An anxious, determined father. A promise to a daughter.
A cross-Canada, non-stop ride for a cure.
Kyle tells the story about how they first learned that Taylor had Type 1 Diabetes
Imagine that a father once promised his daughter there would be a cure for her illness by the time she turned 18 … and that the deadline is now just six years away.
Imagine a bike trip that crosses Canada, with no stops… wheels moving continuously until reaching the opposite side of this huge country...in just 9 days.
On September 14th, five fathers will launch a difficult journey, all in support of a friend's promise to his daughter.
Kyle Balagno is an inspiring example of a change-maker. He is part of a team of change-makers, determined to try to do something to change the face of juvenile diabetes.
His daughter Taylor is twelve. They both ride: he is a cyclist, and she rides horses competitively.
Taylor is an inspiration herself - a reminder to other diabetic kids that they can lead active, energetic lives. She rides horse 4 or 5 days a week, and competes. She skis, plays field hockey and does well in school. She's drawn to a few different career directions at this point, maybe a vet, or a surgeon, or a producer of reality TV shows.
Her father wants her to have all possible choices. He wants her to be free to explore all options without health uncertainties as part of her life.
They call themselves 'Team H2V: Push the Pace' - Halifax to Vancouver.
The ride is 6000 kilometers, and Team H2V wants to raise one million dollars for JDRF - the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
They stop at nothing and work from a base of faith, hope and passion. Each rider gathers pledges, raises money and awareness for juvenile diabetes. Their team has brought on corporate sponsors like Canaccord Capital and Sanofi-Aventis, as well as product donations from companies including Sugoi and Specialty Gourmet.
The determination to push forward past exhaustion…never stopping…never giving up… is driven by a group of riders backing Kyle Balagno. They want to do everything they can to help Kyle keep the promise he made to his daughter Taylor.
The sponsorship and logistics duo for the ride have a son who once was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Only one of the cyclists has a diabetic child, but all have young kids, and understand how heavy it must be to keep constant vigilance to ensure the survival of a child.
"These children deserve a better life, free of the fears that have become part of their everyday lives. It's time."
The main success, Kyle says, has been just putting the right team together from the beginning. A core team of volunteers works daily on the event. It has consumed their lives and Kyle's full-time job…well, let's just say he's on hiatus until after the projected H2V arrival date in Vancouver on September 23rd.
The team is training four days a week logging miles and more miles, and two days a week conditioning in the gym. They are focused on pacing properly, and making sure that they don't launch the ride too strong, too early. "Getting to the Rockies is going to take a lot of effort," Kyle says, "so we've got to keep a little gas in the tank left for the Rockies and then into Vancouver on Day Nine."
