After the Ride

I am slowly recovering from the grueling bike ride on Thursday. I am not nearly as sore as I thought I would be (actually my sit-bones are just as sore as I thought they would be). The new trail (the Cheyenne Rim trail at Soapstone Natural Area) proved to be a little harder than I had anticipated. It took us about two hours to get to the turn around point (and only one hour to get back to the parking lot--I do love down hill so much better). But the pay off was well worth it. After 7.6 miles of tedious elevation gain, the landscape opened up to a beautiful red dirt valley. We stopped and ate lunch on a rock outcropping and took in the magnificent scene. We were the only people for miles. There is something so healing about that kind of silence.

Before we started the bike ride, I drank a homemade protein shake (about 17g protein, 20g carb). That, along with a conservative amount of insulin at brunch, held me over pretty well. I checked my sugars around the 6 mile mark, after a painful hill climb left me feeling drained. 67 and likely dropping. I took four glucose tabs and hopped back on my bike. I could sense that the halfway point and subsequent lunch break were near. It turned out I was being a little too hopeful in that aspect. by the time we did stop for lunch, I knew I had some room to work as far as blood sugars were concerned. I ate freely with little regard to carb counting (just one of the many benefits of serious activity). The way back was mostly downhill and by the time we got back to the car my blood sugar was holding strong at 93.

We ended the day with a home cooked meal and some celebratory drinks on the patio. (Did I mention that my parents kick ass?)