Walking Tall: Biking for Charity

This past summer I started biking(road cycling) to help with my cardio. For me running puts a lot of stress on my back and feet so I wanted to find an exercise that was fun, exciting, and kept me in shape. Biking is all that rolled up into one.

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While riding during the summer I noticed a charity bike event for the Kelly Brush Foundation called the Kelly Brush Century Ride. I decided to sign up for 1 loop which is half of a century (50 miles).

Starting out was tough, as is with almost any sport, but once I started to get into better shape, I noticed my mileage increasing each ride. 50 miles seemed like an unreachable distance at first, but a friend of mine let me tag along with him while he rode which kept me motivated. We pushed each other to the next level every mile we rode.

The training cut off extra fat from my body, I felt better than I ever did, and my metabolism shot up decreasing the amount of insulin needed for my Diabetes. Riding outside on the warm summer days was joyful and helped me forget about any problems I was having with normal day life (at least temporarily). Relieving stress is an important part of Diabetes control for me.

Well the day came for my charity bike adventure and I felt both nervous and prepared. The weather was a little cloudy and cool, perfect for biking. I decided to bring with me two power bars, a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade/water mix. Its always important to be prepared for any type of exercise with food and water, Diabetic or not. My bg tested normal and I was ready.

The ride started out strong with me keeping pace with the top guys in the event. I know it wasn't a race, but I have such a competitive nature! After about 12 miles I decided to drop off of the front peloton to conserve energy because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up that pace for 50 miles. Around mile 20 I decided to eat half of my power bar to keep my carbohydrate levels up. I felt strong all the way until about mile 40 and then the long hills came into play.

Never been a great hill climber (in my minimal experience), but I kept pushing, even at a slower than average pace. I wasn't with the elite, but I was doing better than the average cyclist in the event. I was tired for the last 3 miles of the ride but when I saw the finish I realized that I had accomplished my goal.

I finished the ride in 2 hours and 37 minutes, around a 19 mph pace. I felt great. My blood sugar was in check throughout the whole ride, I had fun, and I did better than I expected. I guess you can say that I was Walking Tall that day, or would that be riding?

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