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About the Journey...

We are travelling from Whitehaven to Sunderland exclusively by bicycle along what is known as the sea to sea (c2c).  The journey will take approximately 4 days to complete the 140 mile trip.  Tradition dictates that you start the ride by dipping your back wheel in the Irish Sea and only ends when your front wheel gets a dip in the North Sea at the finish.

The route is made up of approximately....

Main Roads - mainly short sections thru urban areas - 4%
Minor Roads - quiet, country roads - 50%
Cyclepaths/Off Road - disused railway lines etc - 46%

Please sponsor us!

Help make a difference to the lives of 2.1 million people living with diabetes. 

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Diabetes UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Diabetes...what is it?

Diabetes is a hormone disorder that can cause problems with the kidneys, legs and feet, eyes, heart, nerves, and blood flow. If left untreated, these problems can lead to kidney failure, gangrene and amputation, blindness, or stroke. Diabetes is on the increase, probably because people are living longer, getting fatter and leading increasingly inactive lifestyles

There are currently over 2 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are up to another 750,000 people with diabetes who have the condition and don't know about it.

...diabetes types

There are two main types of diabetes. These are:

• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes

type 1

Type 1 diabetes develops if the body is unable to produce any insulin. This type of diabetes usually appears before the age of 40.  Type 1 diabetes is the least common of the two main types and accounts for between 5 – 15% of all people with diabetes.

type 2

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). In most cases this is linked with being overweight. This type of diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, though in South Asian and African-Caribbean people often appears after the age of 25. However, recently, more children are being diagnosed with the condition, some as young as seven. Type 2 diabetes is the most common of the two main types and accounts for between 85 - 95% of all people with diabetes.

...diabetes in children

It is estimated that around 20,000 children have diabetes in England.  We are also now seeing Type 2 diabetes in children in the UK.

Children, young people and their parents need local access to a full range of paediatric and diabetes specialist services that meet their needs. It is vital that from diagnosis through to the transfer to adult services, full support is provided which is sensitive to the needs and circumstances of children and adolescents with diabetes and their families.

• 2 in every 1,000 school children have diabetes
  
• Between 1991 and 1998 under 16s with Type 1 have risen from 16.5 per
  100,000 to 19 per 100,000 and the rate will rise to 30 per 100,000 by 2010
  
• The incidence of Type 1 increases by 3% year-on-year
  
• Half of people diagnosed with Type 1 are under 15 and 90% have been diagnosed by the age of 30
  
• The peak age for diagnosis is 10-14 years, but it is becoming younger with a rise in the under 5s
  
• What is being done?
  
• At least 80 per cent of children with diabetes are not reaching recommended   blood glucose levels, leaving them at risk of developing serious problems such as heart disease, blindness and stroke later in life
  
• Only one in seven paediatric diabetes units are meeting the recommended HBA1c level of below 7.5%
  
• Only 44 per cent of PCTs report that paediatric diabetes services are included within Local Delivery Plans
  
• Only 52 per cent of PCTs had transfer protocols in place from paediatric to adult services

...what needs to be done?

• All children with diabetes to be provided with access to local high quality specialist care.

For more information or a free campaign pack, please email dcn@diabetes.org.uk or call the Volunteer Development team on 020 7424 1000.

...more info at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/253464.stm

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/diabetes.htm