150 mile bicycle ride for American Diabetes Association

I've fallen a little behind on my training and posting.

Friday; it rained (I do not ride in the rain)

Saturday; I finished my taxes (living in eastern MA I have until 5/11 to file my taxes(we had flooding last month and they extended the filing date for us))

Sunday; Nope no ride

Monday; too cold only got into the 40s I have a problem with leg cramps. Riding in the cold really makes them bad. I found vitamin D helps.

Tuesday; today, again to cold... however, I have to ride so I broke out my rollers. God I hate rollers, all that work and you dont go anyplace. 1 hour on the rollers .

so far this year even tho the warm spring has let me start riding a month earlier than last year, mileage wise I am behind whear I was last year, ive got only 320 miles on this season.

The good news is my cadence is up to where I left off last year. My cadence is comfortable in the high 70s to low 80s and going up a slight incline I like the low 90s.

cold and rain every other day for the rest of the week So I'll have to ride the rolers.

59 days till the ADAs NEC 150
10 days to the Gloucester ADA ride

Today I got on the rollers again. I started with a BGL of 108, I was having a hard time keeping the energy going I had to stop every 8 minutes or so and let the energy catch up. I was also feeling it in my legs.
after 30 minutes I stopped and checked my BGL 85, that explains the loss of energy but not the legs. so I ate 2 nestle fun sized crunch bars and waited about 15 minutes, climbed back on the bicycle and started again. 10 minutes later I gave up. Now and then I find just cant perform on my rides. So I got off and was about to put the bike away when I noticed the resistance on the rollers was set way to high. I turned down the resistance, got on the bike, WOW I can, ride life is good. Finished my 1 hour ride 30 minutes later by BGL is 118, I ate the candy too late in the ride, I should keep going to get my BGL down but...

So I am going to ride in the ADA rides on the following dates
May 22, Gloucester, MA
June 12, North Haven, CT
June 13, Derry, NH Gear man is hosting a 50 mile training ride and cookout for registered NEC riders.

July 11 -12th the NEC 150:first:

you can ride too go to New England Classic
OR
you can sponsor me:nod: at http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=6930&px=4081340

Didn’t ride Friday, after tracking down parts for work I spent the rest day tracking down spokes, rebuilding my rear wheel and rotating the tires on my bicycle. So I planed on riding a 30 mile loop on Saturday. The weather was suppose to be ~70 sounds good to me J

You know I have a tube of icing I use to control my BGL when riding. I keep it in my jersey pocket (riding jersey’s have the pockets in the back, at the small of the back). which I have a hard time reaching. I was trying to figure out how to make a holder for the tube around the handle bar where I could get at. When my wife handed me a soft sided eye glass case. Perfect!! I tie rapped it onto my handlebars and drop in the tube.

Saturday may 15

65 degrees out and sunny, where are the 70s!! I need to ride! Its cold for me, so I put on my leg wormers and debate about the long sleeved shirt finely went without it.
I had planed on the 30 mile ride but was running out of time, I needed to back and ready to pick up some one at 4:30. I had spent the morning scrubbing the bathroom and kitchen floor with a scrub brush and pail of soapy water. I checked my BGL 85 nice, to low for riding, so I had a sandwadge with 2 slices of bread (22 carbs). Got the bike out and dressed checked my BGL 30 minutes after eating still 85

OK had 2 pieces of candy and started the ride. It was chilly but I pressed on. Have I told you I hate hills and I have a big one 1.5 miles from my house. (OK not big by some standards, but I still hate it).

So far this year with few exceptions I have not been feeling good about the riding. I feel like I’m having to force myself to peddle, and not in the groove. Today was no exception I am peddling and doing it to get ready for the ADA’s NEC ride. At mile 5.8 I have some iceing. And push on.

I don’t seem to be able to find a comfortable cadence. At mile 8 my average speed is 13.7 way below last year at this time. As I am contemplating the fact that every year me ability to ride has diminished. I notice I made it up the last hill at a good clip, now in the flats I am moving along. I relies I’m feeling GOOD!! I’m spinning in the mid 80s, my speed is up I feel GOOD!!

I remember from years past that as I train I go foreword 2 steps and back one. I remember many a ride where I gave up after 3 miles just could not do it, no energy getting to the legs. Then one or two rides later, I find my ability takes a leap foreword. Well I just had one of those leaps. I tend to improve in leaps and bounds.

