Riding with Type 1 Diabetes


I’ve ridden bikes for as long as I can remember. From trips to the shops to multi day tours in the Alps, whether on road or off (or a combination of the 2!) there’s not much I wouldn’t think about riding.

So in May 2010 when I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes aged 35 I thought my life would have to change in a dramatic way. That riding my bike would be a thing of the past. Something I could dream about but no longer do. Not to any great extent anyway.

I was wrong.

Despite what you may read, fear or imagine cycling with diabetes is not much different to cycling without diabetes - all you need to do is have some control of your blood sugars and know roughly where they are headed. 

Yes ok that’s a big caveat but experience soon shows the trends - for me these include dipping overnight but also excellent control with very few rapid highs and - provided a regular source of glucose is coming on board - very few lows.

I tend to reduce my insulin with breakfast on the morning of a big ride so that my blood sugar is at a “healthy high” when I start riding. Very soon as the body starts to work the levels come within range and it’s just a case of keeping them there.

I use a Libre sensor which alarms to my phone if my levels are too high or too low, and I can quickly scan at any time to get a current (ish) reading. I say “ish” since the sensor will read levels from around 10 minutes prior to real time, but helpfully an arrow will point in the direction that the levels are going. So a 4.2 going up may be less of a concern that a 4.3 going down, for example.

Glucose comes on board by way of jelly babies. I use a small bag which straps onto my top tube so is in easy reach and regularly dip in for a sweet or 2 at a time.

When I was diagnosed I found it really hard to find helpful advice for amateur cyclists with diabetes. I hope these pages may be helpful to someone else in my position. Please feel free to leave a comment or send me any questions.

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