It is an unfortunate necessity of being a cyclist with Type 1 diabetes that a fair amount of thought goes into blood sugar levels on the days before, during and after major rides.  Despite all the warm fuzzy “Diabetes doesn’t stop me from doing anything” sentiments – which I in fact do agree with – there is still an inescapable fact of life: Diabetes is a big pain in the ass.  I’ve talked before about some of the challenges that cycling, or any athletic endeavor, can present to a diabetic.  To that end, I’ve decided to share some of my methods of managing my diabetes while I’m riding, and ask for your stories to help me address some of the areas I’m struggling with.

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This was a ride that I’ve had on the schedule for most of the year – and one I’ve very much been looking forward to.  The Tour de Tahoe – presented by Bike the West -  is a clockwise loop around Lake Tahoe, covering over 70 miles of road and (depending on who’s data you look at) either 2,100, 3,700 or 6,000 feet of climbing.  I managed to bang it out with 4:42:15 of actual pedaling time (plus 32 minutes of time spent munching at rest stops) for a total elapsed time of about 5 hours and 15 minutes from start to finish.\

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Made it to the first rest stop.  Feeling strong.  Switchbacks climb was not as hard as expectede, but I can clearly feel the effects of the altitude on my breathing.  More to come from the road and on twitter.

Surly has introduced some of their new products – giving us a sneak peak at what will be available by next year.  Of particular interest to you utilitarian cyclists that like to use your bikes like pickup trucks are a new trailer, and some modifications to the Big Dummy.

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It would appear that the circumnavigation attempt – by bicycle – of Vin Cox has been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest yet.  The Guinness records site has not yet posted anything regarding this, so I’ve not been able to validate this directly from them.  However, other third parties such as Road Cycling UK are also reporting confirmation of the time of 163 days, 6 hours and 58 minutes as the new fastest.  This bests the previous record holder Mark Beauomont’s time of 194 days, 17 hours.  Potentially of interest is the fact that both Vin Cox and Mark Beauomont are both from the UK.

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Roadie.  Fixie hipster.  Urban velo.  Cycle chic.  Mountain.

As a group, us cyclists sure seem to want to divide ourselves into, well, more groups.  The interesting thing about cyclists is that we often seem to pigeonhole themselves into a single sub-sect and not stray out much.  But why would that be?  Continue Reading »

Andy Schleck found himself and fellow Saxo Bank teammate Stuart O’Grady with some unexpected time off recently.  Riis has thrown the pair out of the Vuelta a Espana squad for breaking team rules.  The rule that was broken: no going out a getting Schleckered at the bar.

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September.  The daylight starts to go away a little earlier and arrive a little later.  Students are heading back into the classrooms.  For some, it is time to break out the toe clips and start the cyclocross season.  But unfortunately for many of us, it just means less hours of daylight and a higher chance of rain or snow ruining our outdoor riding experiences.

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