Transcon with Diabetes

Savannah

2006-05-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

May 20, Day 27, 106 miles, Vidalia to Savannah and Tybee Island GA (900’ climbing)
Each sight, sound, smell and motion took on a special significance today. As Johannes and I slathered on the sunscreen and Bag Balm for the last morning, we marveled at the fact that we wouldn’t do this tomorrow morning. We had a big buffet breakfast at a nearby Shoney’s and marveled at the fact that we would have to retrain our appetite on 2000 calories per day instead of 6000 ( those extra French toast sticks with gratuitous syrup sure were good). The ride out of Vidalia was on a busy 5 lane road with strip malls. The drivers were some of the least tolerant of bicyclists that we had come across on our 2900 miles. The driver who yelled “get a job” didn’t understand the amount of irony in that statement. Our slow motion/ high intensity ride across America has blessed us with an extra helping of patience that these urban drivers didn’t seem to possess. After we left the city, we got back on to quiet agricultural roads and the smell of sweet Vidalia onions wafted over us as we passed fields with onions already standing in 50 lb bags in the fields, waiting to be picked up and taken to market. I found myself riding with Jenny and Rachel again. We talked most about getting back to our spouses and the tremendous debit we owed them for carrying the responsibilities while we followed our dreams. Then our thoughts turned to what it would be like coming back to the “real world”. Rachel challenged what is the “real world” so we changed the phrase to returning to the “work-a-day” world. In Jenny’s experience working with the elite Tennessee athletes, depression is not uncommon after an abrupt end to a season. Our riders have spent up to a year getting ready for this ride and the past month dealing with joy and adversity together. After Savannah tonight, we may never see each other again. Rather sobering thoughts.

On the lighter side, you develop some pretty funny tan lines after a month in the sun wearing bike gear every day. Jenny has three stripes on her forehead from vents in her helmet in a pattern vaguely reminiscent of the Michigan Wolverines football helmets. Most of us have tanned finger tips and a single spot on the back of our hands. Bob has a distinct white line down his temples and around his chin from the helmet strap. A white patch around the eyes like a costume ball mask is common from the wrap-around sun glasses. White feet up to the ankles, white thighs, white tummies and white shoulders. But apt for how rural most of our journey was, we are all have red necks now.

Our first sag was at a former gas station. I got some good pictures of our bikes leaning against abandoned gas pumps. It seemed very appropriate that for this merry troupe, two wheel bio-power had won out over internal combustion. By our lunch sag, rural was giving way to sub-urban. As we were entering the outskirts of Savannah, our group almost had to swerve off the road to avoid an oncoming truck that was passing on a 2 lane road with no shoulder. Then as we entered Savannah, I was almost taken out by a cyclist that came out of a convenience store lot and turned into us against traffic without even looking. We turned in to right onto 52nd street at 85 miles. Our queue sheet says “Notice live oaks in the street”. We had to laugh at that: these huge old oaks literally take up the entire right hand side of the street at 30 yard intervals. Some of the houses on this street were as old as these great trees. We went through a series of 0.1 and 0.2 mile right and left turns until we got on highway 80, then the ride got very intense: Saturday traffic, going out to Tybee Island on a 2 lane, 50 mph road with no shoulder. A police car came by and told us to move right on his bull horn. He raced ahead and pulled over on the right. I think that’s when he realized the 2 foot rumble strip on the 2 foot shoulder made the paved surface to the right of the fog line unusable. We turned off at Fort Pulaski, a pre-civil war fort in the shape of an pentagon that was captured by the Confederate forces at the beginning of the Civil War. After all of us gathered, we ventured back onto Highway 80 for the 5 mile sprint to Tybee Island beach. When we got there we picked our way through the throngs of people (considerably more people than our Monday morning wheel dip in the Pacific 4 long/short weeks ago), flung shoes, socks, helmet and gloves everywhere, then asked strangers (more likely they thought us “stranger”) to take our pictures as we waded into the warm Atlantic hauling our bikes along for the ride. It was joyous. We hugged, splashed, dived, congratulated… and lingered, not wanting to go, but realizing the burden of schedules was back: traffic back to Savannah, check-in, bike packing and shipping, luggage organization, cleanup, quick look at the city, then our final banquet. It was strange riding in an air conditioned van with team Alabama back to Savannah. Our final 5 mile bike ride had been intense with sensations: 95 degrees, humid, sweaty, loud, traffic at 55 MPH, the feel of every rut and crack in the pavement and watching the wheel 10 inches ahead at 22 MPH. Now I was in a Toyota cocoon eating a frosty (and my last one for some time as Barb had reminded us all: “no more milkshakes!”).

