A Saturday Ride with a nice Surprise!

The day started with a great blood sugar of 152, I dropped my Levamir 2 units (8 instead of 10), I ate my 4 rice pancakes, a tbsp of almond butter and 1/2 of a banana. Took 4 units of humalog via a pen and headed out. I was to meet the gang at 8:30 am. All was in place and I was waiting at 8:15, ready to hit the road as soon as I saw the pack come up in traffic. Well, 8:45 went by and I began to call. Unfortunately we had a disconnect in the communication the grp was a mile ahead of me on a hill and a lot faster.

Unfortunately the delay in riding and then heading up a hill climb first thing got my BS rising.
By the time I was halfway up the hill my continuous monitor was shouting at me that my BS was too high to read. Odd thing was I felt fine. I didn't feel like I was in the over 500 range. I stopped took 2 units of humalog and met up with the group at the top of the hill. Wow over 20 people were waiting and I was out of breath. The original plan was to go 50 miles, but given BS were out of control I opted for a shorter ~ 35 mile ride. I felt good riding after the first 40 minutes, but up to that point I wasn't sure if I should ride or go home. Fortunately, I have a few cyclists who support me and ride with me no matter how it is going. I checked my blood sugar at Sabino Canyon and found that my BS was in the low 200s, not the 'High' that my CGM was reading. My readings seem to be so far apart sometimes even though I calibrate my meter 2 - 3 times a day. Wonder if anyone else has theses types of problems? Anyway, I was glad to know it was at 200 and that my insulin on board would eventualy catch up, which it did. So I forged on.

Three of us took the shorter route and two of us, Colleen and myself headed for coffee by UofA.
That is where the big surprised happened. Colleen and I were outside having coffee when I realized all the Shootout Cyclist were returning from the Sat ride and who should be at the front... but Phil Southerland, Team Type 1, founder and racer who is training in Tucson after racing in the Tour de California. I have been following his twitter since I saw him ride in the Tour de California. Would love to talk with him and learn how he manages BS through all his travels and rides.

Re-invigorated, I went back up First Ave, to take on the hill one more time before heading home.
It was a great ride and BS evened out. I ended my ride at the Trek store to get some advice on my seat. When I ride over 30 - 40 miles, I start to get a lot of pain. Let's just say, Heather, a female pro rider, was very very helpful! :) Plus she had some ideas on managing my BS and food intake as I have been a little worried about the Tour de Cure 100K ride next Sunday. We discussed how food metabolizes and I will need to plan ahead when to eat, eating when hungry is too late. Ex: Is a hill climb coming up? When was the last time I ate or drank carbs?? Do I have enough resources to finish the ride? Eating halfway into the race is too late to reap the benefits. So it sounds like I should eat up front while maintaining carb intake throughout.

All in all it was a great day for a ride!
(sorry I need to get some more pictures, would have been great to post one with the Team Type 1 riders today, I even had my ADA Jacket on!) More pics to come

Tough Week in Traveling with Dexcom

Not sleeping well, traveled to Silicon Valley, airport issues and only one day of riding. All this contributed to sporadic blood sugars and frustration throughout the week.

While I was on the road this week and only having been on the Dexcom Continuous Monitor for 2 weeks, I was not sure how it should all work when going through the airport. In Tucson's airport it all went fine. I requested a pat down so I would not take the receiver or the transmitter through the metal detectors. Everyone was very cooperative and friendly. Once on the plane, it was smooth sailing through the first day.

The second day was interesting, beginning with heading into work and the company's buildings (11 in all) which are all wireless. I set up my laptop to begin to take advantage of the site's state of the art technology as well as the culinary specialties... Well, the culinary specialties started the rise in BS but it was the wireless environment that interrupted my readings getting recorded on my Dexcom. Not sure why, but hardly any reading recorded throughout the day. So, I spent the day testing and taking alot of shots. I was trying to be discrete but the insulin pens still draw attention especially when I was using it every hour or so. It drew some attention and questions. Most folks didn't realize I was diabetic and they were surprised given my level of fitness (not pro but fit). If they only new how frustrated I was during this point in time.

