Mary Nicholson, dietitian, Long Beach, CA

I am a renal dietitian and have worked on and off with hemodialysis patients for 30 years. I have wanted to do a bike tour for 20 years, but the time was never right with family and kids. My son is now 31 and had his first child in May. I called him in May and told him that DaVita was holding a 230 mile bike ride in September and I was thinking about signing up for it as my fifty-fifth birthday present to myself. I asked him if he thought I could do it. Keep in mind that I’ve ridden my bike for thirty years as my main form of exercise. However, my rides were normally only 8 to 10 miles in length a few days a week. He assured me that he knew I had the drive to do the ride. He asked me if he could do the ride with me. We use to do mini-triathlons together when he was a teenager.

This is an example of how great DaVita is, because they gave me permission to get my son involved as my significant other. He’s been married for eight years and it was a great opportunity for me to reconnect with him while I was giving back to all my patients I have served over the years. I wanted to do something to help prevent people from needing dialysis, by getting an early diagnosis and through education about identifying early symptoms and knowing they are a person of high risk due to hypertension or diabetes.

In my efforts to educate the public, I made a personal commitment to pass out 1,200 flyers about the Kidney TRUST, and another 300 flyers about DaVita’s Kidney Education and You (KEY) program. I went to businesses, bike shops, police departments, even my optometrist. I went door to door passing out flyers and telling people about Tour DaVita and the Kidney TRUST. It was an honor to do this, but I didn’t realize the commitment I had made. I have literally eaten, slept, and breathed the DaVita mission for three months.

In addition to working full time, doing a public education effort, and fundraising, I actually found time to train properly for the ride. As a result, I think this first day of the ride has been much easier for me than most. I trained all three months and 1,500 miles. This first day of the ride was exciting. I took my time and really enjoyed the experience. I was one of the last riders in because I got lost and rode an extra 5 miles today. I had to backtrack and find out where I made my wrong turn. I didn’t get to build bikes with my other teammates, but at least I arrived at the end of the ride in time to see all the kids get new bikes and to hear how DaVita was giving to the school, which was providing us a location to rest our heads on our first night.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s ride! Thanks everyone. I will update you tomorrow.