Cycling and type 2 management

[WallisOnline]

Hi all,

I love to cycle and have previously taken part in 50 mile, 75 mile and 100 mile events in the past which included a few stops for refueling and refreshing.

Since lockdown I have not been on the bike as much as I would of liked...

I was only diagnosed in the middle of August with type 2 and this has given me a reason to get myself back in the saddle and cycling much more again... I have also joined up to take part in the diabetes UK wide cycle ride during the month of October and hope to cover 300 miles whilst raising a little money for the charity. It's a win win as far as I'm concerned, more exercise for me to reduce my excess weight and put my diabetes into remission and raising money for a charity of a condition that I have!

Anyway i have wondered if anyone has any advice on how to manage your sugar levels whilst riding longer? A lot of your typical supplements/drinks etc are glucose or sugar based and so are not ideal now potentially so need some ideas or advice... obviously sticking to water for hydration but not sure where to start for other things to balance having the energy to ride without spiking my levels too much! Will my sugars go down whilst riding or will they go up without having any food?

I have a finger prick glucose monitor so think I will probably need to test every couple of hours to keep a check on my levels and to complicate things I'm on gliclazide which of course can cause hypos so need to take this into account with food ideas.

Is it just a case of taking a selection of food items with me the first few times out on longer rides, testing regularly and then consuming the correct food depending on my testing? I.e. if sugar low eat some carby foods, if high some low carb snacks? After time I will work out what is best for me and can then ensure I have the right foods at the right times?

If you have made it this far and can offer some advice or just want to chat any discipline of cycling then just drop a reply below

I have lots of thoughts and ideas running round my head around cycling with diabetes so I'm sure this won't be the last of it!

 

[Antje77]

Is it just a case of taking a selection of food items with me the first few times out on longer rides, testing regularly and then consuming the correct food depending on my testing? I.e. if sugar low eat some carby foods, if high some low carb snacks? After time I will work out what is best for me and can then ensure I have the right foods at the right times?

This sounds like a very sensible approach to me.

I will probably need to test every couple of hours to keep a check on my levels and to complicate things I'm on gliclazide which of course can cause hypos so need to take this into account with food ideas.

On gliclazide you might want to test a bit more often than every couple of hours.
Have you had a hypo yet so you know how one feels?

It might be worth having a go with a Freestyle Libre to do some experimenting while cycling, you can apply for a free 2 week trial in the UK.
Mind, the Libre has its pitfalls, and I wouldn't trust it if it tells you you're hypo without double checking with a fingerprick, but it can be very useful to see trends.

 

[WallisOnline]

This sounds like a very sensible approach to me.

On gliclazide you might want to test a bit more often than every couple of hours.
Have you had a hypo yet so you know how one feels?

It might be worth having a go with a Freestyle Libre to do some experimenting while cycling, you can apply for a free 2 week trial in the UK.
Mind, the Libre has its pitfalls, and I wouldn't trust it if it tells you you're hypo without double checking with a fingerprick, but it can be very useful to see trends.

Cheers for the reply...

I have had a hypo so do know what it feels like when it comes on so know what to expect should it start to get too low, but as you say testing regular, possibly more than every couple of hours should hopefully prevent the hypo!

I did consider the Libra during testing whilst cycling but to get the most from it I need a week or so of time off work where I can spend a lot of time on the bike trying different scenarios and seeing how my body reacts... and at the minute I feel I don't have that week available to make the most of it. So it is something I will consider but unless I can get a good supply of patches to test over a month or two I feel I won't benefit from it as much as the minute.

Cheers for the advice / suggestions, I need to be covering approx 10 miles a day cycling over October and there will be days I miss and need to make up for with extra miles so any info is good info at this point!

Dean

 

[WallisOnline]

On gliclazide you might want to test a bit more often than every couple of hours.

Actually thinking of this more.... this would give the perfect excuse to stop more often and grab a photo of the ride I am doing as I go along!

 

[Zinadane]

I use Libre to give cgm readout onto a garmin head unit. Can't imagine finger pricking anymore. (used to of course)

 

[WallisOnline]

I use Libre to give cgm readout onto a garmin head unit. Can't imagine finger pricking anymore. (used to of course)

I so desperately need to get a Garmin again... used to have one a few years ago but it was nicked along with my bikes out of my shed and due to cost not replaced it since. Especially if you can connect things like this to it. Nice to know. Thanks

 

[WallisOnline]

Decided to add on to my existing thread rather than starting a new one!

So today marked the start of October which is also the start of the UK wide cycle ride for diabetes UK where I plan to cover 300 miles on the bike over the month of October ( minimum 10miles each day!) whilst raising money for diabetes UK (not that I have many donations yet!)

Today was also the first time I have ridden out and about on my own since my diabetes diagnosis so using the advice above of testing whilst riding I was feeling confident and comfortable with the plan. I stocked up with some body fuel sugar free electrolyte tablets for my water and stuffed some jelly babies and sugar free body fuel gels in my pocket just in case my blood sugars dropped.

Normally I take 40mg of gliclazide with my breakfast but as I wasn't eating before my ride I hadn't taken my tablet hoping my blood wouldn't go too high!

So I started my morning with my first finger prick test and a reading of 5.5 just before I set off at 6:30am.