Well, the saga continues... As I headed to the airport, I asked again to get a pat down. One of the security assistants told me to wait, which I did. He then told me to walk through the metal detector which I thought for some reason he turned off. Well he didn't but what he did do is call for a female assist. Great... Well at this time my Dexcom did not provide any readings that night and throughout the following day, until I changed my sensor.

Word to other Diabetics, not sure if this is typical but Dexcom Tech Support recommended I not go through the metal detector unless absolutely necessary. I never had a problem with my pump at the airport but it wasn't wireless like the CGM. To make it worse, airport security was not familiar with the continuous monitor like they were with my pump. Need to get cards made by Dexcom to explain the CGM and how airport security should handle the situation.

Until the next post,
Stay well, stay happy, stay healthy

Rollar Coaster Blood Sugars

I am just returning from a great weekend of riding and spending time with my daughter, sister and niece.

The weekend began with a ride heading towards Gates Pass and ending with a great climb on A mountain in Tucson. I have to admit the ride up 'A' mountain was work and I didn't consider the impact on BS. Halfway through the ride, I ate 1/2 PB&J and drank 1/4 of my regular Perpetuem drink. My BS were already at ~ 200 so I took 1.5 units for the food and the high reading. Well it didn't take long before I saw my blood sugars dropping and I mean dropping. It kept going.... immediately I began drinking more of my Perpetuem and downed 5 sugar tabs. I headed up 'A' mtn thinking all the sugar I ate would catch up to me. It didn't and I spent the whole rest of the day in a yo yo with highs and lows. Not quite sure how it happened, as I reduced all my doses for food and it still didn't seem to be enough. I continued to yo yo all the next day.

What used to take 1 unit to correct a high BS now drops me to 50 from 200. I spent the entire night with alarms going off almost every two hours. I had a high at midnight, dosed 1/2 unit with a low alarm going off at 4 am (corrected with food), with a high alarm at 7 am. I have been on this roller coaster for 24 hrs. I am tired from the riding, the rock climbing and the fluctuating blood sugars.

I am just two weeks away from the Tucson Tour De Cure ride and I am getting anxious for the festivities to begin, but wondering if I am going to get my BS in control to last the 100km. I am inspired by the Tour De California Race and the great effort by Team Type 1. Phil Southerland, a type 1 diabetic, gave it his all as did other cyclists. On one of his last days riding in the race he was trying to get caught up with the peloton when Lance Armstrong with a few of his team mates were heading back up, Lance gestured to Phil to hop on and ride the draft. A gesture only someone with experience, compassion and true sportsmanship would do. Phil's logs of his BS and the amount of carbs he takes in to perform at this level helps me realize that the harder I ride the more carbs I need, a science I will have to figure out to continue to ride distances more then 50+ miles.

The good news was, after my ride I drove to Phoenix and I was with my sister who has a son with type 1 diabetes. Both my sister and my niece have a great understanding of the challenges and complications of having diabetes. It makes it a whole lot easier when folks are around who can help in case of the unexpected. I look forward forward to getting back to my regiment and gettimg my BS back in control.

Still working to meeting my goal of $2k in donations for the Tour de Cure, just $400 dollars away.

Keep on trekking
Penny

Getting Use to my Dexcom Seven

I have officially had my continuous monitor on for a week now and it has been great. The biggest advantage for me is when I am on my bike or rock climbing. I've done both this week and not having to worry about my BS has been great. I still have a lot of work to do for a decent trend line of my BS, but I worry a lot less about lows which gives me a huge sense of relief.

