University of Florida Swimmer Raises Money for Diabetes

The 4C4D ride has come and gone. I hope that the updates found their way to you and kept you up to speed during the ride. The trip went as smoothly as could have been hoped for. Besides a couple hours of a light drizzle the weather cooperated the whole time. Some days overcast and cool others having clear blue skies and intense heat. The first day of riding was somewhat overwhelming in the mere fact that I rode away from my apartment knowing that I would spin the peddles for 400 some miles, navigating with only a map, and having just myself to rely on. With all the things that could go wrong like weather, missing reservations, bike problems and so on it was a feeling I have never experienced before. But as I left the city limits of Lille and only farmland stretched out in front of me it was somewhat comforting. With long roads ahead of me and hotels and trains already booked I knew it came down to believing I could do it and keeping the peddles turning. So I did.

The first and second days were long. The roads passed through many small towns most of which were in valleys. There is a saying in biking that plays on the saying "what goes up must come down," and instead says "what goes down must come up." As nice as it is to cruise down a hill into a city the climb back out, city after city, was draining to say the least. Of course navigating the roads had its problems as well. Missed turns, roads that twisted and turned but appeared straight on the map, roads appearing small on the map but that restricted me from riding on them led to some extra mileage. All in all though the excitement of riding with so many people watching and counting on me combined with the satisfaction of completing each day made those first two days an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Every bit of frustration on the first two days was wiped away on the third. After a night in a French chateau near Bonneval I quickly entered into the Loire Valley riding all the way to the city of Angers. The hills became less severe, the roads more smooth, and the route easier to follow. I couldn't take a turn without seeing a sign informing me that I was on a "Loire Valley Scenic Route" and was constantly riding past quaint cities, fields of sunflowers, and old chateaus. For anyone ever visiting France I have many suggestions based off that third day. If you go biking in France I can give you an exact route that would be worth the entire trip over-though I would suggest not doing it all in one day. The pictures from the third day will speak for themselves.

The last day of riding was by design the shortest and simplest regarding navigation. From Angers to Chateaubriant to Nantes for my train back to Lille. I took a straight shot from Nantes all the way to Chateaubriant coming to the realization along the way, and an obvious one at that, that the city was most likely named this way because it contained a Chateau named Briant worth naming a city after. Not surprisingly this was correct and upon arriving in the city I tracked down the chateau and ate lunch in its courtyard. With one leg of the journey to go and plenty of time I got back on the road for an easy ride from Chateaubriant to Nantes. That last leg of the journey can be described by two words: hills and heat. I made the assumption that riding towards the ocean would mean flat roads-this assumption was wrong. At this point it didn't really matter as I was almost done and had a train ticket in my pack for my return trip. So I took each hill one at a time, stopped a couple of times to refill my water bottles, and made it to the Nantes train station with time to spare. Alive, a little sore, and maybe a few pounds lighter, the 4C4D ride came to an end and I sat down to wait for my train to board.

In four days I rode 471 miles (31 more than planned) and spent around 36 hours on the road including time to navigate, eat, and drink. It was an experience I wouldn't give up for anything and I thank you for giving me the motivation to train for and carry through with it. The entire idea of 4C4D was thought up one night as I was lying in bed wondering what I would do with the four extra days of vacation I realized I had no plans for. I drew up a map, decided who to send information to, and started writing the letters. Two weeks later the letters went out and those of you reading this were inspired enough to make a contribution. From an idea that was born less than two months ago we have raised over $3,000 dollars to fight diabetes. I am truly amazed by what a relatively small group of people can accomplish.

The full album from the ride is available to those making donations which are accepted through August. As always if you have any questions, comments or requests you can contact me at 4centuries4diabetes@gmail.com.

Yours,

Kevin Nead

Thanks for visiting the 4C4D web page! To tell you a little about myself my name is Kevin Nead and I am proud to be a student-athlete at the University of Florida. I take both being a student and being an athlete very seriously and in my time at Florida have become an NCAA All-American in swimming as well as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. Currently I am in Lille, France conducting research on Type 2 diabetes as part of a six month research grant that I received in the spring. During the period of August 1-4 I will bike for four days and each day will ride over 100 miles, or what is known in the cycling world as a century. Thus the name of the ride: “Four Centuries For Diabetes.” 100% of the money raised will go to the American Diabetes Association. The American Diabetes Association is a non-profit health organization with the mission of supporting the more than 20 million children and adults in the US with diabetes as well as supporting research to prevent and ultimately cure diabetes. For every dollar donated to the American Diabetes Association 78¢ goes directly to helping those affected by diabetes. I hope that you will consider making a contribution to this cause. Any questions or comments can be directed to 4centuries4diabetes@gmail.com and more information on the American Diabetes Association can be found at www.diabetes.org. Thanks for taking the time to look into this project!! More information about myself, the route, and making a donation can be found in later posts