TeamBG mHealth Grand Tour. 30 August - 15 Sept. The power of the patient voice.

The TeamBG mHealth Grand Tour is about to start! This year a group of amateur cyclist drawn from the diabetes online community will be cycling 2300km from Barcelona to Vienna in just 15 days. Arriving in Vienna on 15th September to coincide with the opening of the Annual Diabetes conference EASD (European Industry Association for the Study of Diabetes).

The Team will be welcomed by the Austrian Diabetes Association and the International Diabetes Federation at the conference. The ride will be an opportunity to raise awareness around diabetes and the importance of exercise in the management of diabetes, to trial new technologies and most importantly to fly the flag for the importance of the patient voice.

Get behind your team! These boys and girls aren't trained athletes; they have nevertheless signed up for the challenge of their lives, ready to learn, to share and to advocate for exercise and good blood glucose management.

There will be daily updates on the TeamBG website to follow, with photos of the milage and climbs that will be enough to make your eyes water.
The epic ride will begin on the 30th August.

Get to know some of the team http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/Shahzad_Ahmed.html

Only three days to go before the start of the epic challenge!!
Live updates will appear as the riders use Instagram and post up their progress! Support the forum's very own @Brightside on his cycling challenge!
http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/mHealth_riders_2014.html

It's begun!
If anyone needs a bit of inspiration to help get exercising, take a gander at the news from the first day of the mHealth Grand Tour!
Regular people just like you and me achieving the extraordinary.

http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/2014_day_1_16.html

We're at the halfway point! Almost over the Alps.
@Brightside had a baptism of fire yesterday with starting his ride with the toughest day on the whole tour!
Take a quick look, and wish the team well. One more week and they'll be rocking up at the EASD - the annual diabetes industry conference in Vienna.
http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/Home.html

Andy12345 said:

Fantastic and inspiring, i suck at twitter, I've tried to tweet but can't see my tweet so don't know if it worked lol, really amazed and enjoying everyones progress thanks bebo

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I want to have you there next year @Andy12345
You would be just awesome and lift everyone to new heights!

Hey, can you come along to the TeamBG parkrun in Birmingham on 25th Oct (I've only just posted it up on the website) I know it's MILES for you to come, but it would be so great to see you!!

Brightside said:

It sure was a baptism of fire. That little mountain "col de la Bonette" (highest road in Europe) had me beat!
I managed 10km of the 24km climb.... Just think about this.... A climb that goes on for 24kms....at 6-9% .... I thought I was going to die.... Then I got worried that I wasn't going to die....
Lucky one of the support vehicles came and scooped me up! Like an angle of mercy I tell you and took me to the top!

It's tough but the up side is my bg is already showing signs of improvement. I know this because team bg have inserted a cgm (continuous glucose monitor) kindly sponsored by Dexcom...and it's giving me values every 15 minutes. ( bit of overkill I suppose for a type 2 but it's showing me how meals push up my sugars and how quickly they come down again!
Also I can see when I need to take in energy along the ride!

My bg fasting was 7.1 on friday and this am it was down to 6.4. Obviously the exercise is helping! ) this evening it was at 4.6 which is the lowest since may!

All in all a great ride great experience ( apart from my proverbial which is smarting something terrible) and great company.

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Lol! It's all character building stuff!
You started on THE toughest climb of the entire tour! You poor thing - I'm just glad the support team were there to pick you up. They're good like that
I wonder if you're beginning to find it a little easier now your a good few days in? - Paul said it took him a few days to adjust, and beyond the sore backside bit he's actually finding it much easier now.
Hope your BGs are coming down a bit more too. By the time you're in Munich you'll be so fit there will be nothing left of you!
Keep up the good work - it's great to see you're keeping your sense of humour, and I'll catch up again soon. Bx

The final stage is here!!!!!!
Five more days and the Team will arrive at EASD in Vienna!
Tomorrow the tour takes the riders over the Italian border and into Austria for their final few days cycling.
Wish them all well, and wish them good weather! @Brightside sent me a photo that showed it was raining this morning.