From diagnosis to the Swiss Alps: the story behind Ride Above T1D

Click here to get involved in the Ride Above T1D Community and program.

When Felicity Palumbo first knew something was wrong with her son Ollie, it wasn’t the textbook signs of type 1 diabetes that stood out.

It was his behaviour.

Ollie was five years old, tired, unsettled and suddenly deeply anxious. Felicity remembers him becoming paranoid in a way that was completely out of character. He had recently started year one, so some things could have been explained away as tiredness or adjustment. But this felt different.

With a background in nursing, Felicity trusted her gut. She took Ollie to the GP and asked for tests.

“Honestly, I was expecting it to be neurological. So when it came back probably diabetes, it was almost a relief,” she says. “Because within a day or two of having insulin and eating, all of that paranoia disappeared.”

That was two years ago. Ollie is now nearly eight, and type 1 diabetes has become part of the Palumbo-Carney family’s everyday life. It has also become part of their family adventures, from the ordinary logistics of a day out to extraordinary rides through the Swiss Alps.

The Palumbo-Carneys are a cycling family through and through. Felicity and her husband John own Wembley Cycles, and cycling has long been part of how they spend time together as a family. Before type 1 diabetes entered their lives, Felicity and John had already introduced their children to bike touring, big landscapes, and the kind of outdoor challenges that ask a lot from little legs.

The family had a major cycling trip planned through the Swiss Alps just five or six weeks after Ollie’s diagnosis. Understandably, Felicity thought they might have to cancel.

While the family were at Perth Children’s Hospital, someone on the team heard about the ride. Felicity expected to be told that it was too much, too soon. Instead, she remembers being told: “We will support you 100% of the way.”

That support gave them the confidence to go.

And then came the reality of doing a huge mountain ride with a newly diagnosed child.

Felicity describes that first diabetes-affected trip as a “baptism of fire”. Technology failed. Glucose levels behaved in ways they had never seen before. The family were still on multiple daily injections, learning how Ollie’s body responded to long days of riding, big climbs, travel, stress, food and exhaustion.

“We didn’t know much,” Felicity says. “We just had to learn on the go.”

It’s a feeling many newly diagnosed families will recognise. Type 1 diabetes does not wait politely while you read the manual. Families learn because they have to. They learn at school drop-off, at birthday parties, on sports fields, in the middle of the night, and sometimes... halfway up a mountain!

For Ollie, exercise has always had a huge impact on his diabetes management. Felicity says that, for him, physical activity can affect his glucose levels even more than food. On long rides, the days are fuelled with regular breaks, snacks, lollies, croissants and constant adjustment - even while on minimal basal insulin. The nights can be harder, with delayed lows that keep Felicity and John tag-teaming glucose while everyone is supposed to be resting.

The hardest moment of that first trip was not a number on a screen, though. It was the day Ollie decided he was done.

Only weeks after diagnosis, after taking needles and finger pricks in his stride, an Optisulin injection stung. Ollie refused to let anyone come near him. Felicity remembers him saying he was “not doing diabetes anymore.”

They were in the mountains, far from the familiar safety net of home. They could not simply pause diabetes and come back to it later.

“That was probably the hardest day ever that we’ve had,” Felicity says.

Eventually, Ollie let them continue with his injections. There may have been what Felicity describes as “unbelievable amounts of bribery” involved. A BMX bike eventually entered the story.

But what stayed with Felicity was not the bribe. It was the resilience.

She had originally wanted these family rides to help her children learn how to do hard things. How to look at a mountain, keep going, and realise they could make it to the top.

Now, she sees that type 1 diabetes has already asked that of Ollie.

“I look at him now and I’m like, you’re the most resilient child I could ever imagine,” she says.

That idea sits at the heart of Ride Above T1D, a new Western Australian community initiative created by Felicity Palumbo and John Carney to support young cyclists living with type 1 diabetes.

Ride Above T1D is looking for young people with type 1 diabetes, aged 6 to 23, who are interested in cycling. That might mean road cycling, mountain biking, BMX, track cycling, racing, weekend riding or simply mucking around on a bike with friends. It is open to all levels, from recreational riders to competitive athletes.

The goal is not to create a squad of elite athletes. It is to create a place where young people with type 1 diabetes can find other kids who love the same thing they do.

Felicity says Ollie has wanted to help other children with diabetes since his diagnosis. He has also loved seeing professional cyclists with type 1 diabetes, including riders from Team Novo Nordisk, competing at a high level.

For Ollie, seeing athletes who are “like him” matters.

Felicity remembers Ollie speaking with professional cyclist Theo Grant, who told him about having to treat hypos during a big bike race. Ollie listened closely, asking what Theo did. It gave him something that no pamphlet could quite provide: proof that someone else understood.

“It gave Ollie a sense that he wasn’t alone in this,” Felicity says.

That is what Ride Above T1D hopes to give other young people too.

The program is being built around a few key ideas: practical support, education, connection and inspiration. Felicity hopes to offer athlete support packages where possible, drawing on their cycling industry networks to help with things like events, parts, servicing, equipment or other riding-related costs. The initiative also aims to offer education sessions around managing type 1 diabetes during endurance activity, with input from appropriate diabetes and health professionals.

Just as importantly, it aims to bring families together.

Parents might swap tips about snacks, technology, hypos, overnight lows, or what to do when your child is riding out of sight and the CGM signal disappears into the bush. Kids might talk about BMX tricks, how fast they went down a hill, what bike they ride, or what happened at their last event.

That is part of the magic.

Type 1 diabetes is the thing they have in common, but it does not have to be the only thing.

“They’re all kids who love cycling and just happen to have T1D,” Felicity says.

Ride Above T1D is starting small and will grow based on what families need. Already, Felicity says one of the strongest themes coming through is that young riders and their families want more practical information about managing glucose levels during events, especially endurance activity.

And that makes sense. Sport with type 1 diabetes can feel like trying to solve a puzzle while the puzzle is pedalling away from you. What worked last week might not work today. Food, insulin, excitement, effort, heat, hills, nerves and recovery can all change the equation.

Ride Above T1D is not promising one perfect answer. It is offering something more realistic and, perhaps, more useful: a community where families can learn from each other, hear from people with lived experience, access practical education, and see young people with type 1 diabetes getting out there.

This year, Ollie will again be riding in the Alps. The family expects to cover around 500 kilometres over 16 days, climbing roughly 10,000 to 12,000 metres of vertical elevation. Felicity laughs that rest days are sometimes not very restful, because when there are mountain bike trails nearby, Ollie still wants to ride!

This trip will also help raise money for Ride Above T1D, with people able to sponsor Ollie "per metre of elevation". Funds raised will go toward the initiative’s work, including education sessions, athlete support and building the community.

For most families, the goal will not be riding across the Swiss Alps. It might be joining a local ride. Trying BMX. Entering an event. Feeling less afraid of exercise. Meeting another child with type 1 diabetes who also has a sensor on their arm and snacks in their pocket.

That is the invitation behind Ride Above T1D.

Not to ignore diabetes. Not to pretend sport is simple. But to help young people and families feel supported enough to keep moving anyway.

As the Ride Above T1D flyer puts it: “We see you. We understand. And we’re here to help you Ride Above T1D.”

How to get involved

Ride Above T1D is currently seeking young cyclists with type 1 diabetes who would like to be part of the initiative.

If you know a young person with type 1 diabetes who loves cycling, is curious about cycling, or might benefit from meeting other young riders who understand life with T1D, Felicity would love to hear from you.

Register your interest by filling in this form.

More information is also available at:https://rideabovet1d.org/