After 30 minutes I found a suitable place to stop for a break and a finger prick test... with a reading of 6.4. I had heard that when exercising your bs goes up so it was just a matter of how much, luckily it wasn't too high of a rise!

30 mins later again another good place to stop, outside the old pumping station, which worked out perfect for me as it felt like I had been on a steady incline for most of the ride! This time the test was 6.7 so again all is good so far! No need for the emergency food I brought along and just staying topped up on the electrolytes!

Not long after leaving this stop I started to get the hunger setting in so decided to head home. Normally at this point I would have one of the gels in my pocket but I wanted this first ride to be with as little as possible that could affect my BS levels. Next time will be the test with the gels I think!

In total I ended up just doing 17.91 miles, which for my first time out on the road since before lockdown and having limited time this morning due to an impending trip to the local farm park I didn't think was too bad. I also got an idea into how my body reacts to the sugar levels when riding so a win win as far as I'm concerned!

Oh I also did a finger prick test about 1 hour after the ride and before taking my gliclazide for the morning and it came back with a reading of 5.7, so almost back to pre-ride levels already!

Now to spend the working week riding the bike in the gym until next Sunday when I can get out on the road again getting in as many miles as I can for October!

 

[SimonP78]

That's great, tbh I would start a new thread (or if you agree we could ask one of the moderators to move your post into a new thread), it would make it much easier to find and I'm keen to hear how you get on in your quest this month

I must admit I've not signed up, mainly as a I don't think I'd be able to persuade anyone to give me money for something I'd be doing anyway!

I would, OTOH, be more than happy to turn up/pay entry to an in-person ride for Diabetes UK and could probably then even persuade a few people to donate some pennies and even join me, do/did such events exist in the past?

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I use Libre to give cgm readout onto a garmin head unit. Can't imagine finger pricking anymore. (used to of course)

Late, but only just found this.
Do you get your phone to talk to the Garmin?
If so, Apple or Android?
If Android, how please?

Oh, and which Garmin?

This would be lot easier than waiting for the phone to beep an alarm at me.

 

[Zinadane]

Android
Xdrip
Most garmins will work pretty sure
Install the xdrip widget on the garmin and set it to one of the data fields.
Hope this helps.

 

[SimonP78]

Just to add to @Zinadane's post, I use this datafield on my Edge 530: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/5a3e2cda-12f0-4afd-88ed-000e67a68d84 The list of compatible devices is on one of the tabs, almost everything should be compatible.

 

[Nic71]

T2 here on metformin and januvia. I’m well into my cycling after taking it up 5/6 years ago. I’ve always taken things like malt loaf, fig rolls and energy bars/gels but the last ride I did was September and my BS raised to 26 mmol/L and I ended up in hospital after collapsing so when I next go out riding I’d be looking at possible alternatives. I’ve not been out since this ride as I still have issues with my breathing

 

[SimonP78]

How long do you ride for and do you tend to eat regularly or only when blood sugar is running low? Was this an unexpected rise after taking expected/required carbs? I tend to run high when I set off if I'm expecting it to be a hard day out - I take more insulin and eat less when I leave in this case, obviously the former part of that won't work for you.

When I've messed up basal dose (reduced it too much pre-ride), which I realise doesn't apply in this thread, I've found that rides beyond ~4 or 5h are hard work without food (I'd be running a bit high and wouldn't want to inject because then I'd have to eat loads.) Still doable, just slower from then on.

I hope you manage to get back out soon (though I must admit the recent weather hasn't been all that motivating for me!)

 

[Nic71]

In the week I would ride for about an hour due to work commitments, but at the weekend it would be between 30 to 70 miles depending on how I felt and the weather. What I ate is what I’d normally have so my collapse and extremely high BS was totally unexpected. I’ve never checked my BS when I’ve been out but I guess I need to start doing so.

I’m waiting on an appointment with the hospital to do more tests but I’ll be asking them to check ketone and lactic levels as well

 

[SimonP78]

As I'm sure you're already planning to do, I think in your position I'd take a blood glucose monitor with me and do a test every hour/whenever I felt like I needed something to eat, and decide whether I actually should eat based on the value. I would avoid the energy gels unless actually low/heading that way, and stick to slower absorbed carbs - I tend to eat things like Cadbury Brunch bars, biscuits, Twixes, flapjack, sandwiches, with a backup supply of Kendal Mint Cake just in case I need to sort out a hypo but am feeling rotten.

It might also make sense, if you don't mind @Nic71 to ask one of the mods to move your initial post (3 up) and our responses to a separate thread as it will be easier to find and to understand the context.

 

[Nic71]

As I'm sure you're already planning to do, I think in your position I'd take a blood glucose monitor with me and do a test every hour/whenever I felt like I needed something to eat, and decide whether I actually should eat based on the value. I would avoid the energy gels unless actually low/heading that way, and stick to slower absorbed carbs - I tend to eat things like Cadbury Brunch bars, biscuits, Twixes, flapjack, sandwiches, with a backup supply of Kendal Mint Cake just in case I need to sort out a hypo but am feeling rotten.

It might also make sense, if you don't mind @Nic71 to ask one of the mods to move your initial post (3 up) and our responses to a separate thread as it will be easier to find and to understand the context.

Great thank you for this