March 19th, 2008 by 
thien
By Russ Bartholet
The Introduction.
I have never raced my road bike and do not have any plans to do so. I ride for exercise and as a means to control my diabetes. Any “training” that I have done to get ready for the few charity-type rides that I have participated in has just been to ride more. It has been the quantity of miles and the consistency of the rides leading up to the events that have helped. Other than that I just ride my bike. An hour one day and maybe two hours the next, whatever I can squeeze in between family and work commitments.
A few months ago I was talking with my doctor about using a power meter to track how my body responds to the exercise and in turn how if affects my diabetes. It helps that he is a USA Cycling coach and races himself. He understands what it takes to gain fitness and improve as a cyclist.
Adrenaline and other hormones affect heart rate whereas the power that a rider can produce and the watts that are generated reflect the overall performance of the cyclist. I am hoping to better understand how my diabetes responds to exercise and to track the changes in my fitness as I record my rides and download the data that is collected through the power meter.
The Cyclops PowerTap SL 2.4 from Saris was easy to set up. After putting on a new tire and swapping my cassette from my old wheel I was pretty much ready to ride. With no wires to run from bow to stern or magnets to adjust against a sensor, it was a fast and easy install. The computer set up took all of ten minutes to decide what language I wanted to use and if I wanted to go truly Euro and use the metric system. In the end I opted for the standard unit of measure in the United States and left the display in the default setting. This just means that I did not move the displays around and left them in the order that comes stock from Saris.
Everything needed to get started using the system is provided. The computer head and handle bar mount, heart rate strap, download cradle, setup booklet, a booklet on training with power written by Allen Lim, Ph.D., and a training CD that is very informative. I downloaded the training software directly from the Saris website and had everything ready to go in about 45 minutes. All that I needed to do now was ride.
Without testing for my maximum power and before I set up my power zones I decided to ride my standard loops to just see what my power readings were. After a few weeks now of riding 3-4 days a week, both outside and on the trainer, and collecting the data from each ride, it has been interesting to see what a hard ride is compared to an easy ride in terms of power output and energy expended (calories burned.)
Now that I am comfortable with the PowerTap SL 2.4 and the software, it is time to setup my power zones and begin riding with a plan for improvement. I think I have just started training.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts in this multi-part series by Russ as he chronicles his progress under the watchful eye of his Doctor and USA Cycling Coach…
March 28th, 2008 at 10:56 am
If you are interested, you may want to look into the effects a raw vegan diet has on managing and/or reversing diabetes. I have not dealt with it myself, but have read many accounts of people being able to get off treatments after a few months of drastically changing their diet. Helps maximize the watts/kg ratio also…
Not trying to take lightly what you are dealing with, just offering something you may want to look into.
Google: Raw Vegan Diabetes
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Not trying to take this even more off topic…but Dan’s comment contains misinformation. Type I diabetes cannot be treated with diet alone. To stop insulin treatment and switch to a raw vegan diet would end up in hospitalization for most with type I diabetes. Diet and exercise have a profound impact on all diabetes (Type I & II) but to “get off treatment” (insulin injections) in type I as he has suggested is dangerous.
Now for an on thread comment: I remember Gray Hall (olympic gold medal 50 meter swimmer with type I diabetes) mention that his glucose would increase from 100 mg/dl pre-race to something like 250 post-race. Given that he is only swimming for a minute or so that is pretty amazing!
Russ- Here’s to good riding!
Calman Prussin, M.D.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 am
Not to belabor the point, but nowhere did Russ mention whether he was dealing with Type I or II diabetes specifically…nor did I “recommend” anything, certainly not stopping one immediately and starting the other overnight.
That said, if someone I cared about were dealing with diabetes, I would suggest they looked into the well-documented effect eating a raw vegan diet can have. Simple as that.
Best of luck to the author, I’m looking forward to hearing how he likes the PTap.