Our celebration ceremony was outwardly boisterous and joyous. There were hugs, camera flashes, corks popping and champagne to celebrate our achievement (and we were only the second Fast America group where all those who started at the Pacific also finished at the Atlantic). Each of us had the chance to speak when Barb gave us our trans-con certificates: words of friendship, support, achievement, dreams and goals accomplished. But the evening was tinged by moments of melancholy at something truly special now complete. Jeff and Jenny had each composed poems that contrasted some of the harder moments with some of the easier times: the yin and yang. I gave Johannes a final hug and thanked him for being a great room mate over the last 28 days. Then we said goodnight, good bye and good luck.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Epilog JAX-BNA-SEA (a day in airports)
May 21, Savannah to Jacksonville, 120 miles by car
Doug and I are sitting in the Jacksonville airport, furiously copying media files between cameras, video recorders and computers before he boards for Huston and I fly to Nashville then on to Seattle. It was weird driving in a car with Mark and Doug this morning. We covered distance a lot faster than on the bikes. But what I noticed was that life had changed. We were no longer focused on the journey ( the road surface, the temperature, the wind, the smells, sweat, water bottle level, scenery and the condition of our fellow riders), we were focused on the destination – JAX airport, and the clock. Mark slept (try that on a bike) and Doug and I reminisced.

It will be strange going cold turkey: withdrawal from the life I have known over the past 28 days. However, my memories of this ride will last a lifetime.

What about the blood sugars and the riding with diabetes stuff?
I am ecstatic to report it was less of a problem than I anticipated, probably because with my wife’s help, I had plans for the most likely scenarios (I had considered plans A-D, Abigail appropriately asked that I add E to the list as a real possibility):

Plan A: keep BG to nominal target BG = 150 until I have a week of BG data. Err on the high BG side and bolus in small increments to correct back to 150 target. Check BG early and often especially as my body acclimated to the increased stress of 5-8 hours per day of intense physical exercise, high calorie intake, adverse weather and high altitude. Check in the middle of the night for at least the first 2 weeks. I learned to check blood at the back of a paceline going 20+ mph then adjusting my pump settings while riding (don’t do that in traffic or at the front of a pace line!!!!). New insulin pumps linked to continuous BG sensors will make this easier.

Plan B: BG’s in the “yellow alert” band (below 100 while riding, below 80 at night). Tell somebody that I am low and correct and check again. I had one of these on our first day as we finished riding into Thousand Palms that I treated with an energy gel packet (I brought along 30 power gel packs and used 1) and a couple night time lows that I treated with 3-4 glucose tablets.

Plan C: BG’s in the red zone, that requires assistance from others to correct: NONE. I had informed the ABB staff of emergency procedures and had back up supplies (glucose, glucogon, back-up BG meter, insulin) in the van; and several doctors (Jeff, Vanessa, Andy) and a nurse (Pam) ready to assist with the glucogon I had in my seat bag at all times.

Plan D: illness/injury: Treat conservatively, take a day off riding if necessary to correct. I had the Flu in Gallup and had to take off 2 days, fortunately one was already a rest day. Bob was able to let me keep my room in Gallup instead of riding in the van all day and checked in a couple times (thanks again Bob!).

Plan E: hypo- or hyper-glycemia that requires hospitalization. Depending on the severity of the event I would need to assess whether I could catch the ride again and take a couple days off or go home to Bellevue. Thankfully, this didn’t happen.

