Originally Posted by Novara Buzz
I'm a diabetic Clydesdale (6'3" and 240 lbs.) I've been cycling for about 3 years and have been able to reduce my insulin dosage by half thanks to my cycling regimen.
How are the other diabetics doing on the bike? Have you ridden a century yet? And what foodstuffs do you schlep along to prevent bonking?
I'm guessing you're a type 2?
My wife's a type 1 and does pretty good biking. Typically we'll stop every half hour, test her blood and she'll eat 1/2 a power bar. No insulin required for the power bars during the ride. Post ride, she will need less insulin for meals. We've done up to 4 hours this way (though that was the longest we did and she was physically wiped afterwards) but more typically about 2.
She went on an insulin pump last spring and has only ridden once since then - being pregnant kind of hampered any rides. We've seen that exercise necessitates a lower basal rate and any meal boluses within a couple of hours also require a lower insulin to carb ratio.