Cycling

[robert@fm]

Beautiful pics as always! 🙂 I once stayed at Ilam Hall Youth Hostel (it's handy for Alton Towers)... 😉

 

[Matt Cycle]

Beautiful pics as always! 🙂 I once stayed at Ilam Hall Youth Hostel (it's handy for Alton Towers)... 😉

Thanks Robert. They're only taken on a poor quality camera phone - i.e. it's not exactly an iPhone!. Ilam is lovely - very picturesque and as you say not far for Alton Towers.

 

[HOBIE]

Good pictures Matt Bailey (daves brother) Sorry to hear about the fairy. I now have Kevlar inserts in my tyres. I was doing the c2c a few years ago & got to the of "Hartside pass". Really really looking forward to coming down the other side. Hear a hissing noise ! Took me about 45mins to catch everyone up & double fast. Was goosed

 

[Northerner]

Jealous Mat, missing the Peak District - lovely pics! 🙂 Good BGs too, I'd be happy with that on a long run 🙂 Wish I could eat malt loaf, love the stuff, especially with a thick spread of butter 🙂 However, have had two incidents in the past where the stickiness has succeeded in pulling out two fillings (probably would have come out anyway!).

 

[Matt Cycle]

Jealous Mat, missing the Peak District - lovely pics! 🙂 Good BGs too, I'd be happy with that on a long run 🙂 Wish I could eat malt loaf, love the stuff, especially with a thick spread of butter 🙂 However, have had two incidents in the past where the stickiness has succeeded in pulling out two fillings (probably would have come out anyway!).

Malt loaf is great for an energy boost but has a more sustained energy release and is more substantial than just having a gel. It's either that or a banana, sometimes both. As you say it's very sticky and chewy - I have to be careful with the fillings as well. 🙄

 

[@Fractis]

I've had a lot of success using Chia Seed Flapjacks for endurance events - almost as tasty as malt loaf, and much reduced risk of dental damage. The main problem seems to be the amount of chia seed that it is possible to get lodged in my beard - sometimes it looks like I'm a running bird feeder!

 

[Matt Cycle]

A lovely day again and with the forecast for the weekend not so good I headed out from Staffordshire into the Cheshire countryside. With the weather as it was the bibshorts made their first appearance of the year. The warmer weather is here. As an homage to one of my favourite films I was hoping to do a Long Good Friday ride (the British gangster film starring the late Bob Hoskins, Dame Helen Mirren, former Bond Pierce Brosnan and Charlie from Casualty ) but I was tasked with clearing the garage this morning so didn't set off until this afternoon. Although quite warm there was a fairly strong breeze.

Strava has it as 65.0 miles at an average speed of 15.2 mph and elevation gain of just over 2000 feet.

I've still got the Libre on and my bg's have been a bit more predictable recently following recent problems. 🙄 Levels were as follows: at start 10.2 mmol/l, at 10 miles 7.9 mmol/l, it then hovered around the 6's for the next few miles. I was concentrating on riding and lost focus and at about 34 miles checked and it was 2.7 mmol/l 😱 Had a couple of gels, malt loaf (fillings still intact) and a banana and carried on and it was back in the 6's. It dropped again around 45 miles to 4.2 mmol/l so had a couple more gels and it edged up into the 7's and low 8's. On return at 65 miles it was 7.7 mmol/l. Will keep a close eye on it.

Rudyard Lake as the light started to fade - I had my lights on. There were a few canoeists on the lake. Yay, nearly home.


Here's the Garmin stats

 

[Northerner]

Looks like the warmer weather might be taking a bit more out of you, blood sugar wise - perhaps more sensitive to the insulin? Must have been a relatively slow drop though if the 2.7 was a surprise! 🙂 I suppose the Team Novo Nordisk guys have CGMS with alarms to tell them when they are dropping low? Impressive ride though! I'm unable to run at the moment after hurting my ankle just over a week ago - very frustrating!

