The Roman Rumble cometh

Tim – on a Roman Road, yesterday

Avid readers of your soaraway Shoot Up will be aware that I will be cycling across Britain dressed as a Roman in aid of the Pendsey Trust next week.

My cycling partner Stephan has decided that we should include the Hardknott and Wrynose Passes in Cumbrian as part of the route. These are both listed on the Guardian’s Top Ten Hardest Cycle Climbs in the UK, so the prospects of us surviving the ride are fairly limited. If I don’t make it back I leave you in the very capable hands of my esteemed co-writer.

Training has gone well and I’m probably about the fittest I’ve been in a decade. The diabetes seems to be behaving itself with the liberal application of temp basals and alternate basal patterns. I don’t think I could have actually done the ride without the pump – managing the ups and downs of Lantus would have been just too difficult and traumatic for all concerned.

In case I haven’t gone on about it enough, we’re charity we’re riding for is a tiny, new one and it aims to help diabetics in developing countries. Rather than just buying them a tonne of insulin, it aims to provide practical things like an education so sufferers can get a better job and buy their own insulin.

They also do things like providing double-lined clay pots which keep insulin cool in equatorial heat without the need for a fridge or electricity. They cost about £2 each and make a wacking-great difference.

The fact that I’m doing the ride with the aid of a £4,000 pump provided free of charge by the NHS just goes to show how insanely lucky we are to be diabetic in Britain. So if you would like to chip in a fiver or a tenner for some fellow diabetics who are less lucky than us, then head over to the donation page. I only do charity things once a decade – so this is your chance!

Anyway, I hope to report with updates from the road – so follow us on the blog or over on twitter.

Fusce dictum sagittis pecuniam ad nos amici!