Stap - good to see your upper lip is still stiff!
Follow doctor's orders and you'll be OK. And for vitamin D, come and visit us for some sun.

Nice tape job, So much nicer than that tape in the middle way.

Stap,
The bar tape looks good from the NW Florida part of the US, can't see anything wrong with the job at all. I use the bottom up now, used to wrap from the top down and tuck into the end plug when I used Tressostar cloth tape. With the thicker cork and padded tapes I start at the bottom with a wrap over to secure the end and wrap each side in the opposite direction of the other. A roll of black electrician's tape finishes it off. I know some detest the electrician's tape at the top being visible, does not bother me as it is tightly, evenly wrapped with the ends matched, beneath the bar. Works for me and I am the only one riding my bike. Yours looks well wrapped, very neat and evenly spaced the entire length.

I don't know if the UK had the sweetener "Splenda", but I now use that for my coffee and sweetened iced tea (southern US thing) as it dissolves completely and has no aftertaste as some of the sweeteners do. Monica cooks with it the same as she would with sugar and no one has been able to taste any difference unless we tell them. My B-I-L and I have adopted it as our sugar now. If you can get Splenda, try it in your coffee.

Bill

The "yet" may be because it isn't always a standard part of blood tests. It was only a couple of years ago that my doctor suggested a vitamin D test. It wasn't part of my blood test before that time and he said the insurance might not cover it (they did) in which case it would probably be $100 out of pocket. Overcoming my parsimonious ways, I agreed to the test. I was deficient in vitamin D. Took a high level capsule once a week but as soon as I quit the levels went down again. Now he has me taking a lower dosage capsule every day and I will be tested again on Tuesday (along with other tests for diabetes....I read your original post, Stap, and wondered if you were stealing my blood because it sounded so familiar). I'm looking forward to better numbers in every category this trip.

I believe I was tested for Vitamin D levels when I turned 50. The doc said their office had never seen numbers as low as mine--I was sedentary and rarely went outside. Of course now I'm very active, but don't get a lot of sun as I usually bike before sun up--but once or twice a week I bike in the afternoon. I take 2000u/day, every day though--have no idea what my numbers are now.

Unless you have particular problem then blood tests are not the norm over here for anything. For the last 12 years I have had regular cholesterol and PSA blood tests due to Pca and a bypass. About 10 years ago I had to take a glucose test and that was when it was found that I have slightly elevated glucose levels but not very high. I have changed doctors at the surgery and When I saw her a couple of weeks ago she reminded me about the blood tests I should arrange and then suggested that I have further tests done. Why she did it I do not know but I am glad she did.

Apparently it is common for us older persons to be lacking in vitamin "D" at this time of year and mostly it is minimal and not worth bothering about. In my case I was way down on the level I should have and "May" be the reason for some of the problems I have been experiencing. Just hoping she is right.

Add the Grouch to the list of regular vitamin D takers. I've had a couple of blood tests at the doctors and he put me on a 50,000 units per week. Lately I've been taking 2,000 units per day and all those other symptoms that you mentioned have improved for me.

I'm not a fan of handlebar tapeing from the top down. I suspect you will discover that your hands will cause curling where the tape overlaps. If that's true, you can always retape them starting at the bottom. The experience won't have been a waste because you will have become smarter.

In the winter, it's impossible to produce vitamin D from the sun if you live north of Atlanta because the sun never gets high enough in the sky for its ultraviolet B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. But summer is a great time to stock up on the nutrient. When the sun's UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D. If you're fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin.

Here's a neat calculator that tells you how much sun exposure you need at different latitudes, dates, etc:

http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/..._quartMED.html

Thanks for that link--Put in todays date- overcast as it is persisting down and the garden is flooded again and here are the results.

Recommended UV exposure of face, hands and arms at least every other day to obtain sufficient vitamin D, equivalent of 25 micrograms vitamin D, if no dietary vitamin D is available:
Processing ... (this may take a minute)Done
Output:
minimum recommended exposure time (hours:minutes)
24: 0

Think I'll keep taking the pills:lol:

I was at the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago myself. Whatever blood thingie they look at for diabetes is elevated, but right at the lower end of the pre-diabetic level where they start to get concerned.

I was also informed that this 'threshold' has recently been lowered, so now many more people are being diagnosed as diabetic or pre-diabetic. I figure I can bring that down with diet and exercise, just like I've done with my high blood pressure. Lose that 'spare tire', and start riding more (or do I have that backwards? ;) )

Stap, I doubt that this is your problem -- or the problem with most on this forum -- but I thought I would share it anyway:

An article from (your) BBC on how excess fat steals vitamin D from the rest of the body.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21339107

And, here's another article from the BBC that just might pertain to you:

"We found that low vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk of having metabolic syndrome, and was also significantly associated with increased insulin resistance."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8043297.stm

I never knew there was any link between vitamin D and diabetes...

This was one of the things I picked up on Vitamin "D" deficiency. It can cause a tendency towards Diabetes. I have a feeling that "D" deficiency is the cause of my problems as The other signs have been prevalent for some time.

Interesting! I think I'll ask about that for my next physical.

My sun exposure might make the point moot. I typically eat a 30 minute lunch outdoors and almost always wear short pants. And I've recently started taking a multivitamin with vitamin D (mostly because it's a chewable gummy :D).

At this point I worry more about too much exposure to the Sun. My Mediterranean complexion helps, but ....

Did you HAVE to point that out??? Was it REALLY necessary????
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=298760
:cry: