It soon became apparent that a brisk stroll down to the pub was not going to build the muscle strength and stamina needed. After a team meeting it was reluctantly decided that even more frequent brisk strolls were not going to fit the bill either. Even Steph’s twice weekly Tae Kwon Do training wasn’t going to be enough (she’s a 2nd Dan Black Belt – don’t argue)

Through the winter even the weekly bike ride into town to visit the market had been curtailed due to the weather. Another strategy was called for and a quick visit to Ebay and few bids later the postman delivered a second hand turbo trainer. Wow.
For the uninitiated this is a frame that the back axle of your bike fits into and a roller presses onto the back tyre. You can adjust the resistance of the roller and basically ride the bike standing still, changing gear and everything, even ringing the bell. Add to this the power of the iPod combined with The Who Live at Leeds and you are set for many a ‘happy’ hour pedalling away and going nowhere. And it works. Whilst being incredibly boring it works wonders for the muscle tone and the cardio-vascular thing. And you feel so thirsty afterwards you have to go for a brisk stroll….

A serious consequence of the increased physical training has been the effect on Graham’s blood sugar levels resulting in a couple of ‘hypos’. He describes the feeling as being like when you’re about to be ill after drinking too much - without the fun bit first. The symptoms appear quite quickly and the ‘cure’ is to take sugar asap. As a result he tests his sugar levels at least twice a day. On the plus side as his metabolism has improved his insulin dose has almost halved.

Aside from the obvious problems a diabetic has at a time like this there is the general problem of what cyclists call ‘The Bonk’. This is basically another name for ‘The Wall’ that marathon runners hit. It is when the body just runs out of fuel and every step becomes really hard work. The way to avoid the bonk is to eat constantly, well every hour. A banana here and an energy bar there are essential to keep the ‘tank’ topped up. If you do bonk it takes more than a quick Mars bar or two to get you going as the body has to digest the food and get things back to normal.

Another problem is fluid intake. Like the bonk, if you feel thirsty its too late so you need to be constantly drinking. Some say that if you’re not stopping to pee regularly you’re not drinking enough.

Serious stuff this long distance cycling, especially when you’re not as young as you once were.