FOLSOM, Calif. — A Folsom man plans to ride his age in miles on a unicycle to raise money and awareness for Type 1 diabetes in support of his 4-year-old grandson who has the disease.
Doug Lee, 60, plans to ride 60 miles on a unicycle once it cools down in early or mid-September to raise money for Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit researching Type 1 diabetes.
His grandson, Maddox Moore, was born in 2020. When Moore was 16 months old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Lee said. Moore’s mother noticed he was leaking through diapers, losing weight and drinking a lot of water, according to ABC News. He was later diagnosed.
“None of us knew much about it at all. There was no history of it in our family. It just caught us off guard,” Lee said. “Originally, it was a lot of finger pokes to check his blood sugar and multiple daily injections of insulin, like seven to 10 shots a day.”
Now, Moore has an insulin pump and rarely has to poke his finger. Lee said he hopes technology and medical advancements will progress so far treatment for his grandson will get even easier in the future.
“I go by ‘Papa’ to Maddox,” Lee told ABC10 as he stood up during a Zoom interview Monday to show off his outfit. “In fact, my shirt that I'm wearing today says, ‘Proud papa of a T1D warrior.’”
Lee said he spent 37 years in law enforcement, but watching his grandson two days a week during retirement is “the best job I’ve ever had.”
People can donate to Lee's Type 1 diabetes research fundraiser HERE.
One man’s one-wheeled quest
Lee said he learned how to ride a unicycle around age 12, and a 60-mile ride takes training.
He said Monday his longest ride so far was 30 miles. However, from 6-9 a.m. Tuesday morning he rode 31 miles. He said it was too hot outside when he finished. The day's high in Sacramento is forecasted at 106 degrees.
“(I’m) trying to get in as many rides as I can each week,” Lee said. “The biggest thing for me is cardio-wise: I'm OK, my leg strength: I'm OK, but it's a long time to sit in a saddle on a unicycle.”
Lee owns three unicycles:
- One he had as a teenager that is roughly 45 years old.
- An upgraded one he bought about eight years ago.
- A large-wheeled unicycle meant for long-distance riding that he bought three years ago.
Lee said Breakthrough T1D has an option to fundraise “your way,” which made the unicycling event possible. The nonprofit has hosted bike-ride fundraisers in the past, but on a unicycle Lee is slower than a bicyclist, he said.
Inspiration also came from a friend six months Lee’s senior who attempts to ride his age every year on a unicycle, he said.
When asked if he knew how to juggle in addition to unicycling, Lee said no.
“I cannot,” he said. “In fact, I have a shirt that says, ‘I’m not a clown. I’m an athlete.’”
