Bicycling

The bittersweet winds of autumn have began to stealthily slip into my summer mornings. As I bundled up for my usual morning bike ride today,  I felt a bit of sadness creep into my bedroom window; it was a chilly breeze forcing me to sport a long sleeve under armour shirt, a fleece pullover, sweatpants, thick socks, and finally my sneakers. I love biking, especially over the rolling hills displaying the frequent horse farms and the woodsy forest areas, but as the weather turns colder here in Michigan and the stressful busy schedule the school year brings along approaches, I know that my morning bike rides are going to be reduced to evening rides maybe at most three or four times a week.
Now I mention biking because exercise is of immense importance to type one diabetics. Physical activity is so vital because exercise uses glucose as a fuel; it is an efficient way to manage blood sugar levels. Exercise has an insulin-like effect on glucose, enhancing its uptake into cells and offsetting elevated blood glucose levels that commonly occur after eating. By exercising, the quantity of insulin injected for controlling blood glucose can be lessened in those in type 1 diabetes. Also, for me, biking is a fitting form of exercise because it offers great cross-training for a dancer as it is aerobic and doesn't put too much stress on joints in the body.
So I encourage everyone to hop on their bicycles to get some exercise and enjoy the freedom that rushes through your hair and the thrill of the speeding wheels rotating beneath you.