Cycling & Diabetes

paule1971

Hi all

I have type 1 diabetes so for long rides I use gels for carbs, approx 50 grams an hour. For 100km I could easily go through 10 sachets. I just count the gels as I go and I know I'm getting the right (safe) amount.

But gels are expensive and messy. I'm thinking of replacing some of the gels with glucose (or similar) added to my water.

I need to know how many carbs I've taken at any point through out the ride, a bottle with measurements written on the side is not accurate enough.

Does anyone know of a bottle that only dispenses a certain measured amount of liquid?

I'm thinking about the kind of thing that dispenses measures in a pub. I can't find one suitable for a bottle cage though.

Any advice/help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

PaulE

fenix

Tricky. I sometimes decant the gels into my water bottle and fill with water to make a strong energy drink.

Then I've worked out how many Squeezes of the bottle it takes me to drink it - so I can tell that each squeeze is half a gel or whatever.

Not exactly precise - but may be close enough.

Have you read all the Novo Nordisk stuff ? I think they have good resources for diabetic athletes.

BarleyPointer

You can get gel flasks....?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/high ... -prod89836

If you make your own gels (loads of recipes around the internet) you can guarantee the strength and dosage.

cgfw201

You'd think these guys should have some info on this kind of stuff, and there is a bit on their site about how to compete with diabetes.

http://www.teamnovonordisk.com/

paule1971

Thank you all.

I do on occasion make my own gels and the flasks are a nice idea, I still need to consume correct amount though.

I skim the Team Novo Nordisk website now and then, it's useful and reassuring... but I'm looking for a practical solution rather than inspiration.

cookeeemonster

10 gels for 60 miles?!?

Jesus...we're all different but that seems an awful lot. Or are you riding really hard or maybe taking too much insulin beforehand?

I've recently discovered jelly babies for long rides (100 miles ish), less messy and can chew them now and then while going along if I feel I need the carbs

cookeeemonster

Oh by the way you can get gel bottles that fit into your rear pocket - but they only take 2 or 3 gels I think

spin_city

I also have Type 1. If you need to take on, say, 50g of Carbs an hour my advice would be to take on both food and drink while you're riding.
I work on 60g of Carbs an hour so I drink 30g and eat 30g.
My drink is usually Ribena or Hi-Juice and food is usually fruit cake, malt loaf, oat bars, etc.
Everything is weighed before I go out including drink refills so with practice it becomes possible to cycle all day if you need to. (I've not included eating meals on a long ride but that's also possible with a bit of insulin.)

paule1971

CookeeeMonster wrote:

10 gels for 60 miles?!?

10 gels easy. I need (depending on the terrain and my effort) approx .8g carbs per kilo per hour. For me that's 64 carbs an hour. I can do 100km in 3 hours-ish, that's 192 g. At 20g per gel that's 10. And I always carry extra.
These are approx values, some days I need less, some days more.

And besides I'd rather be slightly high than risk a low.

I don't take insulin within 2 hours of beginning the ride.

paule1971

Spin City wrote:

I also have Type 1. If you need to take on, say, 50g of Carbs an hour my advice would be to take on both food and drink while you're riding.
I work on 60g of Carbs an hour so I drink 30g and eat 30g.
My drink is usually Ribena or Hi-Juice and food is usually fruit cake, malt loaf, oat bars, etc.
Everything is weighed before I go out including drink refills so with practice it becomes possible to cycle all day if you need to. (I've not included eating meals on a long ride but that's also possible with a bit of insulin.)

Thanks Spin City

How do you ensure that you're not drinking too much or too little?

spin_city

It takes a bit of practice to be able to estimate the exact intake. I tend to drink more of a weaker drink when it's warmer and less of a stronger drink when it's cooler. I normally wrap my food in cling film and keep the pieces in my back pockets. For longer rides I put extra food in my saddle bag with my emergency rations. I tend to eat hourly and if appropriate I won't eat all of a portion of food. If necessary, I'll get extra carbs from eating jelly babies.
I've also been able to adopt this approach to running a marathon.

kingrollo

no advice - but much respect for sticking at it.