 

[Matt Cycle]

Looks like the warmer weather might be taking a bit more out of you, blood sugar wise - perhaps more sensitive to the insulin? Must have been a relatively slow drop though if the 2.7 was a surprise! 🙂 I suppose the Team Novo Nordisk guys have CGMS with alarms to tell them when they are dropping low? Impressive ride though! I'm unable to run at the moment after hurting my ankle just over a week ago - very frustrating!

Maybe, I'm not sure. Even with quicker drops I don't really notice them as my hypo awareness is almost non-existent. I stuck a strip in the Libre reader a couple of days ago and it came back with a 1.1. I wasn't even sure it read that low. (I've had a few 'Lo' readings on the Libre swipes). The swipe showed 2.4 but there is a delay on that compared to blood readings. I checked on my other meter a couple of minutes later and that was 2.3. I felt perfectly fine.

Yes, better to rest your ankle for as long as it takes as to go out before it's better will just make it worse. Frustrating as that is. 😡

 

[Matt Cycle]

I spent yesterday evening fitting some new wheels (well strictly speaking they were second hand but new to me) and new tyres to my bike - the old tyres were looking a bit worse for wear after 3000 miles. Today brought perfectly pleasant weather, sunny if a bit breezy and I headed out into Cheshire again this afternoon to Middlewich. The later start meant I didn't get as far as I would have liked. Great to be out though and it was bibshorts weather again and I wore my Team Novo Nordisk jersey (the changing diabetes one) - hopefully giving a positive image of diabetics to anyone who saw it. 🙂 Some others I passed must have neshed it and were wearing tights.

Strava has given it as 61.2 miles at an average speed of 14.7 mph (strong headwind on the way back but didn't notice a tailwind on the way out 🙄) and elevation gain of 1900 feet.

With the Libre sensor finished on Friday it was back to the strips and meter. Bg's were a bit of a rollercoaster - started at 12.1 mmol/l (bit high but carried on), at 11 miles it showed 14.1 mmol/l (not sure if it was a liver dump or some sugary on my finger) - decided to have a small correction at the side of the road 😱 and then thought straightaway perhaps I shouldn't have done that 🙄, carried on and at 25 miles it was 4.9 mmol/l (had malt loaf and gel), at 33 miles it was 3.5 mmol/l (had 2 gels), at the cafe at Jodrell Bank at 40 miles it was 7.2 mmol/l, had a latte and it was 11.4 mmol/l (I'm guessing it was still rising from the gels? who knows?), at 46 miles it was 8.7 mmol/l, at 50 miles it was 5.0 mmol/l (had another gel), at 55 miles it was 6.1 mmol/l and back home it was 5.7 mmol/l. So okay in the end.

Took some photos when out but I can't seem to load those from the phone. So, I've only got the Garmin stats pic when I got back home (taken just in case the Garmin itself plays funny). Showing average speed (a whole 0.2 mph different from Strava), ride distance and ride time.

 

[Northerner]

Quite a few ups and downs there Matt, but good job monitoring and treating 🙂 I often wonder about people out running on half-decent days in their hoodies and woolly hats and think how massively overheated they must feel after a mile or so! 😱 My main problem with getting the shorts out though is all the hordes of swooning women I have to hurdle when they cop a sight of my magnificent legs 🙄

Good job raising awareness too, might have to think of getting something myself 🙂

 

[Matt Cycle]

Quite a few ups and downs there Matt, but good job monitoring and treating 🙂 I often wonder about people out running on half-decent days in their hoodies and woolly hats and think how massively overheated they must feel after a mile or so! 😱 My main problem with getting the shorts out though is all the hordes of swooning women I have to hurdle when they cop a sight of my magnificent legs 🙄

Good job raising awareness too, might have to think of getting something myself 🙂

It was just slightly cooler yesterday so i can understand why some wearing more especially if they had set off earlier on when it wasn't as sunny. I warmed up fairly quickly though.