I head up the last hill for home and I am cruising right along. It is the hill that is 1.5 miles from home. When I leave home it is short and steep. Going to my house it is long and gentle, I can cruse up it (well sort of). Any way Im averaging 14.7 MPH now that means cince mile 8 where I averaged 13.7 Ive had to average 15.6 to make the average now of 14.7. I AM CRUESING!
I feel so good I add one extra hill and 3 miles to the ride

I finish the ride with an average speed of 14.8 over 22.4 miles. My frosting holder works great.

30 minutes after the ride my BGL is 145 . Ate frosting too late in the ride? 1 hour later 118 Liver dump from the exercise?

6 days to Gloucester

55 Days to the NEC

you can ride too go to New England Classic
OR
you can sponsor me:nod: athttp://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=6930&px=4081340

5 days to Gloucester

54 Days to the NEC

Hi all

Life is good. I had a great ride today.
my BGL was 104 this morning. I reduce my Lantis by 2 each day I ride my 20 miles if I miss more than 2 days I start to increase it 2 for each day I miss riding. So far that has worked, I took 60 IU this morning.

Today I rode with a friend (yes I have a couple of them) and his 10 year old son. At 12:30 my BGL was 111 when we started the ride
We rode around the neighborhood then headed over to an old military base now a nature preserve. they have some roads through it that you can ride on. Long long story, I knew the place 20 years ago. any ways the roads where in terrible shape and some of them where dirt and sand, ON A ROAD BIKE Any way it was a gentle ride so I had very little of my sugar tube, just a taste really.

so 10 miles and 1 hour later we are back. I had some fruit and nut cubes, 2 of them about 1/2 inch on a side while they packed up and went home. Then I went on my 20 mile hilly ride. I was all wormed up so I attacked the "hill" at the start of my ride and continued on, it was at mile 8 that I had my first shot of tube sugar and kept going I had a second and final shot at mile 14. I actually was doing good my cadence was up there, I could do the hills without dying, about 2 MPH slower than when I'm in shape but I felt good doing it, and at the end I still felt good.

My BGL 30 minutes after riding was 123 1 1/2 hours later 85
2 hours after dinner, Hamburger patty cheese, cauliflower mashed with butter and yogurt, salt, pepper and a touch of fat from the berger.(almost like mashed potato's, needed Parmesan cheese) I am at 93 .
tomorrow is a day off then I ride Tuesday, Wednesday. Off Thursday, ride Friday and the Gloucester ride Saturday, 31 miles a piece of cake.

I like riding,


you can ride too go to New England Classic
OR
you can sponsor me:nod: athttp://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=6930&px=4081340

Hi all

I’m back; well I didn’t ride all week after my Sunday ride. I did get out there today and rode 30 miles.

As you know I’ve been cutting down on my Bolus by 2 units every time I ride. Well that is not enough, I’ve gone from 68 IU of Lantis in the AM, two weeks ago to 58 this morning. Even though I did not ride this week I found I had to keep cutting back on the Lantis as I was running a little low if I did not eat between meals and snacks.

So today I started with a sandwich 22 carbs Before I ate BGL 92. 40 minutes later I was 99 (for that many carbs I used to tale 8 units of Homolog) and started my ride. Since I was going to ride I took no insulin.

I was going to do my 30 mile loop, I just had the 22 carb sandwich, my BGL was not high enough yet so I took a piece of “fun sized” nestle crunch bar. On this ride I want to ration my energy a little better. I decided to try a slightly higher cadence going up hills and not quite as fast on the flats. By mile 3 (you know my BIG hill I was feeling good. I went 8 miles before I had my first slug of frosting, a small one at that. I had decided to take more smaller shots of the frosting. I noticed that my cadence has continued to improve I am quite happy peddling in the mid 80s. By mile 20 my average speed was 14.7 best this season. I was however feeling it in my legs, since I was going to ride 31 miles in the ADA Tour De Cure in Gloucester tomorrow I decided to slow down a bit.
By mile 25 I was running out of energy, so I stopped and checked my BGL, 99 Not high enough for riding so I took a Good shot of frosting and waited 5 minutes. Then finished the 30 miles in fine shape.

10 minutes after the ride my BGL was 89 (30 minutes after the shot of frosting).
Did some errands and at 6:30 I was 64 So I had 1 “fun sized” nestle crunch and some cheetos. Well 1 hour later I was 177.

