Lone Star Rider, Riding for a Cure!

Rex Covington in Lamar

Rex Covington from Texas has logged in a log of miles from his motorcycle over the past two years, riding and raising donations for diabetes research. He stopped at the office of The Prowers Journal this past Tuesday, September 3^rd, to provide an update on his mission, to raise a total of $90,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

He has motivation, having lost his 37 year old son, Chris, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and died from a motor vehicle accident after blacking out while suffering a low blood sugar incident.

Covington, a former paramedic who was based in Arlington, Texas, said he realized there was nothing he could have done to prevent the accident, but last year dreamt that he was taking a motorcycle tour of the country to raise funds for the research and eventually, the dream became a reality.

He logged 20,000 miles in 2018 and plans to do the same this year and he’s asking for donations of $0.01 per mile on his journey, basically $200 from every pledge for the miles he’s ridden. It’s taken a toll on his motorcycle, not really designed to pull a small camper on wheels.  “I’ve replaced a few clutches and brakes on the bike since I started.  I do the brakes myself, but I leave the clutches to a mechanic.”  He said his 5’ 9” frame fits comfortably in his six foot camper, and helps cut back on expenses.

“I’m on my way to Parker, CO for a bike walk/run there and from that point I’ll journey down to Houston and perhaps over to Louisiana.” He said he crisscrosses the country looking for gathering points where he can reach the most people in a couple of stops.

If you want to help sponsor his research efforts, go to rexjc@mac.com or RidingForACure.com and you can follow along on his journey.

By Russ Baldwin