I have run and ridden into Bennett and @BadShoe a few other DOC friends from the Diabetes Unconference and some other D-groups on Strava, a fitness/ geography app/ toy. I know some other DOC folks and some people I work with are using Fitbits. We were chatting about it in the Chat and Marie suggested starting a thread to talk about it here. I find it fun to connect with people about what we’re doing whether it’s walking/ running/ riding or whatever.
Hey, AR. I started with a simple pedometer to measure my steps and distance. I’m a walker and and average 25-30 miles per week, 1300 miles in the last year. For me, I know that watching the data keeps me motivated.
I used the pedometer by itself for a few years. Last year I added a Fitbit. The wireless connection to my computer and a report screen made things more interesting. I can even track my sleep patterns if I can only remember to turn that function on and off.
A week ago I added an Apple watch. I now get my BGs on my wrist showing the last three hours. This glanceable convenience makes it easier to monitor my BGs more often and employ some of the micro-adjustment techniques, like waiting to get the BG bend downwards before eating. I went about 75 minutes after dosing for breakfast this morning before I ate my first bite. This adjustment in meal timing seems like a good tool if you don’t have to negotiate meal timing with other people.
So yeah, I like the fitness tracker gizmos. I’m still learning the ones on the Apple watch.
I think you’ll like having your BG displayed on your handlebars. It seems like a small thing compared to having it on the pump face but glanceability, I’ve learned, does make a difference. Happy riding!
I have a fitbit and i LOVE it. I also have a Moto 360 watch that tracks my heart rate and “gently reminds” me to walk every day. The fitbit app uses my gps location to follow me and calculate my distance.
Ok, true confession, I use a lot more than those 2. I also use a C25K app, rockmyrun app for the coolest workout music, and a lot more. I enjoy trying them out to see which ones work best for me.
Sarah 
No BG on the handlebars yet @Terry4, just the phone and the map. I don’t have Connect and probably will not bother with it as glancing at my pump is easier than my looking at my phone on my bike.
I agree the apps are fun toys to play with @curlysarah, but I also like having all of my stuff piled up in a pile. I used a Garmin for a long time but the dog chewed up the strap and I have it rigged together with Gorilla Tape so then I checked out Strava and decided I like using my phone. I’m somewhat uncertain if it will have enough juice for a big ride. Last year at theTdC, all of my tech stuff died 80 miles into it so I finished “in the dark”
Hey buddy,
I do use strava run and strava cycle.
Tried a fair few, I wore a fitbit for a year which was kind of funl. I got one for my girlfriend and we used to compete who could take the most steps and burn the most calories in a day, the gamification offered by fitbit was quite fun and did make me exercise more. I’d go for a 10k run in the evening after sitting on my bum all day behind a laptop, she do an 8 hour shift and still have double the steps I could muster ha.
Got three fit bits in the house doing nothing, so if you fancy trying one out, PM me your address and I’ll send it over the pond for you. They work best with an android phone or an iphone otherwise you’re having to sync with a pc or laptop all the time.
They also sync with online food tracking apps like myfitness pall which is pretty cool, as do edmondo and strava.
Tried all the major apps and strava and edmondo are my favourites, strava cycling I like as you can see what routes others in the area are riding and try to beat their times.
There is a particularly competitive fireman who has had the number 1 spot on a local bike route for many months. Had no chance of beating him, so I ended up doing the route on an offroad motorcycle averaging a speed of 27 miles an hour hahaha, just to mess with his head. I owned up in the end haha. Still makes me laugh haha ha.
I still prefer garmin over all of them, more reliable data, much better gps accuracy and more data points in the output files, my phone is a galaxy note 4 so it’s bloody massive and I don’t like running loaded down with gear.
I went through a stage after getting the pump of being completely data obsessed, so was into quantifying everything. Then I kind of went the other way and became all Leo Babuta and zen, running just for running, dumping all the gadgets, focusing on being outside rather than stressing out about my pace…
Not that I’ve run much of late… He says with massive glass of Malbec at one side and a giant steak and goats cheese salad on the other. Nom, nom, nom.
Haven’t tried Strava; I’ve been happy on MapMyRide (one of the MapMyFitness apps/sites) for many years. That said, a number of its features have been disappearing in favor of running-only features (the Gear Tracker, for example) and third-party support has been waning since UnderArmour acquired the properties. One of the folk active in our local Teams Red/Red Riders uses RideWithGPS.
I’ve been using distance trackers on my iphone to measure my distance and calories burned. I don’t get much feedback from the 4S, but I get an approximate amount of calories burned and its better than nothing. I throw it all in my comprehensive planner so I can micromanage how many carbs to eat during my walks (or how much insulin to subtract). So far I’ve been using MapMyWalk, but I’d like to find a different app as soon as I get a new phone.
I have a Polar A300 along with the phone app that syncs with the watch directly. I love it! I also bought the heart monitor strap too. Its a little more than a pedometer and its perfect for me.
Busybee