August 14, 2016
A quick(?) update to the original quick update.
Today, we are close to halfway through our 5,500 mile trip @ just over 2,700 miles. I’m sitting in a Subway shop in Larned, KS after eating another humongous meal and bolusing about half of what I would normally.
As part of today’s update, let me share two screen shots of my Dex Clarity report from the first 47 days. It looks pretty darn good, considering the up and downs and curves of the TransAmerica Trail combined with the ups and downs of T1D!
One thing that most of you have probably already guessed is that climbing a mountain pass is inversely proportional to my BG number - 
A couple of points right off the bat:
1 - I have my high alarm typically set @ 210mg/dl because I am eating some pretty big breakfasts and deliberately running high in anticipation of the pedaling activity to bring it down. This does typically happen, although I periodically can’t handle the mental stress of running above 210 for long and over-correct. Then, I find myself getting a Dex alarm that I am falling … fast!!
2 - Because of cost, space, weight and availability factors, I am only fingerstick testing two, maybe three times a day to calibrate the Dex. Most of my dosing is based on what the Dex is telling me, and my own 42+ years of D-experience.
3 - This report is under-reporting the height of the highs and depths of the lows. I am spending significant time chasing both of these into an “in-range” number, 85 - 170 mg/dl while riding and 65 - 160 mg/dl after the day is done. Pretty tough to do so far.
From a clinician’s point of of view, having an A1C of 6.2% would seem pretty acceptable, but I’m pretty certain that an actual A1C might come in @ something above 6.5%.
4 - As you can see, the SD is pretty high, but again, given all the variables, that’s not too bad.
So overall, I AM pretty well … “pumped” about how well things have gone on the diabetic front. Today will bring new challenges to meet and I expect to meet them.
We have moved out of the West, which means we are no longer climbing big mountain passes. Instead, we are riding through the farming and ranching areas in Kansas. Many people think Kansas is a flat, maybe boring state. Let me share that it is filled with hills, wonderful green fields of wheat and sorghum and mowed brown fields of wheat and hay. It is also packed with some of the friendliest people we have met yet (and we’ve met of lot of friendly folks).
If you had told me five years ago that we would travel through small-town Kansas at 10 mph and be happy, I might have called you crazy, but here we are and we’re loving it.
Also a quick story:
On our way east of the Rockies, rolling down towards Canon City, CO, we passed some TransAmerica Trail riders heading in the opposite direction. Per unwritten custom, we stopped and exchanged information on what was ahead. This couple told us to definitely stop in Guffey, CO, a little town of 28 people.
When we got to the turn for Guffey, we realized It was a little off-route and also 1 mile UP a hill. Normally we would pass it by under those conditions, but we decided since it was looking a bit like rain and we hadn’t had lunch yet, we would go for it.
When we rode into to town, it looked like the whole town was closed up, but we pressed on. We saw a sign that said, “Rolling Thunder Cloud Cafe”, straight ahead. We rolled our trikes into the parking lot at the same time as the rolling thunder clouds directly above us unleashed a loud round of rolling thunder and the first fat drops of stormy rain - CRASH, SPLAT!
We grabbed our raincoats and headed inside for a fabulous lunch. It seemed like the rest of the town had the same idea, because right after we arrived, the tiny little place filled up with people.
We met the owner, Wayne (retired LA County Sheriff’s officer) and his wife, who is a PhD in classical music (retired). Everything made from scratch … and then there was the three berry pie, a la mode (blueberry, raspberry and boysenberry). Yes, it was bolus-worthy!
At the top of Hoosier Pass
Finally, the glorious Rockies are behind us!
Yes, the homemade pie was bolus-worthy!! (Of course, I rode another 20 miles afterwards!)
Look for more frequent updates on our facebook page, Two Traveling Trikes
Keep on rolling!
