It was crisp and cool on Sunday morning. The sun hadn’t quite made up it’s mind as to whether it was coming out or not. Choosing what to wear would be the first challenge of the day!
Everyone knew the race ahead would be challenging. Many of us were new to off-road cycling. With so many new variables in the air, there was lots to think about on race day. We debated over layers – keep the jacket on or off? full gloves or fingerless? long pants or shorts? We guestimated and determined basal and long-acting reductions based on what we ‘thought’ the ride ahead would be like. We pumped tires, adjusted bikes and we stashed Dex 4, Jelly Beans, and other carbs into bike bags, jersey pockets and Camelbacks. We tucked in pump cords and zipped pens and meters in pockets.
At the race start, people recognized the CIM green from across the parking lot, our team started to gather at the line. Pre-race butterflies fluttered away in my stomach as I tested and calibrated my sensor. I wasn’t even RACING! Why the nerves?
Before I had too much more time to think about it, the starting bell went off and we were rolling…along with over 1900 other riders competing in the 2010 Paris to Ancaster 35km off-road bike race. Some of our members had gone the extra mile, literally. They had already been riding for over an hour in the 60K distance before the rest of us riding the 35K took off from the start.
For the next 2 or more hours we cruised along beautiful country roads, through farms (right through corn fields!), down lane ways and across grassy pastures with horses grazing. The sun broke through the clouds and warmed our spandex clad bodies. It was picturesque (even the spandex!), until we got to the mud.
The mud was a force to be reckoned with: slick, slimy, malodorous, deep and often downhill. The most wretched snowball effect ensued – every stick, twig, leaf, pebble and blade of grass would gather in the ever-growing clod of mud surrounding your brakes and frame until the tires refused to budge. Tire-clogging, gear-gumming, brake coating, clip-in shoe filling, the mud pits were a pain. Impossible to ride (trust me, I watched those ‘hard-core’ mountain biking folk try and end up horizontal) and challenging to walk in, the shoe-sucking pits tested our zeal. But with bikes on our shoulders we persevered, and to my amazement there were smiling volunteers at the end of the last one with cookies as we whizzed back out on to the road.
Mud in our past, we forged on through more fields, down rail trails and through quaint towns. Aside from a quick BG test, diabetes management (for me) happened on the fly, popping Dex during flat sections and bites of fruit bar where one-handed riding permitted. With BG’s in an acceptable range and knowing I was getting close to the finish, I pedalled hard.
“Only a few more kilometers to go” shouted friendly by-standers.
Elated, I powered on.
No one happened to mention that the last few km’s were the most…um…undulating(?) of the race. The final few hundred meters to the finish wound up, up, up and around. Legs throbbing and heart pounding, we faced the final hurdle. The more people who eked to a halt and got off, the more I wanted to grind up that hill. Then I heard it…
“Go diabetes! Go Connected in Motion!” Carlo cheered from the top of the hill – clad in CIM green complete with headband. Christine and Rob were there too. That was the encouragement I needed. I called on my legs for a big favour and they came through. I whooped and hooted my way across the finish line.
With my own race over, it was time to join the team. Our sweaty, muddy, salty bunch congratulated those who had already crossed the line and cheered on the remaining members as they too cranked up the last hill, exhausted and ecstatic.
With pre-race butterflies left in the mud, we celebrated a fantastic day.
In talking with a bunch of the crew post-race, I heard the same account of the final hill over and over again. So many of us looked at that hill and decided right away – I AM NOT GETTING OFF. The more people got off around us, the deeper we dug, and when we heard YEAH DIABETES and saw the CIM green, we pushed even harder, because that’s what people with diabetes do.
Congrats to the entire CIM crew for an incredible accomplishment. Venturing out into to new terrain with so many unknowns and so many uncontrollable variables is a tremendous challenge. To add diabetes management on top of that, well, it takes guts, it takes confidence and sometimes, it takes a little help from your team. I feel super lucky to say, that I have the best team around.