David’s Empirical Insulin Rules of the Road (Your mileage may vary: Talk to you doctor first!)
There was a gentleman with Type 1 Diabetes from Canada a couple years ago who also completed the Fast South ride, and I hope and expect there will be more Type 1 riders in the future. This is what I learned to do for my insulin and BG’s during the trans-con ride (using an insulin pump with fast acting Humolog insulin and assuming a 120 miles per day with about an 18-19 MPH average moderately high to very high intensity). And remember to increase the basal rates to normal (and bolus for the normal insulin to carb ratio) on the rest days!

6 AM morning BG target = 90-100 before breakfast; typical breakfast high protein/fat first (to slow the digestion of carbs) followed by carbs (potatoes, pancakes, biscuts, or donuts): Bolus for 40% of normal (my basal before I started the trans-con ride) insulin/carb ratio; Basal rate 30% of normal basal rate for first 2 hours. One thing I found was that this large breakfast typically resulted in a slower starting pace (the “Denny’s Rev Limiter” phenomenon) that was good for warming up my muscles. I had to resist over correcting high BG’s after the first hour, like it or not I was usually about 200 at this time. I drank water during the AM. At the first rest stop I usually didn’t eat too many carbs.

After first 2 hours of riding, my insulin basal rate dropped to 15% of normal for the rest of the ride. I would bolus for carbs at about 30% of normal. Pre-lunch BG target = 150 (I wanted to have this margin in case I got lost before lunch, the ride had more hills or intensity than I expected or adverse weather increase time in the saddle). I tried to target BG = 120 at the end of ride each day.

Upon finishing up riding, I would have a protein, fat and carb snack (bananna, peanut butter, crackers) and bolus at 80% of normal insulin to carb ratio (for the dinner and dissert also). I would often see BG’s shoot up after the ride and would bolus at 80% to correct down. Bed time BG target was 120-130 with mid night target at 110. Post ride and Night time basal was 80% of normal.

Even though I was consuming 2-3X my normal calories, I used 78% of my normal insulin dose. My advise, start the ride with BG’s on the high side and gradually tune in on the right basal rates and insulin/carb ratios for riding and non-riding times. If possible, try to test out your insulin plan on 3 back to back 100+ mile days a month before the start of the ride to use as the basis of the insulin plan that you can discuss with your doctor. I was also very open with the ABB staff and fellow riders to make sure they knew my Plans A-E. Be safe and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

We did it!

2006-05-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our America by bike group just finished our celebration party here in savannah. 2900 miles in 27 days and all our riders finished safely. What an accomplishment! And it took the whole team: the riders supporting each other, our ace ABB crew, the unpaid medical staff of 5 doctors a nurse and a physical theripest, the coworkers who carried the additional workload, those contributors to the jdrf, and especially my wife abigail who kept her job going AND our family running like clockwork while I was gone. Thank you all. More up dates on our final day tomorrow.

David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Creaking knees, sloppy shifting, Georgia peaches and Moon Pies

2006-05-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

May 19, Day 26, 104 miles, Perry to Vidalia GA (2500’ climbing)
Second to last day. It is hard to put all the experiences in perspective. How I have loved the journey. I ended up riding much of the day with Jenny and Rachel. We reflected on what we had wanted from this ride and if anything was left undone. I mentioned that I had been looking for a good sweet Georgia peach, but had not run across any fresh produce stands. Then a couple miles later, I saw one just after we crossed the railroad tracks in Glennwood. I excused myself and asked the proprietor, Chuck, if he could pick out a good ripe one for me. For a whopping 25 cents I got a great peach. I caught up with Andy while I was still trying to eat a juicy peach and ride. I asked if he thought the SPF of peach juice was the same as my sunscreen. He didn’t know, but thought the bugs would like me at lunch. I eventually caught up with Jenny and Rachel again and we talked about how tastes can bring back vivid memories. I related three such: Big Red pop when I was in first grade in Texas, pomme frites (French fries) on the sea wall of St Malo with my sister Karen, and sharing a fresh roadside pineapple with my wife in Hawaii. We had been passing fields of corn, a crop that had poles (green beans?), lots of pecan orchards and just before lunch thick pine forests that radiated pine smell. Then, to top of this oral fixation, at the lunch stop Bara had an additional treat for us: Moon Pies.
Well most of our bikes and bodies have creaks and groans. It is a good time for our journey to wrap up. At our route rap tonight, Karen, Barb and Jim went through the complex logistics for the last day. How to get all of us out to Tybee island together at 2:30, have our wheel touch to the Atlantic, get some to the airport, some to relatives, some to the bike shop, some directly to the hotel, get the bikes boxed and be ready for our closing dinner at 7 PM (Jim asked if I could help box bikes and I said I would be honored to put my rusty bike mechanic skills to work).

