Work On The Munger Trail

I took the Munger Trail today for a twenty mile ride. Gorgeous is all that can be said about the weather. Sixty five degrees and sunny, light breeze off the big lake, perfect for this time of year. I'm glad I rode the MTB as the trail is rough in parts, and under major repair in others. I don't know how long it will take, but it's been a long time coming.

My six year old Tifosi sun glasses have seen better day, so I stopped at the LBS and picked up a pair of Tifosi Dolomite's. Just in time for the sunny weather coming up this week. The Tifosi line hold up well, are comfortable, and half the price of Oakley or Smith. While there, I looked at some 29er models and think that I may upgrade to one of them. Or maybe a 'cross bike. And a snow bike. If I lived closer to work, it sure would make my choice easier.

A Nice Day In The Woods

What a beautiful day for exploring the local trail on my MTB. Stopped in to see Mom for Mother's Day, then up the road a mile or so to the Lone Pine Trail for a ride. I expected to encounter lot's of mud, but that wasn't the case. Very ride-able for the most part, I only had to carry around mucky parts a couple of times. I like riding back here because I have yet to encounter another person, though today there was a fresh set of bike tracks in front of me. Or, maybe behind me if they had gone the opposite direction. I actually didn't see any wildlife either, except, naturally, various birds. No deer, wolves, bear, moose, beaver, nothing of the mammal sort. Lot's of tracks, so they are around.

I've seen on some other bike blogs that the "ride for thirty days straight" thing is popular again this year. This was my first day to start a thirty day streak. I work not too far from the Munger Trail parking in Carlton, so it's no problem to pop over there for an after work ride. Plus, there are plenty of roads in the Cloquet area just waiting for me to discover them. One of my co-workers rides, so we plan to do some rides together. He sometimes rides a recumbent. Sad, but I won't hold it against him!

Snow What's New?

I don't have a snow bike - yet. Scenes like this make me lust after one in a big way. I just have to work out a sensible plan of acquiring all the bits to build one. It won't happen this winter, but I hope to have one ready for next year. Winter is perhaps my favorite season, and I love to bike, so this will be a natural progression. A bigger garage is also in my future.....

I put my old mountain bike on the trainer to save wear and tear on my road bike. It's actually a better position for the road to nowhere rides. The weight loss is coming along as a result. I'm actually feeling a bit healthier than I have in quite some time. Our eating habit are slowly changing for the better, and as a result I have been able to cut back on that nasty fat storage drug, insulin.

So, you ask, why is insulin a fat storage drug? Well, take a bit too much, and you get hypoglycemic. To counter act this, you have to take on more carbohydrates to raise your blood sugar back to the safe range. Thus, you end up over doing the carbs, which turn to fat. Throw in some hard efforts exercise-wise, and you're on a roller coaster for days. Here's where the real dilemma comes in to play. Do I under dose and risk the damaging effects of high blood sugar, or go after normal sugars and risk going low. A conundrum, no doubt. I know many people can maintain a regular schedule of meals, exercise, sleep, and all of the other things in life, but I'm not one of them. A one hour ride can turn into four hours. Dinner may end up at eight instead of five thirty. I may not get that workout in that I was planning when I ate lunch.

Since there's no magic cure for diabetes, diet and exercise are the buffers against side effects. I have considered the alternative - weight loss surgery.  Gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, and lap band all so promise. I think, for me, the sleeve would be the way to go. The only thing in the way of me doing this is that my insurance only covers so much. The overages must be paid in advance, and I don't have several grand laying around to cover it. Another project to plan out, I guess.

   

Trainer Time

Yes, it's that time of year, folks, when the weather outside is frightful ( if you don't have studs, that is ) and you're a masochist craving torture. That's Willow camped out next to the bike, waiting to see his master suffer riding the road to nowhere. I wonder if the Beetles were riding the roller when they wrote "Nowhere Man". On the bright side, every minute here is one less minute trying to regain form in the spring. Funny thing, as I write this, a thought hit me: Why don't I have my MTB hooked up instead of the road bike. I have a set of Specialized Fat Boys on the spare rim set ready to go, so why not put them to use. The position would be a bit more upright and I'd save wear and tear on the road bike.

I'd love to have one of the many dedicated trainers on the market, such as the Giant, CycleOps, or even the new LeMond. The folks down the street have the Lemond, but I haven't heard how they like it. The LeMond is a hybrid which uses your frame, but eliminates the rear wheel by having a built-in cassette, so you hook up you're bike like you just changed a wheel. Reviews have been positive, saying it's the most realistic ride feel, but the fan is way too loud. I have a fan drive trainer back in the early '90's, and it was annoyingly loud.

As far as the diabetes goes, it's still an uphill battle. Late afternoon and late night bouts of low blood sugar attacks are frustrating, to say the least. At least I recognize the signs and react more quickly than I used to, so recovery time is much shorter than it used to be. Here's a scenario as to what happens: You suddenly feel hot, even though the temp hasn't changed. Then, a clammy sweat breaks out. Soon, you get spacey, like you're no you, but observing someone else. If you let it go too long, you can end up in a comma. Or, though rare, die. My father nearly did a few months ago while driving. My folks were coming up Haines Road when this episode happened, and don't have a cell phone. My mom got him off the road when a passing cyclist with a cell phone stopped to offer help and called 9111, then he called me to let me know what was going on. I was only 5 minutes away, but by the time I got there, paramedics were already giving him glucose, but it still took quite some time to raise is sugar levels back to normal.

Another problem with these lows is that you get very hungry. Since your mind is in the process of shutting down, you don't realize how much you have eaten and over-do it, then your level goes way too high. From hypo to hyper, it's a vicious circle. When you go low on the bike, it's even worse. I once rode for an hour on empty, thinking to myself that I should stop and take an energy gel, but I couldn't make myself do it. Now, no matter what my reading is, especially if it's in the 80-100 range, I add a Hammer gel or two for safe measure. Reading Team Type 1's blog gave me some insight on this, as their riders tend to start a race at about 180 and add glucose on a specific schedule. It's better to be a bit high than bonking from not eating enough. Lessons learned, the hard way, by me on the road.

Now, back to the road to nowhere......

Back To It

Sorry about the no posts lately. Just too much has been going on for me to concentrate on cycling, such as work and school. I have been learning a lot on the photography front, that's a plus. Photoshop skills are very useful, as are basic editing and design elements, such as this masterpiece:

Linda At Boo at the Zoo

One reason I haven't been riding has been pain. I ached all over, didn't recover after rides for days, was putting on weight, and had gotten weaker. And it was getting progressively worse. Feet, shoulders, knees, back, muscles, you name it, it hurt. The doctors said it was from normal wear and tear do to age and abuse. I wasn't buying it, so I traced my steps back to when this started. In particular, when I started taking diabetes medications. The first was Avandia and Metforman. I didn't take Avandia for long, as it's side effects were nasty. I still have scars from the water blisters I got on my lower legs. Nasty stuff. Metforman has no real side effects, but I still stopped taking it for a while. No difference. Insulin has no real side effects, so it was down to the last drug, a stain for cholesterol. I didn't have a cholesterol problem, but the medical establishment like to treat type 2 diabetes patients as if they have already had a heart attack. Current research is proving that theory wrong, so I quit the Simvistatin. Three weeks later, I felt like a new man. The aches and sharp pains, especially in my feet, are about 90% gone, and remain that way. What a relief to be able to go about daily life clear headed from not having to take pain medications daily, not to mention what those can do to your system. I can work out again without taking a week to recover, and my outlook and demeanor are much improved.

I had mentioned my father was going through hell with temporal arteritis. Not really, he had Lymes disease. This misdiagnosis almost killed him, wreaked havoc on his diabetes due to taking prednisone, which raises blood sugar to dangerous levels and required him to go on insulin. He couldn't take his arthritis medications due to the prednisone, so he was almost bed ridden with pain, along with many trips to the hospital for complications. Now that he's had proper treatment for Lymes, he's doing much better. I', glad we kept after the doctors, because we had thought all along he had Lymes, but they didn't test him for it for several months.

I've got another month of school left, then I'll have more time to ride and write. College was one of the best things I have ever done, even this late in life. Everyone should take a break in life and take a semester or two. I'm glad I did.

TDF 3

Stage 3 in a nut shell. Fabian hauls Andy butt through the Hell of the North and still gets the Yellow jersey back. That's a hugely deserved reward for being a team player. Frank Scleck hit the deck hard and is out, but Andy rode really well to get a bunch of time back from Contador. And don't forget Cadel Evans, who did his fair share of the work to help drive the winning break, instead of wheel sucking as he could have. I guess that rainbow jersey has changed his style for the better. He looked strong. What got me about today's stage was how Andy Schleck wanted everyone to know that he's a good bike handler and seemed miffed when people show surprise at how well he rode instead of just saying thanks. Maybe he really thinks he can knock out a bear with just one punch! I glad Thor got the win after yesterday's mess of a finish. He kind of deserved it.

Update 7/5/2010

Not a lot to report here these days, not now that I'm actually back to doing a real job again. Boy, a genuine paycheck is going to be weird again. But, I think I can handle it. Especially now that I will be married again. Next Sunday, July 11th, L and I will be getting hitched at Valentinis on London Road. I think it's a very cool venue for a wedding and party, since we aren't doing a big, traditional wedding, but more of a quick ceremony, dinner, and music. I let L handle all of the details and I will just enjoy the ride. It should be a great time.

The Tour is underway and its start out with a bang. Or should I say multiple crashes. My boy Fab C was visibly upset with today's stage and even gave stern orders to stop the sprint as to let everyone cruise home with the same time. I guess with a name like Spartacus, he carries some serious weight in the peloton. I didn't time bar the late arrivals and canceled all but Sylvain Chavanel's points and awarded him the yellow jersey. Thor Hushovd was pissed at that, saying it wasn't Cancellera's place to decide the bunch finishing at the same time. Chris Horner said the stage was stupid and the Tour organizers got what they deserved. Mixed emotions seemed to rule the day.

As for me, I haven't been riding a lot, what with the new job and some weird health problems of my own, along with my father, who has got Temporal Arteritis and other age related problem. I've been spending time at the hospital and now at my folks home now that he is out. Mine passed after a few days, but dad's haven't. He seems to be giving up, but that's not like him. I suppose at almost 80 years of age, it's tough to fight back. I think he will though, being of good Norwegian stock.