becomes too high or too low can cause immediate illness, while poor control over time can damage the heart, blood vessels, nerves, kidneys, and eyes. Even with modern pumps and glucose monitors, people with type 1 diabetes cannot simply take a break from managing the disease.

McAleer said the family "circled the wagons" around Mary Kate, but they knew little about the disease. They left the hospital facing an unfamiliar system of blood-sugar readings, insulin doses, and food calculations.

"We kind of had this new full or part-time job functioning as a human pancreas thrust in our lap," he said.

At first, Mary Kate used insulin pens and syringes. She later moved to a pump and now uses an Omnipod insulin-delivery system along with a continuous glucose monitor. The technology is better, McAleer said, but it is not effortless, and it does not remove the disease from her daily life.

Mary Kate is now a registered nurse. McAleer believes years spent in hospitals, watching equipment and asking nurses questions, helped lead her toward a career caring for others.

The ride's message is that McAleer is doing something hard for people who do something harder. A cyclist can take a rest day. A person with type 1 diabetes cannot clock out from managing blood sugar.

"You can't step away from that," McAleer said. "You can't put it down."

Exercise, food, stress, illness and hormones can all affect blood sugar. Even advanced devices can fail to communicate or work as expected.

"A forgotten supply bag can quickly become an emergency," he said.

Hard Moments

Only six miles into the ride, a stick tore the derailleur from McAleer's bicycle and brought his carefully planned trip to a sudden stop on day one. Rather than view the breakdown as a defeat, he remembers it as an early test of his resourcefulness.

"It was a great day," McAleer said. "I met people. I solved the problem."

The mountains were among the most physically demanding portions of McAleer's ride. He crossed five mountain passes in succession during the early part of the journey.

"You hit those five passes day after day," McAleer said. "Those were the hardest days because I wasn't in the shape I'm in now."

Near the top of Washington Pass, he ran out of water. Travelers stopped and shared water and extra food.

He also climbed through three mountain passes wearing a respirator because of wildfire smoke . On isolated stretches of Montana road, towns were sometimes 50 or 60 miles apart. Strangers have waited along the road to offer water. Dogs have chased him, and a loud horn has become part of his defensive equipment.

McAleer carries everything he needs: a tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad, ground cloth, stove, food, water, clothes, tools, spare parts, bear spray, and electronics.

With no support vehicle following him, wherever he stops must be enough. He has slept behind volunteer fire departments and once camped beside a caboose he later wished he had slept inside.

McAleer said the trip is "absolutely not just a bike ride" and not a race. Reaching the $250,000 goal matters, but so do the private videos he sends to families, showing them the name of a child or adult with type 1 Diabetes he is carrying on his bike that day.

McAleer and his wife, Molly, are paying every expense associated with the trip so all donations can go to Breakthrough T1D.

According to their website, Breakthrough T1D, formerly known as JDRF, says it funds research to prevent, treat, and cure type 1 diabetes. It also advocates for government research funding, affordable insulin, improved access to treatment, and early screening. In addition, the organization provides information, resources, and community support to people living with type 1 diabetes and their families.

Next steps

After Wisconsin, McAleer plans to travel toward Chicago and Detroit. In September, 19 friends are scheduled to join him in Buffalo, New York, for the ride to Albany and then south along the Empire State Trail to New York City.

He plans to meet with Breakthrough T1D leadership before continuing toward Richmond and Virginia Beach.

There, he intends to touch the bicycle to Atlantic water, completing a coast-to-coast journey. But the finish line alone will not determine whether Ride Pat Ride succeeded.

When McAleer reaches the Atlantic, the success of Ride Pat Ride will not only be measured by the miles behind him or the money raised. It will also be found in the names carried on his bicycle, the families he met, and the people who learned they were not alone. McAleer has given his time, strength, and personal resources to the journey, but every difficult mile honors those who manage type 1 diabetes without the option of taking a day off. "I'm doing something hard," he said, "but I'm doing it for people who do something much harder."

Updates, route information, and donation details are available at ridepatride.org.