Planning the Run

Planning the Iron Butt run, is one of the critical items to ensure you make the finish line. You have to consider all kinds of things. How many miles can I get on a tank of gas? When do I need to eat? Where do I stop to eat? What do I do if I have a low BG episode? How often should I check my BG? What are the riding capabilities of the folks I am traveling with? What are their bike capabilities? How far will we go in a day? How long is our day? What if the weather turn bad? Do we have all the gear we need? How many miles will we go in total? What do we do if it all goes bad? What do we need if it all goes bad?

The guys and I are planning another IB run. We want to do 1500 miles in 36 hours. This would be one more step up the IB ladder.

We start by selecting a route and then detail the route, so we can answer the questions above.

The route we have chosen for this year is:



It is going to be a challenge. It is going to be hard. It is going to be fun.

What do you get when it is finished?
A patch. A certificate. The satisfaction of knowing that you can push yourself and accomplish something that very few folks have done. Knowing you can do hard things and diabetes does not have to get in the way and slow you down.

New Tire

It is early in the season for riding, but it is time to get the bike ready to ride. Still cold in the mornings if you are going to ride you have to put on extra clothing to stay warm. Looking at the thermometer it is 39 degrees outside as I dress for the Saturday morning ride to the tire store. I have 15K miles on my rear tire and if I plan to do any long distant riding I need a new tire. I start the bike and let it warm up for a couple of minutes and then head down the highway the 40 miles to the motorcycle tire store.

As I sit in the store waiting for the tire to be mounted I talked was talking to the Owner about Weather over a warm cup f coffee. A grizzled Old biker come in and said "Hi" to the Owner.

We shift our conversation to bike parts and painted fairings, when a RUB (rich urban biker) walks in the door and asks about a part.

As the Owner is looking for a part the RUB looks at the Old biker and states "I know you from somewhere".

The Old biker looks at the RUB and squints his eyes. No recognition of the RUB comes from the Old biker and the Old biker asks "What prisons have you been in?" While making the statement the Old biker takes a step closer to the RUB.

The RUB hears the question and squints at the Old biker and takes a step closer and states "No, I know you from somewhere. We were talking the other day."

The Old biker states "I don't think you know me and squints a little more and step even closer to the RUB, and put his shoulders back.

Just as I am about to move away from the counter to give these guys some room to have throw down, the RUB said "Yes, you were talking to Doug the other day when we met." The RUB smiles but he is still squinting hard at the Old biker and steps even closer.

Now the RUB and Old biker's noses are about 2 inches apart. If there is a throw down, I am putting my money on the Old biker. He is shorter, but has a wiry build and looks like he has been in a few more fights then the RUB.

The Old biker said "I don't know anyone named Doug."
The RUB states "The other day. you were talking with Doug. You know, ugly Doug."

A slight hesitation from the Old biker, when he said "Doug, are you talking about Ugly, bald headed Doug?"

The RUB said "Yea, that's the guy, at the swap meet a few weeks back". The RUB smiles.

The Old biker smiled for the first time and said "I know Ugly Doug. How are you doing?"

A collective sigh comes from the Owner and myself as the possibility of a throw down disappears and everyone was good to go about there business.

The mechanic stepped into the room and said my bike and tire were ready to go. He told me to be careful for the first 50 miles as the tire will be slick until the new shine wears off.

I grab my keys and head out the door, bundled up to stay warm for the ride home.

Labor day weekend 2009

I hope all of you had a good day without labor.

TRW and I spent time washing the windows and walking the dogs. We cooked a few brats on the grill. The low fat turkey brats added some mozzarella cheese with tomato salad and a nice glass of wine. It should probably be beer and not wine, but we decided on wine this time. Very few carbs with this meal and our walk with the dogs kept the old BG in check. I think we did about 4.5 miles on the walk.

And of course you can't forget the traditional Labor day shopping. I picked up a new pair of hiking shoes to protect my diabetic feet and I found a shirt on the clearance rack for $11.00. TRW found a pair of shorts. We are quite the big spenders on Labor day.