Big day tomorrow. Good night all!

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

(Perry) Georgia on my mind

2006-05-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

May 18, Day 25, 97 miles, Columbus to Perry GA (3500’ climbing)
Today was a good example of what this Fast Ride Across America is, and what it isn’t. It is about the physical challenge, seeing the sights (from the bicycle saddle), smells, weather on the route, and the camaraderie of the fellow riders. But there is not much time or energy left for touring off the route. Last night as I took my quick tour of Columbus I say the Civil War Naval Museum from the outside (because it was already closed for the day), I admired oodles of beautiful old southern buildings from the outside, and I had a quick meal to go at a local diner. This morning, we slept in until 6:30, neither Johannes nor I had the energy to turn off the alarm… but some how we managed to rise and slather on sunscreen then decimate what was left of the breakfast buffet the hotel had put out (clearly they were not expecting 33 cyclists to eat like the Crimson Tide football team – they were wrong). We had a leisurely ride along the beautiful Chattahoochee River trail all the way to Fort Benning. The Fort is huge and I was stunned by the scale of resources in terms of soldiers, tanks, training centers, redeployment areas, etc. I stopped to take pictures and was promptly the last rider around. After leaving the fort there are rolling hills with about a 1 mile wave length. I felt good and decided to see how long it would take to get to the front. As I approached the front, we passed signs for Andersonville Civil War memorial (15 miles to the south), and Jimmy Carter Historical site (25 miles to the south) and I thought too bad I can’t take those in. But oh my how we did get to enjoy the ride today. I finally caught up with Ed and together the two of us flew (40’s going down the rolling hills, 20’s coming back up). I enjoyed a slow paced lunch. I had no desire to choke down food and dash off. A bunch of people had left by the time I finally got back on (even though I do enjoy going fast at times on the bike, I still want to stretch out the last few days). But once I got back on, it was time to go. Tail winds had picked up and the terrain had leveled out so mostly there were large farms with corn, wheat, peanuts. I cranked until I caught Ed in a Mennonite region (churches and farms). Then we turned up the cruise control until we were going at 31-32 MPH sustained. I didn’t know what I was ready for at the beginning of the day, but that was fun!

Tonight we had a tee shirt swap that was a lot of fun. Everybody brought a personal favorite. I had (and lost) a Zed Lepplin, Norway, Dothan AL and Tennessee tee shirts. I finally ended up with a New Mexico café shirt. At the route rap tonight, Barb reminded us to start transitioning our eating habits from 5000-6000 calories/day back to 2000. Jim encouraged us to stay alert even though we are tired. No crashes so far on this tour and we want to keep it that way for the last 2 days.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Looking for lost time

2006-05-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

May 17, Day 24, 125 miles, Prattville to Columbus GA (2300’ climbing)
Prattville is Mike and Barbara Monk’s home town. So we had some fun (at their house) as we came in to town last night. At this morning’s route rap session, the day took on a melancholy tone when Mike shared with us that his mom had suffered a severe stroke last night and was not expected to survive. Charles led us in a prayer for Mike’s family before we set off. Our first destination at about 20 miles was the school where the classes of two of Mike’s grandchildren have been studying our transcon ride. We have sent them postcards along the way and they have sent us letters. As we approached the school, we heard cheering and saw the kids had gathered on the front lawn to welcome us! It was delightful talking to the kindergarteners (it made me think of my wife Abigail’s class). After this, Mike set out to be with his Mom and family in Florida. It was sad saying Godspeed to him under such circumstances. He and Barb have been a great ride leading team. Barb will carry on with the support of Karen and Jim. They are all great team members.

