About Cyclist: "Hi, I'M an organ donor." Tim Connor

I’m a family man that has recently become an empty-nester! I grew up in the Philadelphia area, went to college in Florida, where I met my wife, Julie, during freshman English class. Immediately after college, we moved to Richardson and started our teaching careers and stayed for 6 years. Most recently, we moved from Tyler, TX to accept new roles in the Frisco/McKinney area. I work as a consultant with Mission Advancement, helping Christian schools and other non-profits with fundraising. I have a daughter, Kelsey, who is a student at Abilene Christian University and getting married this summer. My son, Jackson, is a sophomore at Wheaton College and is completing an internship this summer in Washington, DC.

Growing up in a house with 8 kids, I rode a lot. It was my way to get around without relying on anyone else for transportation. I rode everywhere. When I graduated from college, my parents gave me a cross bike, but life got busy and I just transferred it with me during every move, only riding occasionally.

In January 2019, I was living in Tyler and scrolling through FB and saw a friend's post that said he had a friend who needed a kidney and asked if anyone had one. It seemed almost humorous, but in that moment, I heard an audible voice behind me telling me that I should reach out to him. I looked around, but no one was there. I knew this was the voice of God. I thought it was very odd, but tried to forget about it, thinking it very strange that I would give a kidney to a complete stranger. For the next month, I began to hear stories about kidney donation. It was everywhere.

About a month later, I was attending an event with my wife and some co-workers. We were sitting at a table and a video was shared. We were instructed to watch the video and share our reflections on the story. The first scene in the video was in a hospital and a woman's arm was draped over the side of the bed with a hospital band on her wrist. That same voice asked me what was taking so long to donate my kidney. I stopped watching the video and scrolled through FB to find the original post and asked for the friend's contact number.

The next day, I reached out to a complete stranger and told her I thought I had two kidneys and that I would be willing to give her one. After she got over the shock, she gave me the number for UT Southwest here in Dallas. The next day I called and offered my kidney. The first question the nurse asked me was how much I weighed. I hadn't been on the scale in forever, so I told her 250 lbs. and she told me I needed to be 245 lbs. in order to donate. I didn't think that would be a problem if I just started drinking water and eat my vegetables.

Then, Covid hit. Like everyone else, I found myself isolated at home - and around snacks. I started gaining weight. Finally, UT Southwest sent me a rejection letter. I didn't meet the criteria to donate my kidney. I felt horrible. I knew God had clearly told me to donate my kidney, but I had not taken care of my body enough to follow through. The next morning, I woke up and told my wife I was going for a bike ride. I went into the garage, pumped up the tires and rode down a 5 mile stretch of the community trail near my house. I came home exhausted and out of breath. I was drastically out of shape and weighed in at 275 lbs. I knew if I was going to drop the weight, I needed to focus on my health every day. I joined Noom to track my eating habits and reduced my caloric intake. And, I rode my bike every day.

I began losing weight quickly. When I reached 245 lbs, I reached out to UT Southwestern and initiated the bloodwork to confirm I was a match. In a few days, they confirmed what I already knew. I was a match for a complete stranger. Since they told me I was a match, I was able to call the recipient and tell her. She was on her way home from work and she had to pull over. In the course of the conversation, I realized she was pulled over just by my house, so I told her I would come to meet her. I remember standing in front of one of my neighbor's house and getting the biggest hug. We shared stories and I told her that I lived just around the corner. In that moment, we realized that we lived only 5 houses apart!

I continued my weight loss and cycling journey. In Janaury 2021, I donated my kidney to my neighbor. I had completed 200 days in a row of cycling and lost 75 pounds. I recovered quickly and was back on the bike within four weeks and haven't looked back. In so many ways, cycling gave me my life back as I found a healthier me!

As we moved to Frisco, I immediately found the cycling community with FCC and STCC clubs. I love meeting new people and riding bikes, so you’ll find me on most A-rides when I’m not traveling. When I do travel, I typically rent a bike and get out on a ride to check out the local community.

At the beginning of each year, I set a goal for destination rides throughout the year. During 2021, I completed the Double Tough in Tulsa and the Copper Triangle in Colorado. This year, completed my first official race at the Annual Jesuit Ranger Road Race! I enjoyed being a part of the FCC Racing team for the event and getting my first race under my belt. Since moving from Tyler, I always wanted to ride my bike back, which I just did last weekend with a friend. I have my sights set on RAGBRAI (with my mom!), the Hotter than Hell 100, and the Triple Bypass in Colorado this year. Ideally, I’ll complete a 200-miler this year as well.

When I first started riding, I was on an aluminum frame Redline cross bike. As I started losing weight and getting faster, a friend of mine stopped by my office and gave me my current bike to use – the Trek Madone 6 series. I love it! It’s the lightest bike I’ve ever owned, but I don’t know much about the components.

I love solving problems with my hands. I enjoy remodeling projects and working on my cars. When I’m not doing that I’m trying to convince my wife to travel the world on a moment’s notice all on points or last minute internet deals…

Video Interview with Tim connor

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