No excursions, high or low and very relaxing weekend.
Work awaits as another Labor day has come and gone.

CGM has returned

A new Guardian transmitter arrived in the mail a week, or so, ago. The night before I was going to apply the sensor, I shaved a section of my belly. I shave the night before, to reduce the irritation to the skin. Applying the razor and the tape on the same day, tends to cause a skin irritation.

The new transmitter was charged and ready to go. I went through my normal get ready routine. Then I punch the button and zip, the sensor is in. It is still a big scary needle that slides in the cannula, but I felt no pain, so it was a good start. After a ten minute wait and I attach the transmitter. I get the green blinking light that tells me the transmitter and CGM are transmitting data. I finish the job by taping the sensor and transmitter down and heading off to work.

Two hours later I get the message to register the first BG and start the calculations.

So, after many months of being off of the CGM, I am now back on the CGM.

This raises an interesting question. Now that I am on the OmniPod pump and I use the PDA to calculate Bolus dosages; Do I really need the CGM? Is the CGM relegated to an alarm only function to tell me if I have a high or low BG?

Low on the road

TRW and I grab a bite to eat at the breakfast bar included with our room. I had fruit, oatmeal, skim milk, coffee and a slice of toast.

How may carbs does that equal?

The toast and fruit I can find in my PDA food list. That sure makes counting carbs easier when you don't remember the number of carbs in a serving.

Oatmeal was not in the list. There was instant oatmeal with cinnamon and spice. No, that is not what I was eating. Just plane old Oatmeal. I did add some skim milk and a splenda to liven up the taste, just a little bit.

Under the cereal catagory you would think Oatmeal would be a fairly common food item.

It had Oatmeal instant with raisins and spice. Nope, that is not it either.

There it is, well, sort of; Tucked between the other two oats is Instant, regular quick cooked with water. I guess that will have to do. 25 carbs.

25 carbs - Oatmeal
15 carbs - Toast
12 carbs - Strawberrys
52 carbs total

Check my BG! Answer the question "Yes" I am going to eat. The Bolus is calculated, transmit to the OmniPod, now it is time to hit the road.

We load up the bike and drop the room key off at the front desk. We are headed north west out of Aspen to Carbondale. When we get to Carbondale we will turn left on Highway 133. This is one of the best rides in Colorado. Very scenic and quite. We have about a half hour before we get to Carbondale, so we sit back and enjoy to cool crisp mountain air.

A few miles out of Carbondale, I sense some tingling in my hands and feet. Then it rises up into the back of my mouth. It has been just barley a half hour, since I did my Bolus. I can't be going low this soon. We only have a two more miles to Carbondale, if things don't change I will pull over and do a BG.

As we roll into Carbondale, I tell TRW we are going to stop, I need to do a BG. Are you all right? Anything I can do? No, just feeling funny and I need to check.

We pull into a grocery store and park. I pull out my BG kit and test. My BG is 59, WTF! I almost instantly start to sweat and get the shakes. I grab some sugar tabs and a bottle of water. TRW heads into the store to pick up more water and a few other things. I hang outside leaning against the bike and wait for the sugar tabs to kick in. I try to stand so the sweat can evaporate, but it is still pouring off of me.

A friendly citizen comes up to me and wants to talk about the bike. He likes the color and has always wanted to take a road trip. Nice, I say to him, but I can hardly stand up right now, much less think of anything to say. I try not to be rude, so I smile and nod my head. He gets in his car to drive off and I wave good bye.

Fifteen minutes go by. The seating is subsiding. My eyes are starting to clear. TRW comes out of the store with a few munchies and some drinks. My strength has returned. We talk about over estimating the Bolus. She is glad I can feel the low coming on. Me too. Especially since I don't have my CGM right now.

We wait several more minutes and then I am ready to go. TRW give me the once over to make sure I am ready. Then she give me the twice over, just to double check.

