IDF Blue Circle Voices advocate Jerry Gore, a 62-year-old with type 1 diabetes, is leading a team of cyclists on a 2,500km journey from London to Kyiv as part of RideUkraine 2023 to show solidarity and support for those living with chronic conditions in Ukraine and to raise €100,000 in donations for essential medicines and supplies.
IDF is collaborating with our member Direct Relief to manage donations and ensure their allocation to healthcare organisations that serve people with diabetes and other chronic conditions in Ukraine.
The 30-day ride starts on 26 August at Greenwich Park, London, UK. Gore and his team will cycle to Dover via the Pilgrims Way, then through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine. Cycling up to 150km daily, the peloton will stop in cities and towns to collect donations and raise awareness. Interested cyclists can join for part of the journey by using Garmin InReach® trackers to find the peloton. RideUkraine 2023 will provide a GPX file for download onto bike computers.
IDF Vice President, Dr Iryna Vlasenko helped organise the challenge and will welcome the charity bike ride in Kyiv on 26 September. Since the war began in February 2022, Dr Vlasenko has coordinated humanitarian actions from the international diabetes community through IDF.
If successful, Jerry Gore will be the oldest person with type 1 diabetes to complete the challenge. Gore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2001 and is a co-founder of Action4Diabetes.
Learn more about IDF and Direct Relief’s humanitarian collaboration through the Global Diabetes Partnership, launched in 2019 to encourage healthcare companies to donate diabetes-related medical products to countries experiencing a crisis and low-income countries that lack consistent access to diabetes products.
Are you a cyclist? Sign up to join the ride for an hour, a day or as long as you want. Contact: [email protected]
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RideUkraine2023/
