Rotarian embarks on ‘Epic’ journey to raise awareness about diabetes

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

By the time Edwin Velarde rode his bike into the parking lot of Hummingbird Lounge in New Buffalo, he’d already covered around 70 miles on his journey from the Windy City to Cereal City.

Not just any journey, though – an “epic” one.

Following a diagnosis of diabetes, Velarde, a Rotarian, created the EPIC Journey Against Diabetes, during which he raises awareness of diabetes in hopes of elevating diabetes as Rotary’s next major health initiative.

So far, his epic journeys have taken him not only across the country but the world. Last year, he biked from Chicago to Houston.

Before that, he biked from London to Hamburg, Germany. Other journeys have included Chicago to Toronto and Busan to Seoul, South Korea.

This year, Velarde, who’s a member of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village in Ventura County, California, decided to ride from Evanston, Illinois – the site of Rotary International Headquarters - to Battle Creek, ending up at the conference for Rotary District 6360 (which is comprised of 13 counties in southwest Michigan) at FireKeepers Hotel.

Velarde, who’s also the chair for the Rotary Action Group for Diabetes and board member for Fellowship of Cycling, said his destination is usually the location of a Rotary district’s conference.

Joining him was Tom Drennan, a member of Rotary St. Louis – Club 11 and board member of Action Group for Diabetes, who had rode with him previously from Niagra Falls to Toronto for another conference because of his own personal experience with Type 2 Diabetes and Velarde’s wife, Cristina, who ensures he’s being healthy.

Along the way, he engages with fellow Rotarians.

“We have fellowship with Rotarians in the communities that we pass through but the biggest goal we have is to raise awareness of diabetes and how more than half a billion people have diabetes,” he said.

In 2021, studies revealed that 6.7 million people have passed away worldwide from diabetes. In addition, 40% of people who passed from Covid-19 were inflicted with it.

That night, Velarde spoke to Rotarians at a dinner at Hummingbird Lounge. Along his winding journey to each convention, he speaks at symposiums of his own, similar journey with Type 1 diabetes.

It’s a journey that began in 2012, when a competitive “good golf buddy” gave him a bike.

“I said, ‘Hey, why not, I’ll take it, I have room in my garage - but he was actually challenging me to take it

(bicycling) up,” said.

Velarde started cycling –which opened his eyes to his deep-rooted health issues.

The turning point came when he was cycling one day and, unable to finish his ride, called Cristina to give him a ride home – only to be told that she was “doing errands” and he’d have to walk his bike home.

“That long walk kind of woke me up that I have to turn my life around a little bit because I wasn’t that old, I should be able to ride a bike around town, right?” he said.

He began experiencing “extreme hypoglycemia.”

Doctors and friends give him the same advice: back off cycling.

“I wasn’t going to have that - I’m trying to get myself healthy during the day and then dying at night,” he said, adding that he was getting low blood sugar.

He started researching about diabetes’ physiology as well as about different diets – the keto and carnivore diets, vegetarianism and pescetarianism. After he allowed himself to “move things around,” he found a plan that he deemed was a “nice fit” for him. Soon, he’d reduced his insulin by 85%. Through his research, he learned just how many lives have been taken worldwide by diabetes.

“I realized being a Rotarian, we’ve got to do somethingbut I can’t do this by myself, I need the help of Rotarians,” he said.

While he can’t take back the years that diabetes has taken from him, he can tell his story to others and encourage them to take back their lives with healthy habits.

“You got the health care, you got the pharmaceutical, you got the exercise community, the food industry and I think we need the humanitarian component… This epic journey is about awakening the hearts and minds of Rotarians,” he said.

To learn more about Velarde’s efforts to raise awareness for diabetes, visit www.epic-journey.org and www.rag-diabetes.org.