HypoActive

This report has been compiled by one of HypoActive own, Paul Lynch who started participating on the Great Vic Bike Ride with his local school at the age of 16 and he has lost count of how many rides he has done since then. However it’s a lot of pedaling!! He was part of the Diabetes Australia Victoria Team.

 
Another year, Another Great Vic Bike Ride out of the way. What is an annual event on the bike riding calendar, is a religion to others. A time of year when people come together, being friends, family or volunteers.
 
Just after my 24th Birthday I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and started manually injecting insulin. These days I have an insulin pump and things are a little easier to manage. The first time I rode after getting Type 1 I was unsure on just how much insulin I should use whilst exercising.
 
The number one item to actually help you on the ride is just general fitness. Believe me when its 40 degrees and you’re slowly grinding up a big hill and if you haven’t trained enough, nothing can save you.
 
I have a Deltec Cozmo Insulin pump, and there are number of extra items that help me during exercise, temporary rates that you can customise whilst walking, jogging, cycling and you can alter the time period that your exercising. The harder you exercise the body needs more insulin for energy. Which in turn you need to eat more turn into fuel for your body.
 
The towns the ride went through included Ballarat, Rokewood, Cobden, Mortlake, Dunkeld, Halls Gap, Lake Bolac, Beufort & back to Ballarat.
 
Training whilst working gets you fit, but exercising everyday for 3-4 hours you need to alter your insulin intake. My body usually takes an average basal rate of 22 units plus insulin for meals. On the ride I reduced the intake to approx 14 units, and my blood glucose level was constantly lower than normal.
 
My Daily Routine on the 2008 Ride-
5:30am - Adjust my basal rate to 35% for 5 hours (pump talk).
6:00am - Breakfast time, forcing yourself to eat a large healthy breakfast. Average breakfast included: porridge/muesli/fruit salad, yogurt, pastry, 2 slices multigrain bread, Plus a cup of juice. Carbs equaled about 110g carbs, but I injected/bolused for about 80g carbs worth of insulin.
6:45am - Get changed, packing up tent & bag, applying sunscreen.
7:15am - Hitting the road. Set out at a pace that will slowly warm you up, after about 10-15km’s test BGL to see how your feeling. Whilst you may feel ok you need to check your body performs differently everyday. You need to check yourself so you can find out how much to eat and conserve yourself.
9:15am - Lunch - is usually meat & salad roll or pasta, fruit, pastry and to drink 2 bottles of water. Approx 70g carbs
10:30am - At the camp site. Find bag and set up camp, shower then relax(snooze)
 
From start to finish your body slowly conditions to the ride, and you adjust to the sleeping arrangements, eating and riding.
 
The rest of the day  usually involves walking in to town tasting what different shops have to offer. Generally the local towns have a big range on display just for the ride coming thru. On average every day I would burn around 3000 calories. So you're ready to eat. It’s surprising you actually start eating an extra lunch because you exercise so much.
 
Back at the campsite DAV (Diabetes Australia Victoria) this year had a couple different fundraisers in the little tent on the inside of the campsite. Selling raffle tickets, silent auctions, badges, cycling tops and we manned the tent and basically just talk to people about the awareness of diabetes. This year you could test your ability on exercise bikes to see who you could beat whilst riding at a slow beat (hand clap speed) whilst slowly increasing the resistance. Everyday we would use the bikes and people young and old would test their abilities to see just how far they could push themselves.
 
Near the last night of the bike ride the camp holds a talent quest and we held the finals of the exercise bike competition in the large marquee so everyone can cheer our competitors. We hold the youngest males and females, and everyone went nuts! Everyone who participated gave their all and with the crowed cheering it electrified our competitors to push them even harder.
 
I think the best experience of this years ride was riding into Halls Gap and camping at the base of the massive rock structures. And of course meeting a huge bunch of new friends. Anyone thinking of doing the ride and thinks they can't due to having diabetes contact HypoActive so they can put you in touch with a riding group to help you train.