Mom on a recent ride, left. Brother Michael in dorkmode on the right.

When I was 18, my middle brother Michael was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It wasn’t because of his diet, or his lifestyle, it was a genetic occurrence that was completely out of his hands. Since then, he’s found a way to compete in college lacrosse, graduate with honors and get married. Oh and he’s a tri-dork. Don’t hate him for that though.

Michael’s T1D limits his lifestyle, even though he did nothing wrong, well besides ride triathlons (ok, ok, I’m done). Every year, since Mike was diagnosed, my mom has donated her time and money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and this year, I plan to help out as well.

About two years ago, I bought my mom a Surly Crosscheck. She wanted to start riding when she saw how much cycling had improved my health and like a good son, I helped out any way I could. The same goes for my brother. I bought him a Bridgestone RB-1 when he expressed an interest in cycling. He rode it every chance he got and ended up selling it to buy a new bike.

Now myself, along with two of the most important people in my life have made a pledge to raise $2,000 for the 100 mile JDRF ride in Burlington, Vermont in July. I’m sure it’ll be easy enough for my brother and I, but it’s a benchmark for my mom, who’s been training for months. I haven’t ridden in Burlington since highschool and I can’t wait to explore the cycling culture there during the trip.

Originally, I had the amount promised to me by an unnamed company but that has fallen through. So here I am, asking you for help. It doesn’t have to be much, but if you or your company or whoever is willing to donate to JDRF, please do so at the link below.

Donate to John Watson here (where it says Donate to John) and I can’t thank you enough for all your support. I’ll be making a hefty donation as well, later on this month. Seriously, I don’t like asking anything from the readers of this site, but I would appreciate any support!