Ha, my legs are like a couple of pipe cleaners and lily white after being covered up for the winter. Not that they get much colour in them anyway. I'm past caring now what people think and as long as they keep turning the pedals I'm happy.

I've been thinking of treating myself to the new 2016 TNN jersey as it's on pre-order offer at the moment for around £48. It's still a lot of money even at that price but my current 2014/15 one, although reasonable quality and looks the part etc was sourced from an unofficial site 😉 so it would be nice to have the proper one. Even though they have triathlon and running teams and a T2 cycling team all the merchandise relates to the pro cycling team and the changing diabetes slogan itself is less visible on the 2016 items - Novo Nordisk is much more prominent which is fair enough I suppose as they fund the team. The 2016 t shirts are very understated. I'm sure the t shirts from last year had the changing diabetes slogan on in big letters.

Link to store below:

https://tnn.sportyfied.com/en/browse

They produce running vests for their teams but obviously don't sell these.

http://www.teamnovonordisk.com/teams/running-tri

 

[Northerner]

A bit steep for me - I'm still wearing my t-shirts from the 2003/2004 Stockholm Marathon on my runs, a few years pre-diagnosis, as I'm a real cheapskate. At a push I might part with £20 for something that will last a good few years 🙂 I've got running vests from JDRF and Diabetes UK, but tend not to wear vests for a daily run. Legs AND arms would probably result in apoplexy from the park-bound female populace 🙄 😉

 

[Matt Cycle]

A bit steep for me - I'm still wearing my t-shirts from the 2003/2004 Stockholm Marathon on my runs, a few years pre-diagnosis, as I'm a real cheapskate. At a push I might part with £20 for something that will last a good few years 🙂 I've got running vests from JDRF and Diabetes UK, but tend not to wear vests for a daily run. Legs AND arms would probably result in apoplexy from the park-bound female populace 🙄 😉

Ha, you've conjured up images of the chase scenes at the end of Benny Hill. I'm a bit of a cheapskate myself. Most of my cycling clothing is direct from China - good quality and perfectly adequate but a fraction of the cost of normal stuff from over here. A lot of cycling stuff is ridiculously expensive - those with money to burn can buy the high end Rapha and Assos clothing (hundred pound plus an item) and get themselves a Pinarello Dogma F8 bike at £8000. I'll stick to shopping around for bargains - my current bike did win best budget road bike in the road.cc 2014-15 awards - a snip in road bike terms at just £350.

I thought just for once though I might treat missen and get the official TNN cycling jersey.

 

[tejbat6]

HELP!
entered macmillan ride24 last week
event in august
Newcastle upon tyne to London Smithfield mkt
600 riders, 310 miles in less than 24 hrs ish

Now 1000 riders starting in 3 groups . 0900 1030 1200
Have asked for 0900 start, so I can slide back through the field, as you do
That's if I make it to the start line
Not long back from my local stadium after a visit with the club physio.
Getting severe pain, like a highly concentrated Lactic Acid burn in my L quad when getting out of the saddle or using a bigger gear
I know, I know, use smaller gears . Twiddling is not an option all the way, need some speed to get the average up and stay among the wheels for a bit of a draft/wheel suck 🙄
Go back next week to see if the exercises he gave me are doing any good

 

[Matt Cycle]

Now 1000 riders starting in 3 groups . 0900 1030 1200
Have asked for 0900 start, so I can slide back through the field, as you do
That's if I make it to the start line
Not long back from my local stadium after a visit with the club physio.
Getting severe pain, like a highly concentrated Lactic Acid burn in my L quad when getting out of the saddle or using a bigger gear
I know, I know, use smaller gears . Twiddling is not an option all the way, need some speed to get the average up and stay among the wheels for a bit of a draft/wheel suck 🙄
Go back next week to see if the exercises he gave me are doing any good

I think I'd have asked for the earlier start as well. 😉

Hope the exercises you've been given start working and you can sort the pain sort. Good luck. 🙂

 

[Matt Cycle]

Did you test on the bike or stop like you would for a fingerprick test (I assume you stop!). I'm quite keen on getting a Libre for Adam for when he is active so I don't have to go through the rigmarole of trying to convince him to stop for a test, but that's only going to help if it's easy to swipe through clothes when you're moving about (and assuming I can catch him).