My legs are still feeling it a little, so tomorrow will be a slow ride (ya rite)
My 177 BGL was at 7:30 its now 9:30 and my BGL is 91. I expect less Lantis tomorrow again.

I could use you help with my fundraising. When I sighned up for the New England Classic ADA ride (150 miles in 2 days) I had to guarantee to raise $600. so far I’ve raised $120 ($20) of that was from me.

Go to
Tour de Cure:
It is an ADA website.

Thank you

ADA Gloucester Ride

HI all
What a glorious day it is
Went to bed at 11:15 last night, woke up at 4:00 AM got up at 5 AM. Car already loaded for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Gloucester for the Tour De Cure ride. They have a start time of 8: AM for the 30 mile ride

Arrived at the Gloucester High School at :10 before 7, Had to wait for registration to open. I got to go to the short line for Red Rider registration (finally an advantage to being diabetic).

(*&$%^()* I left my riding gloves at home.

Last year they had 5 or 6 booths with sponsors, A yogurt maker, a crunchy cereal maker, and others. This year NADA, I was expecting to eat breakfast of crunchy cereal and yogurt. Over in a corner I finally found some donuts, bagels, muffins and coffee.

7:45 AM BGL 135 OK about to ride. My wife is going to go sightseeing so I figured I’d be back in 2 ½ to 3 hours, what with rest stops and stuff. The announcer gives the Bla Bla speech about road safety and says there is a rest stop every 12 miles. 8 AM we start. I wait,,, till all the riders that are ready have left and I head out. I try NOT to pass anybody, at the start of the ride, for the first 5 miles or so there are so many riders (I’m guessing at 150 on the 31 mile ride) that the road is so full of cyclists that we cant go very fast. If I rode at my normal speed I'd be passing them all, until I got caught up in the main pack traffic jam.

By mile 8 it started to thin out and I started to pass people (see I’m good)

Gloucester ride is HiLLY not big hills (although there are 2 good ones) but you are constantly going up or down, there is very little flat. And the roads are terrible pot holes rough patches. Pipe lines laid down and the new blacktop Not up to road level. By mile 8 my average speed was 11 mph when I was able to pass people.

Mile 12 came, no rest stop. My average speed is up to 13.8 and I feel good. I am continuing my new riding style of conserving my energy. I am doing a little better than I did last year on this ride. Last year they had the rest stop in a church parking lot at mile 12, not this year. I had been rationing my sugar to have a break at mile 12 so I could have a banana. No rest stop, no Banana so I had some sugar. Finally at Mile 15 there was the rest stop.

To this point I think only about 5 riders have passed me, were I have passed like 60 or a 100 riders (see I’m good)

I pulled in and checked my BGL @ 9:10 AM it was 135… No Banana I took time to call all my supporters (1 so far) and check in with them.


After 15 minutes when most of the riders had left the rest stop I got back on the bike. The flattest section is also where the most traffic is, down town Gloucester. Between miles 18 and 21, At mile 21 (only 6 miles from the last rest stop they had the second and last rest stop on the 31 mile ride. It was just past down town Gloucester. I stopped in for 5 minutes, Finally had ½ of a banana and headed out. Now right after this rest stop is the biggest hill on the ride 150 ft high. I cruised up it, I am happy

My legs are happy …. Oops the last 2 miles my left leg was thinking about trying to cramp. But it was only thinking.

I finished the ride in fine shape in just about 2 hours including rest stops. My average speed was 14.2. :30 minutes after I finish my BGL is 82.

I hung around waiting for my wife with the car, when she got there I changed and we went to Causeway Restaurant for seafood. BGL now 79 @ 11:12 I got fried clams Sue got Fish chowder and a salad. The fish chowder was Fish, onion, fish, cream, butter, fish and 1 cube of potato. It was exultant ! My clams were so good I did not need the dipping sauce (tarter sauce). I ate too many of the French fries…. We wrapped up the extra fish chowder and left. In the car I took my BGL 124 @ 11:38 wow up 45 up points in 26 minutes. I took 10 IU of Homolog and we headed home. 1 hour later 12:36 I checked my BGL 154.:frusty: I figured I had taken too little log but I was driving so I didn't want to take too much. Its now 2:51 and back down to 78.


I had fun, had a great ride, feel good. Feel like I’m headed in the right direction with my training.

Dont forget you can sponser me at
Tour de Cure:

Thanks