A century and a smile.

Four years I’ve been cycling and three times, I’ve set out to ride a century. Saturday, I finally made it. The difference between this attempt and the others was astounding and a testament to working hard and sticking with it.

Saturday was hard in that it was seven hours on a bike for 100+ miles, but it wasn’t a struggle. Aside from some rain toward the end, the weather was great. There was no major heat or sun, and temperatures were nice. I had a better bike this time around, and my body felt great, felt conditioned. Because I knew I had the legs for Saturday, I didn’t struggle mentally. My blood sugars were beautiful–one low of 57, and I never spiked above 186. It was close to what I’d consider a perfect day on the bike — four years in the making. Everything added up to work in my favor.

All the training… the early morning classes at Endeavor, the trips to Percy Warner, it all paid off Saturday. Whether you call it stubbornness or perseverance, it worked. It was such a wonderful boost of confidence going into my Tahoe Ride, and it was a great test run for the Nashville JDRF ride. I still have lots of work to do because the flat route in Clarksville has nothing on the hills of the Natchez Trace.

I started out with three friends, all whom ride a faster pace than I do so I was dropped somewhere around mile 30. On a ride this long, you meet all kinds of people and I met some wonderful folks. There was a lovely couple from Nashville riding Tandem, and another couple from Indiana who ride the Clarksville route each year. There was a college student from TSU who’s training for an Ironman in two years and a large group who drove down from Memphis. I ran into a couple of familiar faces from last year, and I even met a few others with a type 1 diabetes connection. I smiled the whole way and made great memories.

I made a wrong turn thanks to some bad directions, so I actually logged 107 miles. When I hit mile 100, I was on a beautiful, tree-covered road and my eyes welled with tears. I love riding with friends, but cycling alone can be such a spiritual experience. In that moment, I was just so thankful for the goodness of the Lord. For friends, for my health, for the ability to spend so much time doing something I love dearly. It was a moment of joy I won’t soon forget. That may seem silly or even trivial, but cycling has been an evolution for me and in the end, it’s brought me closer to Christ. Through mental battles and physical hurdles, I’ve had it out with God more than once. It’s in those moments of weakness, he is made strong. Seeing my computer click from 99 to 100 was about more than a century on a Saturday. It was about all the miles and all the hills before. All the struggles and the sore muscles. All the high blood sugars and all the lows. All the tears and all the triumphs. It was about the last four years of my life, who I was then and who I am now. It was about gratefulness.

I crossed the finish line where I saw my friends standing together. I smiled, threw my hands up and let out a giant, celebratory shriek and they all laughed. It was such a fantastic day, and I’m so happy to cross this one off my bucket list!

The diabetes part of the story: I consumed somewhere around 300 carbs on the ride, maybe even more. In addition to what you see below, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana and a second Shotblock pack. For dinner the night before, I made lentils and scrambled eggs with spinach and hot sauce. I woke up around 3 a.m. and ate a sunflower butter sandwich, bolused a normal amount and went back to bed. I did this so there would be no active insulin in my system when I started riding. Once of the biggest challenges I have found with morning rides is breakfast boluses. Waking up in the middle of the night isn’t ideal, but it works. For big/organized rides where you can’t be sure of a start time, it’s the best option I’ve found.

I woke up feeling good and with a blood sugar of 136. We made it to Clarksville around 6 a.m., with plans to leave at 6:45. We actually got away at 7, but I ate early enough all the insulin was out of my system. Unless I’m running low, I don’t typically lower my basal rate. I started the ride at 189. I ate around every 45 minutes to an hour with the idea of sustaining my numbers. I finished with a blood sugar of 82. I couldn’t have asked for better numbers. Throughout the seven-hour ride, I logged a 146, 57, 81, 135, and 151.