Oh, and the snot? That's what the snot slot on your gloves is for right? 😉 Best bit of advice I wish I'd got sooner about cycling - never touch a cyclist's gloves......

The GCN guys have now done a video on clearing your airways or the etiquette of performing a snot rocket whilst out on the bike.

Warning - if you're eating or have easily upset sensibilities then please don't view.

 

[HOBIE]

Now 1000 riders starting in 3 groups . 0900 1030 1200
Have asked for 0900 start, so I can slide back through the field, as you do
That's if I make it to the start line
Not long back from my local stadium after a visit with the club physio.
Getting severe pain, like a highly concentrated Lactic Acid burn in my L quad when getting out of the saddle or using a bigger gear
I know, I know, use smaller gears . Twiddling is not an option all the way, need some speed to get the average up and stay among the wheels for a bit of a draft/wheel suck 🙄
Go back next week to see if the exercises he gave me are doing any good

Well done & good luck with ride.

 

[Matt Cycle]

A cool start that sort of warmed up a bit but not much made me regret putting the shorts on for my longest ride of the year so far to Whitegate in Cheshire. Dry and bright but with a very strong wind on the way back made riding a bit difficult on the return. Good to get out though.

Strava stats are 75.3 miles at an average speed of 14.8 mph and elevation gain of just under 2300 feet.

Did a fair amount of testing on this ride and my levels recently have been a bit erratic. Levels as follows: at start 7.6 mmol/l, at 11 miles 11.3 mmol/l (this seems to be a pattern now - think it must be a liver dump), at 25 miles 7.8 mmol/l, 35 miles 7.0 mmol/l, at 40 miles 10.4 mmol/l (after cake at the cafe 🙄), at 48 miles 9.6 mmol/l, at 55 miles 8.1 mmol/l, at 62 miles 6.2 mmol/l, at 67 miles 4.4 mmol/l and back home 6.1 mmol/l. As well as the cake had malt loaf and 3 gels.

Definitely need that pump - not just for things like this (although it would be fantastic for it) but my control in general has been all over the place for a while.

Bridge over the river at Whitegate. Did you spot my 'new' Shimano R501 wheels - erm, thought not. 🙄😉


The old favourite - took this on the way back. Just an excuse really to put in the video below it from one of my current favourite bands - Public Service Broadcasting who shot the video at Jodrell Bank last October. They take bits of dialogue from public information films or archive and set it to music. The second album where this one is from is all about Space. Alan, (@Northerner) I think you'll like this one. 🙂

Garmin stats

 

[Matt Cycle]

Took a day off work for the CGM sensor fitting at the clinic - no reader given as they download the data when it comes off on Monday. However, there was a letter waiting when I got back for my carb counting course, DAFNE or equivalent in June. 🙂 Thought I'd take advantage of the day off anyway and went for a short ride around the Staffordshire Moorlands this afternoon. This meant there were a few hills involved. Lovely sunny Spring day with lambs in the fields and the verges full of daffodils.

Strava has it as 28.5 miles at an average speed of 13.3 mph and elevation gain of just under 2400 feet. I did however get a new top speed of 49.0 mph 😱 (obviously on a very steep downhill bit 😉).

Levels were as follows: at start 7.2 mmol/l, at 8 miles 7.2 mmol/l (no sign of a liver dump this time 🙄), at 19 miles 3.1 mmol/l (had malt loaf and a gel), at 25 miles 7.6 mmol/l and back home 10.8 mmol/l (must have over corrected or a delayed liver dump - who knows?).

A murky Tittesworth Reservoir in the distance taken from up in the gods at Morridge. I'd be at the reservoir and going up the other side in about 15 minutes and it was bright and sunny down there.