APPLETON &mdash Keith Hartjes of Kaukauna lost a leg to diabetes, nearly lost his vision and has endured more surgeries than he can count.
“It’s a war,” he said of the disease that has ravaged his body since age 5. As he watched a roomful of 40 people pedaling like mad on stationary bikes in a diabetes charity event, he was clearly moved. “I wish they had this 30 years ago,” he said. “This is overwhelming. Thirty years ago, I didn’t feel people cared.” Saturday’s three-hour event was the Tour de Cure Spin-a-Thon at Gold’s Gym on Northland Avenue. All of the roughly $3,000 proceeds from the morning’s class fees, donations, pledges and silent auction will go to the American Diabetes Association in Wisconsin. The spinning event was an adjunct to a larger outdoor Tour de Cure national bike ride. The local 15K-to-100K ride next weekend starts in Oneida. Two Spin-a-Thon participants went a step further this weekend and attempted to ride for 24 hours. The feat turned out to be more than even their well-conditioned bodies could endure, though both Appleton men passed the 150-mile mark.
Adam Luker, personal training manager at the gym, biked for 18 hours and figures he lost 6 pounds. “A lot of people can’t do stuff like this. We can,” he said. “I want to be as healthy as I can for as long as possible.” He wrapped up his ride with the aid of a Speed Stack energy drink and pounding music played over the club’s sound system. “I feel sore and tired and good,” he said.