Author Topic: biking across america with diabetes  (Read 30563 times)

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Offline jsieber

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2009, 01:00:04 pm »
Please keep this thread on topic and related to cycling. This is not the place to argue the causes of diabetes or make accusations about other forum members. Any further posts that are off of the original topic will be removed or the thread will be locked. 

Offline Westinghouse

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #16 on: March 30, 2009, 01:01:46 pm »
Post removed due to violation of the forum rules. Please keep on topic and and do not flame other forum members.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2009, 01:46:55 pm by jsieber »

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #17 on: March 30, 2009, 01:09:52 pm »
Check this out for some inspiration: http://www.teamtype1.org/

Offline kemmett

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2009, 01:32:00 pm »
Check this out for some inspiration: http://www.teamtype1.org/


Wow, I had no idea a cycling team was dedicated to Type 1 that was completely comprised of people with type 1.  Thanks for the link.

Offline RussSeaton

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #19 on: March 30, 2009, 03:43:33 pm »
Check this out for some inspiration: http://www.teamtype1.org/


Wow, I had no idea a cycling team was dedicated to Type 1 that was completely comprised of people with type 1.  Thanks for the link.

Only two or maybe three members have diabetes.  The rest do not.

Offline mikedirectory2

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #20 on: March 30, 2009, 04:10:47 pm »
I first want to congratulate you for taking charge of your illness and not letting it control you.  My only advice is to speak to a nutritionist.  They should be able to work with you in order to develop a meal plan for your trip.  I am sure that if you stop frequently and eat the right things, it may take a little longer than it would have without the diagnosis, but you will succeed.  I also have a friend who participates in bike rides for the Juvenile Diabetes Association (not positive on that name).  Perhaps you could contact them, they may be specific to kids but I am sure they could point you in the right direction.  Good luck with your challenge and remember you are an inspiration.
http://www.bikecarrierdirect.com
May the skies be blue and the road be flat... Happy Riding.

Offline cyclebum

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #21 on: March 30, 2009, 07:31:18 pm »
Go for it. Get busy living. You'll have the time of your life.

Gradually up your daily conditioning mileage 'til you can comfortably ride about 50 miles in a full day. Of course monitor your blood sugar during the rides. You'll learn to read you body's signals and quickly get a handle on all that.

The exercise induced euphoria of cross country cycling is well documented in journals. It's a brain thing. The physical benefits are multitude. I just bet blood sugar control is one of them. Weight control certainly is.

Journal your ride on here or on www.crazyguyonabike.com. I'd like to know how you do with this.

As a personal aside, I climbed 7 mile long, 11,000 foot Wolf Creek Pass in Co. puffing on oxygen. Might have been a first. Most infirmities can be overcome with a bit of ingenuity and effort.


Offline kemmett

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #22 on: March 30, 2009, 07:51:44 pm »
Thanks for the motivation.  Is that your website?  If so I have seen your site before when I googled the words 'cycling' and 'diabetes'.  It sounds extremely interesting, however I must admit that I haven't read much of it but I surely will now.  If you did do it with type 2, what were your biggest obstacles in riding that distance?  How did you overcome them?  How do you take your insulin?  Diet?  Carry any sugar?  What form?  I would really appreciate any info you could give.  Thanks a bunch.

Offline jimbo

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #23 on: March 30, 2009, 10:35:07 pm »
Good thread..very enlightening. Sometimes I wonder if some people who post must know each other off line and can't wait to pop each other in public.

In any case, the advise that made sense to me from the posts would be for Kemmett to hook up with a nutritionist. From the journals I read on CGOAB some touring cyclist make it across on junk food while others are highly selective. Cliff bars, grilled cheese, milkshakes and a carb dinner were my go to foods. 
Kemmett It's a great country to see at 10 mph. Do it.

Offline cyclebum

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #24 on: March 30, 2009, 10:45:40 pm »
Thanks for the motivation.  Is that your website?

Gosh no. Neil Gunton owes that site. It's dedicated to touring cyclists and their journals.

And I do not have diabetes. Just mild COPD. I have no proof that the oxygen actually did any good. Would have had to go down and ride back up without it. I guess it had to tho. Passed on that experiment.

Offline Westinghouse

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #25 on: March 31, 2009, 09:12:30 am »
Good thread..very enlightening. Sometimes I wonder if some people who post must know each other off line and can't wait to pop each other in public.

In any case, the advise that made sense to me from the posts would be for Kemmett to hook up with a nutritionist. From the journals I read on CGOAB some touring cyclist make it across on junk food while others are highly selective. Cliff bars, grilled cheese, milkshakes and a carb dinner were my go to foods. 
Kemmett It's a great country to see at 10 mph. Do it.

