MichCanSka 2010: Snowmobiling for a Cure: The upper peninsula of Michigan is known for cold winters and lake effect snow. It can be beautiful country in winter with a thick blanket of snow providing a picture perfect backdrop for snowmobiling. This sport may also hold promise for diabetics.
UPSnowmobiling.com suggests, “Snowmobiling the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the greatest and most exciting sport there is in the Great Lakes Region!”
Groomed trails allow many snowmobilers to engage the great outdoors while enjoying a well traveled sections of the U.P.
Sault Ste. Marie is a city which claims to be, “The place where Michigan was born” with plenty of attractions along the St Marys River. Sault Ste. Marie is also the starting point for a unique fundraising effort on behalf of diabetes research.
SOOEveningNews.com reports, “Starting on February 15, 2010 some 72 snowmobile riders from across the country will be coming together in Sault Ste. Marie and beginning their quest to help support the discovery of a cure to diabetes. Covering over 4,000 miles, MichCanSka 2010 participants will end their journey 20 days later in Tok, Alaska.”
MichCanSka 2010 is the brainchild of Michigan resident Bill Bradfield who first considered the idea in 2006. Bradfield’s idea was to encourage avid snowmobile enthusiasts to make an unusual and very cold trek from the lower 48 states to Alaska by way of Canada.
Bradfield understands that there will be many who consider the trek personally fulfilling, but was compelled to emphasize the beneficiaries of the money raised from this project. Bradfield told SOOEveningNews.com, “The Diabetes Research Institute is a world-recognized research facility located on the campus of the University of Miami and on the campus of the University of Alberta-Edmonton, where great strides have been made by the medical staff and researchers to defeat this deadly disease.”
While you might think this trek would be something for the young reports suggest the average ago of 2010 participants is 60 with two participants in excess of 80 years of age. The group plans to travel 200 miles a day to complete their adventure. Less than 10 plan to ride only a portion of the way.
Reports suggest several individuals have already signified an interest in participating in 2011.
The published itinerary includes, “Marquette, Mi., Ironwood, Mi., Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, Trans Canada Trail, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon territory, Dawson city, and TOK Alaska.”
According to its website the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), “ Is a recognized world leader in cure-focused research. Since its inception in the early 1970s, the DRI has made significant contributions to the field of diabetes research, pioneering many of the techniques used in islet transplantation. From innovations in islet isolation and transplant procedures to advances in cell biology and immunology, the DRI is now harnessing the power of emerging technologies to develop new cell-based therapies to restore insulin production.”
The Emphasis of DRI research includes…
- Constructing tissue-engineered barriers and bio-devices
- Generating new, small molecules to eliminate the need for immune suppressing drugs
- Developing sophisticated techniques to assess islet viability and predict long-term function
- Transforming select cells of the body into insulin-producing cells
- Exploring methods to regenerate islets within the native pancreas
MichCanSka 2010 is now described as an, “International snowmobiling charity ride.”
Did you know: Diabetes kills more people than AIDS and breast cancer combined.
