Friday, February 3, 2012

Exercise works

Time to put my money where my mouth is. I have been saying that I use cycling to control my blood sugar. Today I met with my diabetes doctor and I got good news: I have lowered my A1C level by .6 during the past four months of riding.

During that time, I lost exactly one pound as measured by their scale. But my wife will be the first person to tell you that number is a bit deceptive. I've put on muscle mass (mostly in my legs, but I see my arms becoming more defined as well) and lost fat. I look better in the mirror and in clothes. I've gone down a few sizes in my waistline and I now can fit into an XL t-shirt.

Exercise works.

I have to this point concentrated on including cycling into my lifestyle. I've made it stick. If I can't ride one day I'm itching to get out there the next. I'm excited for warmer weather so I can get back up to that 40 to 50 miles a week and probably more. I've done 30 miles this week and I feel great. I'll go out and ride in temperatures that would have left me at home just a few months ago.

Amy and I are going to join  a gym. That's the next part of the lifestyle change. Nutrition is also an area where I need to make changes. While I generally try to keep my carbs down, I certainly don't pay close attention to the foods I'm eating.

 Which is okay.

Too many people make resolutions and hit themselves with major changes that it's impossible to keep up. Old habits are hard to break. The key is to do a little at a time and focus on winning the marathon, not the 40-yard dash.

I have essentially kept off 50 pounds for eight months. That's a victory in itself.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Peaceful

When I'm riding around the parks or parkway in southern Leawood I like to stop at the Ali Kemp Memorial. It's a nice quiet rock garden. The memorial honors a Leawood teen who was brutally murdered at a neighborhood pool nearby.

The late afternoon sun casts long shadows, which makes the rocks look beautiful. On this afternoon it was unseasonably warm, which is usually accompanied by a stiff south wind. Not on this day. The only sound was from a few kids practicing baseball with an overenthusiastic father. The kids didn't seem too interested. I'm sure the father was silently raging against the current culture that values playing soccer over baseball.

Sometimes peace and quiet belies the potential for strife that is never far away. Thankfully not for me on this afternoon.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Me and my carbs

On today's ride I realized I need to get a good handle on how many carbs it takes to maintain my blood sugar during a ride. It's all fine and good to ride to lose weight and lower my blood sugars, but for longer rides I am going to need to sustain acceptable blood sugars.

There are two ways to accomplish this and I need to learn how to use both. The first is through drinks that provide both hydration and enough carbs to replace the sugar I burn through on the ride. My preference for quick carbs is orange juice, but I know a lot of people use colas. These are not practical for obvious reasons. Sports drinks are the obvious answer, but there are hundreds, so finding the right one is key.

The other way to provide fuel is through the use of gels. They are perfect in the sense that they are compact and keep. As a rule, they taste awful.

I will keep you posted. I am finding that as a diabetic you are your own little science experiment.

A low

I always test my blood sugar before riding. This is a key to preventing a low. However, despite one's best efforts things can happen. Today is a good example.

I tested and was 175. I know that my blood sugar will drop about 90 points during a 40-minute ride. Ideally I should be between 200 and 250 when I start a ride. In practice, I am usually around 270, which is partly because I like to ride about an hour after I eat.

Anyway, I knew I should take more carbs on board so I ate a peanut butter sandwich on the way to the bike path. I rode for nearly an hour and low and behold I was 75 at the end of the ride. Testing at the end of a ride is another key.

Generally when I hit 80 I start feeling the low - I break out into a sweat and start shaking. Not this time. I felt nothing, which makes me wonder if exertion can mask the effects of a low. It also makes me wonder if all lows are equal.

In any case, I had a great ride. Few rides are not great. This seems to be our year without winter, which I suppose is reward for suffering through the past two cold winters. There were a lot of walkers out because of the weather, but they were well behaved.

At this time of year at this latitude the sun at 4 p.m. casts long shadows. When it's warm like this it is usually accompanied by a stiff south wind. Not today. It was perfectly still. Just beautiful. 

Multi-Day Rides

Photo: The Des Moines Register.


I am excited to start doing multi-day rides. I like the idea of going a long distance totally under one's own power.  These rides are mostly seven or eight days and go from 400 to 500 miles. Generally you camp or stay in a high school gymnasium in some little town in middle of nowhere. Pancakes for breakfast. Funnel cakes on the route. Pasta for dinner. A carb fest! Bicycling Magazine's March issue has a list of some major rides, but they left one out: Kansas. I've included it.

Bike Florida Annual Spring Tour - Various routes - the 2012 edition is in the panhandle (The Forgotten Coast). Last week of March.

Biking Across Kansas - Nearly 500 miles from Colorado to Missouri. I hope to do it several times. Only 800 riders. Second week in June.

Ride the Rockies - Sounds brutal, 50 - 90 miles a day at altitude in Colorado - Second week of June.

GRABAAWR - A ride along the Wisconsin river averaging about 70 miles a day. Third week in June.

Tour de Kota - A tour of South Dakota nearly 500 miles long. I want to do this one. Third week in June.

Bike Virginia - 50 - 100 miles a day. Last week of June.

Michigander- 30-57 miles a day. 2-, 6- and 7- day options. Middle of July.

The Bon Ton Roulet - No, not in Louisiana but in the beautiful part of New York. The 2012 version goes through Watkins Glen. This one is on my list. - 45-75 miles a day. Third week in July.

RAGBRAI - Probably the premier event in the nation and draws 8,000 riders. Dip you wheels in the Missouri and then in the Mississippi eight days and nearly 500 miles later. I hope I get to do several. Last week in July.

Mass Bikepike Tour - 45-70 miles a day. I have to do this one: I love New England. Second week of August.

Cycle Oregon - About 65 miles a day. Whey do I think you would get pretty wet doing this one? I know, eastern Oregon is a desert. Second week of September.