On the Road Again...

Having diabetes has its down sides: You have to stab yourself with insulin every time you eat and delicious sweets are not conducive to its maintenance. Despite this, the needles eventually become part of every day life and you get to scare your friends by pretending to stab them.

When I was first diagnosed, I was at a race & collapsed after a relatively short, easy stage. I went to the hospital and that afternoon I was told I had type 1 diabetes.

When the doctor found out that I raced a bicycle, she told me that I would have to have a couple of months off and that it wouldn't be a good idea to go riding long distances. At this point I was ready to give up cycling and was preparing to sell everything bike related that I owned.

Then, the next day, I got bored. What else am I supposed to do? Sit around and watch Dr Phil all day? So I got back on my bike and haven't looked back.

Since then, I have discovered that what the doctor told me is the typical advice that diabetics get from health professionals. Because diabetes affects the level of glucose in the blood, add exercise to the mix just complicates things and makes it too hard to manage.

In order to combat this misconception, there is a new cycling team that I am proud to say that I am a part of. Team Novo Nordisk is the world's first Pro-Continental cycling team made up of all diabetic riders. The team is based in Atlanta, in the States and will race mainly in the US, Europe and Asia.

So for me, this means that I am back on the road traveling again. I am currently sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Spain for the Team's first training camp where I will meet everyone for the first time.

So in the coming months, keep an eye on the blog... it's time to fire it back up, seeing how I may have some more exciting things to write about. In the meantime, you can read more about the team at www.teamnovonordisk.com