No Limits: Bob Paxson unveils his history as a diabetic and ultracyclist

by Bob "Sponge Bob" Paxson

Personal History

I have had insulin dependent diabetes for more than 29 years. My primary goal as a cyclist with insulin dependent diabetes is to prove that a person with diabetes is capable of accomplishing anything. I don't want to ever hear that a person with diabetes can't be an achiever. Having diabetes means being responsible for controlling the condition every day. Doing that opens up a world of opportunities. We only live once and diabetes is no reason to not live our one life to its fullest.

I started cycling five years ago as therapy for an arthritic knee. Within a month my knee began to improve to the point where I was able to resume hiking and backpacking. I also became addicted to the fitness benefits of cycling, as well as a means of seeing the world under my own power. Along the way, I discovered that cycling was a great way to lower my need for artificial insulin by increasing my exercise level and great therapy for my diabetes as well!

I then began to become interested in Ultra distance cycling events. I wanted, and needed, to prove that a person with insulin dependent diabetes was just as capable as a non-diabetic in completing endurance cycling events. I relished the challenge!

I looked up a listing of long distance rides in the Western U.S. and came across the AdventureCORPS ride in Death Valley in March, 2002. I signed up for the Century and completed the entire ride in very windy conditions—an aspect of cycling in Death Valley I was soon to become very familiar with. By May of that first year of cycling, I finished my first Double Century (Davis). Over the last five years, I have completed 16 Double Centuries. Among these is the Spring Death Valley Century/Double Century that I have done with AdventureCORPS four times. I have also competed in the AdventureCORPS Furnace Creek 508 four times, finishing twice on a two-man team and once as a solo participant. My ultimate goal is to become the first insulin dependent diabetic to compete in and finish the Race Across America as a solo rider.

Being diabetic and a cyclist also has allowed me to become involved as a volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Century rides sponsored by Chris Kostman and AdventureCORPS. These are held every October in Death Valley. I have volunteered three times in Death Valley at the JDRF rides. It's a thrill for me to see so many others with diabetes out taking on the challenge of cycling with diabetes and proving that it can be done. I’m with "my people" at these rides and they inspire me to keep pushing the limit on what can be done with diabetes because there truly is no limit! To that end, I have gotten involved with my local JDRF chapter as a cycling coach. I want to help others with diabetes achieve the same benefits and goals that I have with cycling.

Bob's 2007 Ride

On October 20, 2007 I will be joining 300 other cyclists in a fund raising ride in one of America’s scenic wonders—Death Valley. The ride is sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) with funds raised going toward research for a cure.

As most of you know, I am an insulin dependent diabetic. I have had insulin dependent diabetes (also known as Type 1, or Juvenile Diabetes) for more than 29 years and am doing very well—because of my determination and your support. I am contacting you to thank you for your support and to ask for your help in my next adventure with diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease. The complications of diabetes are significant and life changing: heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, neuropathy and nerve damage, and amputations caused by infection and poor circulation. These complications aren't reversible and often lead to death. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death by disease in the United States, after heart disease and cancer.

There is no cure for diabetes. People with diabetes don't have remission. We only have a regimented treatment program that impacts our lives every single second of every single day. The lucky ones get off with this only. Many suffer the difficult complications and death rate of diabetes.

I am one of the fortunate ones. I am not suffering any of the complications of diabetes after 29+ years with the disease. But I don't know what tomorrow will bring so I stay the course and never take a single day for granted. It's never easy but I never complain because life is wonderful and amazing and diabetes just happens to be part of mine.

But I'm not asking for your support for me. I'm going to survive this thing with, or without, a cure. I'm going to live the life I was meant to live. I'll tell you for whom I'm asking for your support. Every December I speak to a group of parents and children at a Diabetes Support Group in Modesto. I talk about the need for daily exercise, staying positive, and having a dream. I always think I have an answer for everybody's difficulty with diabetes except for this one that I'm about to describe.

Every year, a different parent will approach me and tell me the story of their two-year-old child who is newly diagnosed with diabetes. With tears in their eyes, they tell how much their child hates and fears them because that parent has all of sudden become responsible for giving that child multiple insulin shots daily. Imagine being that parent! Who of us could accept that responsibility of keeping your child alive by doing something that would cause such hate and fear, while all the time knowing the overwhelming facts about the complications and premature death rate of diabetes. I don’t have an answer for these parents. I just get plain angry because there is no answer to that except for a cure—and we don’t have a cure!

There has been significant process in the treatment of diabetes, and toward a cure for diabetes, in the 29 years that I have been diabetic. If there is as much progress in the next 29 years, a cure will be found. In 29 years I will be 76 years old and have had Type 1 diabetes for 58 years. I can only hope that I can still be alive in this miracle of world at that age with Type 1 diabetes. But before I shut my eyes on my life, at whatever age that will be, I want to know that no two-year-old child will ever hate his/her parents again because of diabetes. That's the miracle I hope and pray for every day!

The JDRF organizes several fund-raising rides each year around the country. With a minimum of $4,000 raised, I will join the 300 other cyclists on October 20, 2007 in Death Valley National Park. We will be riding 100 miles through one of America's scenic wonders. Think about it—300 cyclists at $4,000 each equals $1.2 million. That's huge! I don’t want to stop at $4,000 though. I’d like to raise as much as possible because it all goes toward a cure. Every little bit counts!

Help fund a cure for juvenile diabetes. Don't forget that your donation is tax deductible!

Please help in any way you can, and in any way/amount you feel appropriate. You can donate online and save postage by clicking the donate button to the left. Don't forget—your donation is tax deductible!

Thank you for taking the time to read this request and for your support!

Bob Paxson

P.S. Please forward this request to anybody you know that is affected by diabetes or who might be interested in making a donation. Thanks!

To read Bob's race report from the 2005 Furnace Creek 508, click here.