My New Bike

To do this ride, I had to move from my mountain bike to a road bike. I had not ridden a road bike in about 14 years and a lot has changed in biking technology since then: Lycra pants, carbon fiber frames and components, clipless pedals. All quite daunting.

I opted for what is the generally considered to be a low mid-range road bike. That statement seems like an oxymoron, especially considering the price tag of the bikes today. I test rode the Trek 2.1, Trek 4.5, and the Specialized Allez. The Trek and Specialized are aluminum frame with carbon fiber forks, seat stays, and seat posts. Component gear like shifters and derailleurs were mid-range, though the Specialized had a couple of upgraded components compared to the Trek. The Trek 4.5 offered a completely carbon fiber frame and was a little bit lighter.

Since I had not been on a road bike in years, I did not know how to judge what felt good, what felt bad, what was quality and what was not. I was mainly going on rule of thumb and gut feel. The Specialized seemed to feel better and I took solace in the fact that one of the main moving parts of the bike, the rear derailleur, was an upgraded component. That's better, right?

So I chose. I selected the Specialized Allez Elite. With all of the gear it weighs 22 lbs. That doesn't sound too extravagant but it is a step up from my 30 pound mountain bike. So far I have really been enjoying it.

Lance's Regimen

Lance's regimen consists of at least three insulin shots a day. His program uses a combination of long lasting insulin and short acting insulin. In the morning we prick his finger for a drop of blood to monitor his morning blood sugar level. He is usually within the range for the morning so we administer an insulin shot with a combination of the long acting and short acting insulin. The short acting will counteract the carbs eaten at breakfast while the long acting will take care of morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. He eats 35 to 40 carbs for breakfast, usually oatmeal and milk.

At lunch his blood sugar is monitored again. If within normal levels then he does not need an insulin shot and he can eat his lunch. Lunch consists of 40 to 45 carbs. Lately Lance has refused to eat bread so getting up to 40 carbs without adding a lot of sweets is challenging.

At dinner, his blood sugar is monitored again and he gets a dose of the short acting insulin. This shot counteracts the 30 to 35 grams of carbs in his dinner. Yes, it is OK if you do not eat your meat but you must eat all of your fries and grapes!

After bath, just before bedtime, Lance gets his blood sugar checked again. He gets a dose of the long lasting insulin to carry him through the night. He gets a snack of about 15 carbs with some protein just before bed. Isn't it supposed to be bad to eat right before bed? Anyways, that carries him to the morning where the cycle repeats.

To My Supporters

Wow! You are all amazing! I am so thankful for the generosity and words of encouragement from my sponsors. It has exceeded my expectations. I feel blessed to have family, friends, and collegues that have come forward to support me in my efforts for a very worthwhile cause and challenging physical endevor. Keep checking on the blog for more updates.

--Russell

Special Thanks

A special thanks goes to my beautiful wife, Stacey. She has been very helpful in my fundraising efforts and supportive of my bicycle training. I love you.

A special thanks goes to my Mom and Dad for the special support in acquiring my new bicycle which is making this ride possible.

Thanks to Randy Class for donating the Garmin GPS trainer. I have just started using all of the functions...it is pretty cool.