The junk food was my concern. On the southern tier it was possible to go quite some distances with only convenience type stores for rehydrating and food. Sometimes, a cyclist can run across stores which have pretty much nothing but what we would consider junk food. A person with no particular health concerns can take that kind of a nutritional beating a while without worry, not that anyone should, but they can if they must. When cycling one must stop and refuel much more often than a person driving a car, and this is a fact of which many non cyclists are not consciously aware, and lacking in the experience of it, there is no reasoin they should be aware of it. Where proper dietary intake might take on a more ominous meaning, such as with a person with diabetes or whatever, the chosen route would be more important. For example, on the atlantic route stores selling all kinds of food are plentiful and everywhere; here there is no problem. In certain extents of the ST and the WE there may be a dearth. To give someone with any given disease advice for a 4000 mile cycling tour, you need to know the issues that might arise because of that disease. Nutrition is definitely an issue here. I have no such disease myself, but at times along the ST I was beginning to have concerns about the distances between sources of really good wholesome food. Going along on devitalized junk food gets a bit scary after a while even for a normally healthy person. You have to be careful about what you eat. If it is devitalized, it can sneak around back and bite you in the vital parts over the long run.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2009, 09:24:45 am by Westinghouse »

Offline staehpj1

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #26 on: March 31, 2009, 10:55:17 am »
It probably depends on what you consider junk food, but I think for a cyclist riding longer distances there is probably a lot more room for deviation even for a diabetic.  As far as having to stop more often, why?  It is possible to stuff a couple days worth of snacks in your jersey pockets and lots of reasonably healthy food keeps well enough to pack a couple days lunches if needed including fresh fruits and veggies.

I am not a diabetic, but I think that there is a lot of stuff that while maybe not health food is readily available and no so bad.  I tend to have things like Jerky, fig newtons, fresh or dried fruits, nuts, and baked stuff in my jersey pocket.  As a diabetic he may need to be more selective, but given the rate he will be burning fuel he will probably have a lot more latitude than normal.  In a pannier I have lunch items like bagel pbj makings, hard boiled eggs, dried hummus, fresh fruits, fresh veggies (avacados, carrots, and cabbage kept well and worked for us), crackers, tortillas, foil packed tuna or salmon, hard cheeses, and canned chicken or other meat.  Once in a while for a change of pace we bought a sandwich in the morning for later in the day.

Offline Jesterrider

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #27 on: March 31, 2009, 12:56:25 pm »
I am a type 2 diabetic and while I have not had the opportunity to ride cross country, I do go on multiday tours, up to a week in length.  I also particpate in many one day local club rides.  I consulted a diabetic nurse/nutritionist recently and asked her about diet, sport drinks, and energy or food bars as a way to maintain proper nutrition levels during the time I am riding.  I brought some of the products with me so that she could read the content information.  These included Clif Bars, Gatorade, and Cytomate.  She recommended the use of those and similiar products as a way to stay "fueled" during the ride, in addition to eating regulare meals.  It was explained to me that a diabetic does not replace glycogen and other needed body system fuels the way a non diabtic does and that we burn them out of our body faster, and that these supplements are good to use, as long as you are careful not to overload on the carbs that they contain.  She recommended eating small amounts at frequent intervals.  I think that this would be more critical to balance for a type 1 than a type 2. 

Offline mikedirectory2

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #28 on: March 31, 2009, 03:34:48 pm »
I first want to congratulate you for taking charge of your illness and not letting it control you.  My only advice is to speak to a nutritionist.  They should be able to work with you in order to develop a meal plan for your trip.  I am sure that if you stop frequently and eat the right things, it may take a little longer than it would have without the diagnosis, but you will succeed.  I also have a friend who participates in bike rides for the Juvenile Diabetes Association (not positive on that name).  Perhaps you could contact them, they may be specific to kids but I am sure they could point you in the right direction.  Good luck with your challenge and remember you are an inspiration.
http://www.bikecarrierdirect.com


I remembered the name of the organization.  It is Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
http://www.bikecarrierdirect.com
May the skies be blue and the road be flat... Happy Riding.

Offline kemmett

Re: biking across america with diabetes
« Reply #29 on: March 31, 2009, 05:40:25 pm »
Thanks mike, my mother does work for the Diabetes Research Institute and she said they are an excellent organization.  Also, I know it sounds a little ridiculous but I currently use a Omnipod diabetes management system and was hoping if I told them I was talking their system cross-country, they might help with finances.  Shooting a little high I know, but its worth a shot and its all for a good cause.  I've done the penguin plunge here in Burlington, Vermont (basically a jump into lake champlain in the middle of february) and raised close to $2,000 for the Special Olympics.   Figure if I can raise that much for jumping into a lake, a ride across the nation might do a little better.