Each day that I ride, I look at my BS trend on the receiver to see which way I am heading. Once I have a sense if I should carb up or hold steady, I head into my activity with a new sense of confidence. Even though I know I am still on the upside of mid life, I love riding and the for the first time, I have been classified as an athlete due to my weight and body composition. Yeah! Now if I just had the road performance to compete at a Masters Level. Well, not sure I am ready for the effort it will take to get there right now. Tooo much coming up. I will take great health as a success to get me through the summer.

What is up with Trek Bikes and TBOT

I am constantly asked what is up with my fascination with Trek bikes and the Trek Bikes of Tucson shop (photo of owners Dave and Candice with lil Gwen). I was even asked if my husband owned the store, since I have 3 Trek bikes. That's just my bikes, my husband also rides a Trek 820 MT bike.

First let me just say, I have been a Trek bike owner for over 30 years. Good things happen when I am on my Trek bikes. My first bike was a used Trek multi-track hybrid. I love that bike and I ride it for my casual rides and loan it out to anyone who wants to start riding. Then I took up spinning and after 2 years began talking about hitting the road. I just knew that my hybrid wouldn't get me where I wanted to go...then my second Trek bike came to me via a friend, Roger, who gave it to me for as long as I wanted to ride. That is when I met Candice from TBOT (Trek Bikes of Tucson). The world of cycling was opened up to me because of these two generous individuals.

But that is just the start of the story...
Candice of TBOT, a Pro Racer on sabbatical, spent her personal time away from her new baby to teach me about riding, she started slow and allowed me to get my own groove as I learned how to ride and figure out the impact on my diabetes. We stopped frequently and drank recovery specialty coffee drinks often.

I spent time in the shop talking to Steve about wanting a new bike and Heather about getting the perfect seat to fit my butt...(LOL). Duncan a source of information, spent endless hours talking to me about commuting, panniers and getting the right size bike. One thing I am impressed with is over and over again, the professionalism, the expertise and in general the experience each person I talked to possessed. You see for months I talked to these folks without making hardly any purchases except for tubes, tune up and goo!

They are a team of professionals that love the sport and love it when anyone wants to ride. After only riding for 3 - 4 months I mentioned to Candice and Steve, that I wanted to ride across America for Diabetes and Muscular Dystrophy. Expecting some sarcasm, I was waiting for them to somewhat brush over what I said. Instead, Candice told me I could absolutely do it and also said that Steve had contacts on the East Coast who had done the ride multiple times. Steve spent even more time to talk with me about the right bike for this type of tour. Then, I ran into a Tucsonan who had done the ride a year before. Good things just keep happening.

Today was no different. Yesterday, I acquired a new Dexcom Continuous Monitor and today I went on my first ride with new found freedom. I decided to stop by the Trek Shop on my way home to get some ideas on how to mount the Dexcom on my bike during my rides so I could monitor my blood sugars with a touch of a fingertip. James, one of the great mechanics, figured out an easy way to do this without additional cost.

I have had nothing but encouragement all the way from real Pros and cycling enthusiasts at TBOT, so why do I always go back, well, wouldn't you?

First Ride with Dexcom Continuous Monitor

Today's Ride Was Phenomenal! I was excited to do a climb ride today (41 miles round trip), not because I am a strong climber, but for the first time I was riding with a tool that could tell me what was happening with my blood sugars every two minutes. I was able to push to my ability to climb as hard as I could and push myself to see where I needed work.

It was the first time, I kept an avg pace over 15 mph, my first goal for this year. I wanted to at least keep within eye distance of the front of our group. I not only did that, but I actually took the lead a few times, again not because I was the fastest but because for the first time, I could take the headwind while others rested to take us home. It is hard to understand this type of excitement unless you are Diabetic or have a dependency on having the right supplies that could save your life.

I felt great on the ride, even with getting up at 3 am due to low blood sugars and correcting that, I still felt strong and ready to ride. My biggest challenge was getting my Dexom out to check it on a regular basis. I kept my Dexcom in my jacket side pocket because when it was in one of my back pockets it seemed to stop registering the readings. I was a little worried that my sweat kept the Dexcom Receiver a little fogged over, but it all seemed to workout and the receiver doesn't seem worse for the ride.

