Frank Warren (The Web Warren)
Since the first time Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge were featured on dLife TV, I've been a fan of Team Type 1. There are a whole bunch of reasons for this, ranging from a small university living group whose members included amateur cyclists serious enough to design and build their own frames, to The Other Half's supermagnetic attraction to the TV during the Tour de France, the use of common interests to help other people improve their health and quality of life, and the intrepidness and hard work needed to take the dream of a message-oriented pro cycling team and make it reality. So when the team's public calendar said they would be racing at the annual Tour of Somerville, a mere four towns away from me, on 25 May, the event got plastered into the datebook and entered into the calendars of my diabetes social networks.
The Lantus Tour of Somerville races are in the "criterium" format, which means that the cyclists race around a relatively short circuit (this one was between 1.25 and 1.35 miles long) for a set number of laps. This had the advantage of allowing me to find a set point from which to cheer the riders and photograph the races. Given that I was traveling with a folding spectator chair, sunscreen, water, and snacks, being able to set up a "base camp" and work from there is a Good Thing.
We arrived around 10:30, shortly before the first race was scheduled to start. I spotted a Team Type 1 tent on our way in, so that's where we headed first. I introduced myself and was told I probably wanted to speak with Sean (Weide, the team's PR manager), who could be found at the team's main tent, on the green in front of the old courthouse. This was a large generic event-tent where representatives from sponsor Sanofi-Aventis were handing out literature and cold water, and directing the public through the autograph/receiving line. Shortly after arriving, I got a chance to speak with, and pose for photos with, Monique Hanley, Kori Seehafer, and Morgan Patton of the women's professional team. Then I met Sean and exchanged cards, and I was introduced to team founder Phil Southerland, spoke with him a bit, and got my photo taken with him.
Later in the day, I had a chance to talk with Matt Brooks and Timothy Hargrave of the elite squad. Timothy had been demonstrating his Omnipod to another fan, and when Matt took out his Omnipod PDM, we got to talking about the new-version (color) controller Amy Tenderich reviewed on Diabetes Mine, the general-run-for-controllers when anyone hears a pump or CGM beep tone, off-label uses of the Freestyle Flash/Freestyle Lite port light, and Abbott's Freestyle Promise Program. Matt showed me the blue "easy grip" silicone cover on his Lite -- every diabetic on the team has a different color, making it easier to tell which meter belongs to whom.
The Lantus Tour of Somerville was the last day of a weekend's full of races. While there were victories earlier in the weekend, Team Type 1 had only one podium placement on Sunday: professional Aldo Ino Ilesic placed third in the last race of the day, the 50-mile Kugler-Anderson Memorial Tour of Somerville. The awards for that race were presented around 4:30PM. By that time, many of the spectators had left for the day, so it was not too difficult to see something of the presentations.
After six hours in the sun, we were tired and sunburnt, and with the various teams' and vendors' displays already taken down, we made our way back to the car, home, and over 500 frames of photos to sort through. Thank you Somerville, Sanofi-Aventis, and Team Type 1 for a wonderful day of racing.
Update: Some of my photos have been featured on the Team Type 1 blog; the rest can be accessed through my Webshots page (the first album contains all the shots with Team Type 1 members; the second album contains all the other shots).
