The 2013 Houston Tour de Cure had music and a good crowd, but no bike ride for the participants.
"It just hit a point last night where it just didn't look like it was going to be safe to have 2,200 riders out on the road," said Scott Ahrendt, co-chair of the Dignity Memorial Tour de Cure.
Those 2,000-plus riders on more than 100 teams turned out anyway to support the American Diabetes Association and its fundraising effort to research, treat and educate people about the disease. In lieu of the ride, a family fun fest was held at AutoNation Nissan in Katy.
"The great surprise is that all these people have shown up, and they've been doing mock rides to the finish lines, getting their picture taken," Ahrendt said. "It's been great."
"Maybe one day we could find a cure, and that would be great for everybody," participant Emma Wright said.
Riders like Wright helped the organization raise almost $1 million this year in the fight against diabetes. The ride will be rescheduled, but that's not the most important part, according to Wright.
"I was looking forward to it, but really we can't change the weather," she said. "But every time we ride our bikes, we are doing Tour de Cure."
Find Elissa on Facebook at ABC13ElissaRivas or on Twitter at @elissa_rivas13
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices