Keith's Ride

Had a blast this weekend at Keith Larson's Ride for the Kids. We showed up a little while before the motorcycles actually came in, so we spent some time nosing around Matthews Fun Machines. My daughter liked the pink scooter (it's the only pink bike here, Mommy!) while Benny preferred the big bikes. It was a great crowd - lots of fun waiting to see the motorcycles come in - great food and terrific music. My coworker Carl East was smart enough to bring earplugs for his little girls and nice enough to share them with us. So cool to see all the motorcycles come in. I'll have to ask Keith how many people were actually there.. it had to be close to 200 bikes. You can see a video of the event at Keith's website. The Ride helped raise money for Juvenile Diabetes, so I'll give you an idea of what we did to keep Benny under control during the event. In the car ride down from Davidson to Matthews (about a 45 minute drive) we checked his blood sugar. It was 59 - that's too low. It was lunch time anyway and we didn't want to push it. Gave Benny 8 carbs in sugar (a gummy fruit snack he loves. Lea had to have some too of course). Had lunch in the car. Debated whether to give Benny any insulin when we got to the ride. Exercise and excitement can lower blood sugar and we didn't want to worry about him going too low. Of course, too high isn't any good either! Since we'd already had lunch, Benny didn't eat much at the Ride. This a poor guy inside Matthews Fun Machines tried to give me change so Benny could have a big gumball out of the little machine they have. He thought that's why I was saying no. Actually, not much to do with diabetes, more with being two years old and not knowing you're not supposed to swallow gum. We did let Benny have a cookie. Took him to the car to check his blood sugar. 430!! Ouch. Way too high, but not too surprising after lunch and a treat. Quick insulin shot and back out to dance to the music & watch the bikes. We left a little while later, just as Keith was starting to speak to the crowd. It was funny, I got the kids into their seats and I was checking Benny's blood sugar again just as Keith announced we'd been there. I thought about waving to the crowd, but I had a lancet in one hand and a meter in the other. We got a good number and we hit the road. Thanks to the Ride sponsors, Matthews Fun Machines, Killingsworth Environmental and Showmars. Thanks again, Keith, for a great fun day and a lot of help in fighting diabetes. Maybe when Benny's old enough to ride, we'll have a cure.