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As easy as riding a bicycle
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It is easy to say to a person with diabetes “you should get more exercise” but if you are not already exercising, how do you get started? How do you keep from injuring yourself? How can you make it fun? Bob Avritt has type 2 diabetes and found that by riding a bicycle, he was able to significantly improve his health. If one goes by hemoglobin A1c levels – which is the recommendation of the ADA, Bob’s A1c moved from 7.8 to 6.8 within a year. Now his A1c is below 6.5 which is the critical level at which blood sugar begins damaging tissues leading to diabetes complications. Furthermore, he has met new friends and he is having fun. Indeed Bob has become what I would call a healthy diabetic. Here is some advice from Bob about how to get started.
First, consult your physician. There may be some really important reasons why this is not for you so before you invest in a bicycle, find out. For example, if you weigh in excess of 350 lbs you should probably lose some weight first due to the risk to your heart. Next promise yourself that you will always wear a helmet. Bob has had 2 crashes so far and he is certain that he would have been in bad shape if not for that helmet. As it was, he simply had a headache and a few scratches.
Do you want to commute to work, ride trails, do long road rides? Your decision will determine the type of bicycle you buy. Do some web searches and read as much as you can if you are not sure. There is an unbelievable amount of material on the web and something is sure to resonate. Read some bike magazines. Read some reviews. Nothing beats doing your homework before you head out the door.
According to Bob, the absolutely most important thing to do is make sure the bicycle fits you. A poorly fitting bicycle will lead to wrist pain, shoulder pain, butt pain, and ultimately your dismissal of this as a viable activity. You can buy a cheap bicycle at Target or Walmart and that is what you will get – a cheap bike. These mass produced bicycles are geared to fit people in the size range of 5’8’’ to 5’11’ so if you are shorter or taller than that it is unlikely that you will get a good fit. A good bike shop that caters to the non-professional rider is the best bet. If you enter the shop and the sales staff treats you like you are not worthy – leave immediately. There are many good shops that focus on the casual rider. They will help you get the bicycle that fits you.
How much should you spend on your first bicycle? This is going to be really dependent on how much disposable income you have. If you can spend $500, Bob indicated, you will get a good quality entry level bicycle of the mountain bike/hybrid variety. Make the budget decision before entering the bike shop!! You should not worry about the heaviness of the bicycle, for example. Think about it. You are getting this thing to get exercise and have fun – not to win the Tour de France. So, you can save some money there. Now there is a huge amount of mixing and matching with bicycles. There is the frame and then there are the components. Bob recommends the Shimomo Sora component group as the minimum.
Mountain bikes and hybrids make great commuter bicycles. Bob commutes 7 miles to work and 7 miles home 3 days a week in addition to his fun rides on the weekend. This riding, day in and day out really made a difference for him. Of course you need to slowly build up to this. Ride just a little bit to start but ride several times a week. Stretch before and afterwards.
Finally, there is a wealth of connectivity out there. You will be surprised how many folks are in exactly your situation and are looking for someone like you to ride with. Get on social networking sites and find kindred spirits. Soon you will have a wealth of new friends, a fun hobby, and you too will be a healthy diabetic.
Bob Avritt is the founder of the bicyce racing team: Team Type 2 and recently completed the Race Accross America
To find out more about becoming a healthy diabetic, a new magazine has just launched: A Sweet Life, the magazine for the healthy diabetic at http://asweetlife.org
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