I decided to go at a casual pace today and talk with the other riders. Most of the folks I talked to today seemed more introspective: perhaps due to the combination of Mike’s loss, the gathering at the school and the approaching end to our ride. I reflected a lot on loss and grief. When I lost my mom as a grade-schooler, I was too young to really understand how much I would miss her. As I reflected on my transcon ride, part of my motivation was about the grieving process. Besides my desire to raise funds for the JDRF as part of my ride, this ride is also about coming to terms with diabetes and the resulting series of losses, large and small for me and my family. This is my 20th anniversary of my diagnosis. Simultaneously, this ride is a celebration of life, fitness and adventure. They seem to be contradictory, but are yin and yang. The other thing I thought a lot about today was my family. I miss them so much, especially my wife Abigail. It is time to be going home.

Today we crossed the Chattahoochee River and lost an hour going to East Coast time. The river walk reminded me of the river trails from my home town of Eugene Oregon. But Columbus has so much history: its old iron and cotton factories along the river and its history of battles in the civil war. I admired the city after we arrived and put in almost 20 optional miles, riding around the city this evening.

Prattville

2006-05-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings from historic Prattville! again we had ideal weather for our 118 mile ride today. About 8 of us stuck together the whole day and we flew along without even trying. Lots of rolling hills and logging. Lots of chasing dogs and kudzu. One of the prettiest images that I didn't get a picture of was our group of 8 riding next to a heard of 15 horses running next to us. We stopped at the historic cotton mill on a mill pond in downtown. Quiet a sight. Tomorrow we visit the class of school children who have been following our trip as part of their studies.

David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Home of the Crimson Tide

2006-05-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

May 15, Day 22 Aberdeen MS to Tuscaloosa AL, 118 miles, 5300’ of climbing
I had a low BG during the night last night. Woke in a cold sweat, took a couple glucose tablets and immediately checked blood glucose: 50… too low. So today is a good day to back off on the hard riding. It’s a mere 110 miles (barring getting lost), and the elevation map on the queue sheets (only 5 pages today) looks the back of a porcupine (with a lot of 200’ quills).

I started out talking to Pam, one of our new riders. She is a Nurse Anesthetist (we have 5 doctors and a nurse on our ride!). She had asked me if BG control was a challenge on this ride and I said yes, but the hardest days were the first few finding a new insulin basal rate for my pump. I also told here about the Glucogon I have in my seat bag in case of emergency. Our conversation drifted to the islet transplant I got in 2003 and how I had put a lot of hope and energy into those clinical research trials (funded in part by the JDRF) as a possible cure to diabetes. My involvement in the front lines of finding a cure started in December of 2000 with my application as a possible research volunteer, 2001 with my selection for follow-on testing for acceptability into the research program, 2002 going on the transplant waiting list, being called in 5 times for possible transplant. The 5th time, I got my islet transplant (http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=100797 ). But in 2003 my donor islets failed. I remained in the study for follow-up (side effects or any long term complications) which officially ended this year with my final lab visits to the Virginia Mason Clinical Research Center in April. Now I have completed my transition from front line to support staff. I am using our JDRF Northwest Ride to Cure Diabetes team (http://www.jdrfnwride.org/ ) to raise money for cure focused research, and to support those with diabetes by introducing bicycling as a healthy activity to help manage the physical and emotional toll diabetes can take. Enough with the heavy stuff, then we talked about bikes and how her’s was almost identical to the bike I rode for about 20 years.

We got a great picture of a big bunch of us crossing the Alabama State line. Our group was clowning around and taking pictures, having fun so we blew by one of those many turns on the queue sheet (I think it said something subtle like “County Road 53 – Convalescent Rd - Don’t Miss!”). Well we ended up adding about 7 optional miles on that little excursion – but had fun doing it!

American Sampler (AKA Gordon’s Fiddle Shop and riding lawn mowers)
As I think about the patchwork quilt of experiences I have had on this journey across the country some of my stereotypes broken, a couple formed. At lunch today, an old fellow in a pickup pulled up and asked us what our group was. Johannes and I told him, then (with his engine still running) we got into a long conversation (I finished 2 sandwiches). William Gordon was enlisted during the Korean war. But because of his unique talent (playing bluegrass fiddle), he was sent to Germany, France and England playing bluegrass for the troops, instead of being an infantry soldier in Korea as he had feared (see foster those unique talents and they will pay rich rewards!). After the war he came back to Alabama at worked at BFGoodrich making truck tires until he retired. Then he got back into fiddles and began violin repair. One client brought him one that had an exceptionally beautiful note to it. He commented to it’s owner what a fine instrument it was. After he had repaired several more violins for the same owner, he was given the beautiful violin as a gift. It turns out, that violin was made in the late 1700’s by a Czech craftsman. William still plays it every day, and takes great joy in its song. My new stereotype: southerners are a really friendly, laid back bunch.

As we traveled across Arkansas, Mississippi and even more in Alabama, I was astounded by how well kept the lawns are (I thought I would see more shanties and junk… Wrong!). Now, not everybody can afford a mansion (we have seen a lot sprinkled about all these back roads we have been traveling). However, more likely than not their next door neighbor or across the street will be a neat and tidy single or doublewide prefab home. But almost all the lawns are like putting greens, acres and acres of putting greens (I mean that literally these are huge lots all neatly mowed and no dandilions). How do they manage to cut all that grass? With a riding lawn mower of course. This must be the riding lawn mower capitol of the world with the highest per capita ownership (I’ve seen sheds and barns and carports with two riding lawn mowers!). They are everywhere (especially in front of Wal-Mart). And thus, the explanation for the unique, multifaceted business entrepreneurs like: “Ted’s Market and Small Engine Repair”.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Roll on Mississippi

2006-05-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

May 14 (Happy Mother’s Day!), Day 21 Senatobia to Aberdeen MS, 143 miles, 4500 feet of climbing.
Those of you who have been following our progress on Mike Munk’s web site (http://www.bamacyclist.com/Journal2006/FastSouth06/06fastsouth.htm ) also, may have noticed some “drift” between Mike’s official mileage and my unofficial mileage. No it is not just because the air in my front tire is low so I get more revolutions than Mike. No, this is what we call “optional” mileage (AKA navigation errors). When the daily ride queue sheets become 6 pages of instructions and maps, this is not necessarily a good thing for those who are navigationally challenged. Fortunately the roads and weather has been so beautiful, that I don’t mind taking in a few extra sights.

Here was a recipe for our riding day:
- Take about 30 well seasoned riders.
- Stuff with breakfast.
- Release one by one into a cool, pink Mississippi morning.
- Allow to congeal into small clumps with some spicy talk thrown in (note, do not let the spicy talk distract the navigator or you might have a recipe for disaster)
- Find a bunch of picturesque, quiet Mississippi back roads.
- Throw in a smattering of twists, turns and climbs.
- At 40 miles (or 45 miles for those who were not following directions), allow to congeal until you have at least 25 riders at the first rest stop, then increase heat, strip off outer skins (arm warmers, knee warmers and vests) and deposit them in the sag wagon.
- Allow to congeal into small clumps then vigorously shake (on 2 mile bumpy roads) and bake (on sprinters climbs). Repeat about 10 or 20 times.
- Then stretch out on long, flat roads.
- By this time (87.9 miles if you follow directions, 95+ if you didn’t) the riders should me more than ripe for lunch. Be careful to put out mountains of food or the riders my try to eat their tires.
- After lunch, riders should be plump, slow and tenderized.
- Now is the time to add spices: kudzu and fire ants to attack the unwary cyclist that tries to rest by the side of the road. Dogs… lots of dogs to nip at the heals of the weary cyclists who are too slow to sprint away.
- Finally, finish with a flourish of down hills and tailwinds.
Viola! A great Mississippi riding day!

