What tweaks to your gear and kits have you made – or would you like to see available – to make it easier, safer, and/or less inconvenient to ride with diabetes? This could be anything from reappropriating a bib’s radio pocket for meter and strips to mounting a CGM receiver (or Omnipod PDM) on one’s handlebar or top tube, to slitting open a jersey seam to snake through an infusion set, to… well, your needs and your imagination are the limit.
While I suspect that, as a unique market, we are too small for most manufacturers to deal with, there may be enough of us with similar needs – the meeting of which could be cross-marketable to other niche communities – to “make things happen”.
Using a bottle holder for something other than fluid on a century… Do you wear a hydration pack (e.g., Camelbak) that you can sacrifice water-bottle-space that easily?
The only major problem I’ve found that is a special case for diabetics is that on hot days, my black cased tester inside a black saddle bag can get too hot to be used.
Other than that, I usually use MTB shorts that have pockets for my Pump. (I use the paradigm, so the CGM is integrated.)
I test while I ride. I put some Velcro on my Accu-check compact plus then made a two strap harness that goes around my arm with the mating Velcro. I can tighten it up so it is secure it also has two separate bungee type straps that secure the meter to the harness.
I like having the auto 16 strip drum for long rides and races, can’t stop when in race mode.
My CGM does not always track real well. And I like to see exactly what my sugar is so I can I compensate. 6802-P1010023.JPG (894 KB)
My pump seems to be the biggest cause for discomfort. I usually have the pump connected to my stomach so it can easily swing around back and drop in a jersey pocket. It would be awesome if there was a pocket that was accessible through a flap in one of the pockets instead of having to loop the tube out of the jersey and over the pocket.
Here’s a thought (especially if you can do some rudimentary sewing): cut a small slit in the jersey side of one of your pockets, just large enough to slip through the smallest part of your apparatus (e.g., attachment end of tubing if you disconnect for a minute when dressing). Secure the cut edges with a buttonhole stitch (by hand), or with a zigzag stitch (by machine). If you’re completely sewing-impaired, you may be able to get the edges to hold by treating them with Fray-Check (available at most sewing-and-crafts stores).
You will thread the tubing through the slit in the jersey before dressing, and keep the pump proper in your jersey pocket.
The setup may be more secure if you do this with a jersey design that has a zippered pocket.
Try this with an old/inexpensive jersey before potentially ruining one of your good jerseys.