My blood sugars remained somewhere around 120 - 170 during the ride. I would check my Dexcom before any hill climb to see if I was running low or had enough onboard to make it through the next stretch. I supplemented my ride with 1 water bottle of Perpetuem and a camelback full of water with electrolytes. I drank 1/2 the Perpetuem, and 1/4 of my water. I started the day at a perfect 150 ( that is perfect for a hill ride day), ate rice pancakes and a tbs of peanut butter for breakfast, dosed 4 u for the carbs and maintained my basal rate of Levimir of 10 u. The ride BS were never a problem... It is always afterwards that recovery and maintenance become an issue for me (as evident by the picture above).

I headed home, stopped with a few riders to have some coffee, ate my 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich on gluten free bread. Once home I kept drinking my water, I continued to drink my perpetuem and ate a bannana. I then ate an apple and had rice crackers, some cheese and turkey pepperoni. Every time I ate, my Dexcom would go off of being at 200 then it would come down. I have the perfect roller coaster pattern for my BS readings. Ugh!

Now that I had a great ride, I have to figure out how to have a great recovery. It is 7:30 pm at night and I am still bouncing around...

Why I Ride?

I ride for my life, literally. I am a type 1 diabetic and I have 21 year old son with Muscular Dystrophy who can't ride, who has endured incredible odds every day of his life without complaint. It wasn’t until after his surgery a few years ago that put metal bars in his chest I realized; I had let diabetes define me. As I approached some of the best years of my life, I found I was lost and scared. I didn’t know what I wanted, I felt like I lost my identify, my independence, my confidence and my passion to experience life. I was doing what was safe and what was known. How, could I expect my kids to get out there and go for it when I had retreated? I then realized there is so much I was taking for granted and I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see in my kids.

It took me about a year or so to actually get on a bike, not because I didn't know how, but because I knew as a diabetic it was never a good idea to ride alone and I didn't have a bike. Then one day when I was at a spinning class, Roger, a man I had spoken to about cycling and spinning over the past year, overheard me talk about wanting to get out and ride, but I didn’t have a bike. The next week he gave me a Trek Elance Road Bike (1985, Reynolds Steel) with one condition, if I decided not to ride, I return it when I am done.

Well, I just rode 58 – 60 miles last Saturday for one of my weekend rides and I commute 21 miles round trip to work 2 – 3 times a week. I am also planning to ride across America in 2011. The more I ride the more I find the ‘me’ I was looking for. I have not redefined myself, I have rediscovered who I was and who I wanted to be before the pressures of health, family and work took over. I loan my bike to women who want to learn how to ride because I want others to feel the freedom you get when riding out on a road miles from the familiar.

Now I ride for the freedom, for the friendships, for the environment, for my health, for the incredible support you get from being a part of the biking community and to use my abilities to raise funds for Diabetes and Muscular Dystrophy. I ride because others can't and for those who can but are afraid, I ride to encourage them to try. I ride because I feel a part of something bigger than just me on a bike. I ride to live and needless to say, I still have Roger’s bike…

Why Red Cyclist

I am an avid cyclist who commutes and rides road bikes any chance I get. I have been lucky that soo many people have been in the right places at the right time to support me in getting started.

So where does the color red come in??? I ride a Red Trek Elance (1985) bike that was given to me by someone whom I met in a spinning class, without this kind gesture, I would still be inside on a stationary bike riding to nowhere.

I also have vibrant red/orange hair and I am Red Rider with type 1 Diabetes. A Red Rider is an individual who rides in the charity events for Diabetes with one of the forms of Diabetes.

Red for life, Red for blood, Red with passion & energy and Red for luck. All these things represent what drives me to live, love, laugh and cry through life's challenges.