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At Sixty-Four He Rode Across America While Managing Type One Diabetes
Guest Contributor
At 64 years old, with Type 1 diabetes and 35 years of cycling behind him, Connecticut attorney Andy Kramer decided to ride his bike across the entire United States. Over seven weeks and 3,829 miles, from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine, he set out not only to test his own limits but also to challenge public misconceptions about what living with Type 1 diabetes can look like. His cross country bike ride with diabetes became a powerful testament to resilience, preparation, and purpose.
Kramer was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes six years ago. He describes it as a “24/7 condition” that requires constant vigilance, careful planning, and the acceptance that energy can suddenly fail. Many people, he noted, feel tentative about exertion and major physical challenges after a diagnosis. Instead of stepping back, however, he chose to step forward. He embraced his condition as part of his life rather than its defining feature, determined to show that, with careful management, big goals are still possible.
Over 47 days, he spent 254 and a half hours “in the saddle.” He navigated shifting weather, changing terrain, and the unpredictable ways his own body might respond to long hours on the bike. Although he was already an experienced cyclist who had ridden throughout the East Coast and in Europe, including Spain, the French Alps, and the Italian Alps, this journey quickly eclipsed anything he had tackled before. In fact, all of his prior multiday excursions were effectively surpassed within the first week of this ride.
What made this effort stand out was not only the physical distance but the intention behind it. Kramer partnered with Diversity in Diabetes, a nonprofit focused on improving access to diabetes care, using his ride as a fundraising and awareness campaign. By the time his wheels reached the Atlantic in Maine, he had raised more than $56,000 to support the organization’s programs and people living with diabetes. He spoke about the satisfaction of knowing that the funds would tangibly improve lives, describing it as far more rewarding than completing the journey for its own sake.
That sense of community and shared purpose became crucial fuel. There were moments, he acknowledged, when the difficulty of the ride might have convinced him to quit if it had been purely a personal adventure. Instead, he knew there were people following his updates and rooting for him along the way. That mutual support helped him push past fatigue and doubt. I found this detail striking because it illustrates how a personal challenge can become easier to carry when it is tied to something larger than oneself.
The inspiration for the trip grew out of an unexpected source. Two years earlier, after seeing a Broadway play with friends, Kramer sat at dinner reflecting on the production’s message about not letting life pass you by. One friend, Rob Morrison of New York, mentioned that a cross country bike tour sat on his bucket list. Without much hesitation, Kramer replied that he would join him. It was not an ambition he had nurtured for years. It began as a promise made over a glass of wine, yet it soon became a serious commitment.
On the ride home that night, Kramer searched for cycling trips and found one that ran from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. Within three days, he and Morrison were signed up with Trek Travel, a company that handled logistics like the route, itinerary, and mechanical support. Their planning allowed the riders to focus on the physical and mental demands of each day rather than the detailed arrangements behind the scenes.
In the two years leading up to the departure, Kramer trained intensely. He cycled six days a week and built his routine around caution and preparation. Managing his energy levels and blood glucose on such a demanding trip was his greatest concern. He brought a glucagon pen in case of severe low blood sugar and relied on a continuous glucose monitor on his arm to track levels in real time. His daily life already included cycling 1 and a half to 2 hours most mornings when the weather allowed, and he noted that regular riding has been helpful in managing his diabetes overall.
On August 18, Kramer, Morrison, and another friend, John Carroll of New Canaan, flew to Portland, Oregon. The ride began the next day. By the time they rolled into Portland, Maine on October 5, they had covered 3,829 miles and climbed 154,992 feet of elevation. Along the way, they faced both spectacular highlights and harsh challenges that tested Kramer's commitment to his goal of showing that Type 1 diabetes does not have to halt ambitious plans.
Some days were simply grueling. He recalled one especially brutal segment, a 125 mile ride from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in cold, driving rain with temperatures around 50 degrees. It took him 11 hours to complete the day. He was soaked, chilled, and exhausted, yet never considered stopping short. Knowing that nothing would keep him from finishing that stage left him with a deep sense of satisfaction. As hard as it was in the moment, he ended the day feeling great about what he had pushed through.
Other moments were bright and unforgettable for more pleasant reasons. Kramer pointed to riding through the Badlands in North Dakota as a striking experience, as well as the stretch through Vermont, where electric fall colors lit up the landscape. These scenes of natural beauty became part of the reward for the hours spent pedaling across long miles of open country.
The journey was not without setbacks. During the third week, after a fall in South Dakota, he developed an infection. His arms, legs, and face swelled badly enough that he needed hospital care. He was treated with antibiotics at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center. Instead of ending his adventure, that episode became part of what made his eventual completion even more meaningful. He later reflected that getting through the ride in spite of obstacles only made it more rewarding.
By the time his tires reached the beach in Maine, Kramer had learned something essential about himself. He discovered how deeply he could dig when he needed to and how much could be accomplished through resilience and a singular focus. Standing on that beach, he felt far more emotional than he expected. The realization that he had actually completed the cross country ride, with everything that had happened along the way, brought a powerful sense of joy and fulfillment.
He described leaving the journey feeling full, joyful, and satisfied, grateful that he had been able to carry it through while living with Type 1 diabetes. To his surprise, a representative from Diversity in Diabetes was waiting at the beach with a banner and a bottle of champagne. It was a celebratory moment that also honored the community his ride had helped support. Kramer emphasized that he did not undertake this effort to impress anyone. He did it for himself, to live life on his own terms and to demonstrate, by example, that a serious diagnosis does not have to be the end of big dreams. For anyone wondering if it is possible to pursue demanding goals with a chronic condition, his story offers a clear answer.