We load up and head south west on Highway 133. Through the twisties and over the mountain pass. We stop a few places along the way to take pictures. We drop out of the mountains and into the high desert on the western side of the pass. We stop to shed a layer of clothing. We end up in Delta, CO. where the locals are friendly and we stop at a small cafe for lunch.

One more beautiful ride interrupted briefly for a short Hypoglycemic episodes. It was still a great ride.

Myth; Better BG control on vacation

TRW and I went on vacation. We decided to do the "old biker" vacation and pick a direction instead of a destination.

Biker lore states: Young bikers pick a destination and ride to that destination. Old bikers pick a direction and ride in that direction.

We watched the weather report at night and in the morning. We looked at here it wasn't raining and then rode the motorbike in that direction. We tried to stop early enough to get a room at a hotel each night. We only had one night when we couldn't find a room and end up riding an extra 50 miles to get a room.

All in all, this was a very relaxing vacation. We arrived when we arrived. This reduced our stress around getting to a destination. The one night we didn't get a room out stress did go up until we found a room.

My belief as we enjoyed our vacation, was that my BG was down and better controlled.

I came back to work and immediately got wrapped up in the work and problems and issues. As I managed my BG after vacation it seemed that every time I checked my BG it was high. I related this directly to the stress level at work and how relaxing my vacation was.

I then downloaded the data from my meter and took a look at it.

43% of my readings over the two weeks, (1 week vacation and 1 week back at work), were high.
50% were within my BG parameters over the two weeks.
7% were low during the two weeks.

All in all these were not bad percentages. I personally try to keep 50% of my BG tests in the "within" range. At least this give me a target to work towards. It is hard to keep those reading at 50% or greater.

BUT, (Behold Ultimate Truth), Looking at the week by week data tells another story.

Vacation week my readings were:
44% of my readings were high.
49% were within my parameters.
8% were low.

Back to work week:
36% of my readings were high.
56% were within my parameters.
8% were low.

I am happier when I am on vacation. I am more relaxed, so I have a brighter outlook on the world and my diabetes management.

At work I am more structured in my daily activities and I have much more consistency in my actions and my diet, which makes diabetes management more effective.

I suppose with practice I would get better at managing my diabetes while on vacation, but I would need a lot more vacation! It will have to be one of those things I work on once I reach retirement. I should have plenty of time to practice tighter control while on vacation.

My CGM could be lost forever

I am now at over 2 months and pretty darn close to 3 months with out a transmitter for my CGM. First it was MedTronic with the issues. Then it was the Dr's office with the issues. Third the Insurance company was getting in the way. All of that should have been cleared two weeks ago and my new transmitter was going to be shipped to me over night.

Have I received that over night shipment? Nooooooo!

I am guessing this is now stuck somewhere between the Insurance company and MedTronic.

Am I hotly pursuing the replacement transmitter? Nooooooo!

I am testing more throughout the day. This is a good change for me. Every once in a while you need a little change.

The good news is that all of my puncture wounds on my belly from the sensor have healed. To be honest, Sticking the sensor into my belly is one of the my least favorite things. It is right up there with drinking a gallon of Gator aid with laxative to prep for a colonoscopy.

If the transmitter never shows up, I would have to say it was a good tool that helped me gain better control of my Diabetes.

If it does show up, then I will start to use it again and see how it fits back into my routine.

I am now starting to experiment with my OmniPod pump. I would like to lose a few pounds and increase my amount of exercise. In the past when I wasn't on the pump, I would eat or drink before exercise, so I could get my BG up, so I wouldn't have a hypo. Trying to lose weight, it is more important to not take on extra carbs. So, my new approach is to lower my pumps basil rate, before, during and after the exercise event; Rather then taking on more carbs to keep my BG within an acceptable range.

I did this last winter when I went skiing. I would lower my basil by 80% for 5 hours. This seemed to work.

Last night before exercise I had a BG of 120 mg/dl. I lowered by Basil by 20% for 1.5 hours. I finished Yoga class and checked my BG, it was 80 mg/dl. Not to bad. I didn't take on any carbs before starting the class.

I will let you know how this works out.