Hello Friends,
I am riding in this year's New England Classic Charity Bike Tour 150, an amazing event that takes place every summer to raise money for the American Diabetes Association and Camp Carefree.
As many of you may know, my wife Jackie has dealt with Type 1 diabetes since childhood. Jackie and I met early on in our freshmen year of college, and over the past 10+ years I've seen first-hand how challenging living with t1d can be, and how incredibly tough, strong, and unbreakable Jackie has had to be to endure this terrible disease.
In ~2005/2006, Jackie's father, Jay, started riding in the Tour De Cure / NEC, eventually captaining the team "Jackie's Jokers" (a reference to a photo of Jackie as a kid wearing a joker hat which she is still embarrassed about, but we all find it amusing). Jackie's Jokers had 15+ riders at it's peak, custom jerseys, and even a car magnet featuring the infamous joker hat photo - Jay rode in the NEC every year until COVID halted the 2020 year's in-person ride.
I've made it my mission to continue this tradition and ride in the NEC to help spread awareness and raise money for a cure.
Please consider donating to this great cause, which will go to support the so many lives of those impacted by diabetes and help researchers find a cure once and for all. With your valued support, I know we'll be able to crush our fundraising goal and make a greatly positive impact to countless individuals and families affected by this disease.
Thank you,
Matt
New England Classic Charity Bike Tour 150/550 - 2025
The New England Classic Charity Bike Tour is a multi-day fundraising cycling event that offers two-day and seven-day options starting Saturday, July 12, 2025 in Billerica, Mass. at Courtyard Marriott. The 150-mile NEC 150 and 550-mile NEC 550 travel the same route for the first two days. Indoor, air-conditioned accommodations and breakfast and dinner are included with the fundraising minimum of $600 for the NEC 150 and $3,000 for the NEC 550.
The 2025 New England Classic Charity Bike Tour will benefit the American Diabetes Association. Through research, education and advocacy, the ADA pursues its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. More than 30 million Americans live with diabetes.
NEC 150 riders travel the back roads of the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts into southern New Hampshire and along the seacoast with a destination of Durham, N.H. The Day 2 route takes riders to coastal Maine past beaches, rocky coves and quaint villages. Day 2 ends with dinner and a celebration, then riders take chartered buses back to Bedford while their bicycles are transported there safely.
As Day Three begins, the NEC 550 riders will leave coastal Maine, heading west into the White Mountains region, where the challenge rolls north through Conway and on to the Attitash Grand Summit Resort in Bartlett, New Hampshire.
The journey continues on Day Four with a climb up Crawford Notch on the way to Bethlehem and Littleton, N.H., before turning South at the Connecticut River and riding through the Upper Valley. After a night in West Lebanon, NH, riders cross the river into Vermont and pedal on scenic Route 100 to the Killington area and the welcome comfort of a ski resort.
The trek continues through Vermont and then back into the Monadnock region of New Hampshire with an overnight in Keene, N.H. The final leg heads to Central Massachusetts, winding its way to the finish at the Courtyard by Marriott in Billerica, Massachusetts, on Friday, July 18.
The New England Classic Charity Bike Tour (NEC Bike Tour) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. The purpose of the NEC Bike Tour is to raise funds exclusively for charitable purposes in support of the American Diabetes Association and their summer camp for kids with diabetes, Camp Carefree.