Final note: follow ALL directions on the queue sheet if you want to finish at the right hotel before sun down.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Crossing the Mississippi

2006-05-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

May 13, Day 20 Brinkley AR to Senatobia MS, 115 miles, not much climbing
We were awakened by a thunder storm at about 3:30 AM. Well even though the Weather channel did not alert us in advance (remember, no TV in the non smoking rooms), the storm certainly announced its presence loud and clear. When we opened the door at 6:15 for loading gear on the van, it was still raining lightly. We were hoping that after a hearty breakfast at Gene’s, the storm would blow past us to the east, which it mostly did. My plan was to take it easy today and take lots of pictures as we came upon the Mississippi. Even though there was still a slight drizzle and the roads were wet, I decided not to wear my wind vest because it was already humid. I caught up with Scott, Tom and Doug. Instead of riding in our high speed echelon formation, we chose the “wind block” four abreast formation so we could sit up a chat (it seems most everybody was in the mood for a casual day. We could see for about a mile up and down the road to watch for cars, but there were none. Save one. At about 15 miles into the ride, our support van passed us and Mike jumped out and flagged us down. Some of the folks were still finishing breakfast so he was officially putting us under the yellow flag until the lunch stop at 71 miles. That was fine with all of us, so we got him to snap some group shots of us then we casually pedaled away. At one point Tom asked Doug (AKA “Big Doug”) if this was a good riding pace. Doug laughed (he has always got a slightly cocked, contagious grin on his face) and said, “I got one pace, Doug’s pace. If I’m still with you, you know this is my pace”. Doug is the fellow who kindly agreed to give me a ride with him to Jacksonville FL to catch my flight back to Seattle. Our first sag stop was at a truck stop/ tractor shop/ mini-mart. I went in to ask to use a bathroom. On my way out I stopped to chat with a group of locals who were having coffee and shooting the breeze. I complimented them on how nice the weather, roads and scenery were in Arkansas. They appreciated the compliments and asked if I wanted to join them for some coffee. They asked if I was riding for some cause. I told them I was riding for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. They agreed that was a good cause, but didn’t think they would be up to riding transcontinental for it. So I agreed not the make them ride transcon if they just donated to the JDRF on line. Before I left, they had one piece of advice, “jest be off the road by Saturday night, some folk do party a mite hard”.

I left the rest stop solo and just took in the sights, sounds and smells of the south. At times like this I would like to have a photographic memory of all that was happening. This ride, besides raising money and awareness for the JDRF, is about the moment by moment experience of this incredible country. Just as I was catching a paceline, Mike flagged us down and offered a side trip to historic Helena. I took the bait and went solo on a really nice road next the some beautiful spreads. As I entered town there were some well cared for old estates with the white columns in front. The road twisted and turned and Helena had the only “hills” (small) around. Then as I approached the historic district, more of the big homes were in disrepair. The big cotton factory was closed. I merged back onto the route and immediately ran into some of our ABB riders taking pictures of the big bridge across the Mississippi we were about to cross. Wow, that bridge went on for quite a while. As soon as we got to the other side, there was a huge casino with a parking lot that would do Disneyland justice. We all got pictures of the “Welcome to Mississippi” sign also. We had a big crowd at lunch today. Funny thing, usually I’m in the group that gets to help set up the lunch tables, not today. Mike Munk noted that he had never caught Will to tell him not to spread out today, so now Will (about 6’ 4” with a thick German accent and strong opinions) was way out in front alone. Mike officially gave us the green light to chase him down and make sure he was safe. Four of us, Scott, Jeff, Andy and I cranked it up like a well oiled machine. We passed more wheat and corn in the Mississippi side than we had seen on the Arkansas side. Until we reached the town of Crenshaw at 91 miles, the land was completely flat (probably 10-20 feet higher than the Mississippi). Then we climbed up to about 350 feet and we had rolling hills for the rest of the way. On the last stretch of road coming in to Senatobia, we caught Will. But he was not going to let us pass him. He jumped on the train and as we turned into the parking lot, he sprinted in to finish first to the hotel. At our briefing tonight, I passed on the “hammer head” award to Will: “you can hammer in the morning, you can hammer in the evening, and in Will’s case, today he could hammer all day long” congrats Will. Now you get to carry that 4 pound hammer head in your jersey pocket!

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

A short day’s ride in Arkansas

2006-05-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

May 12, Day 19 Conway to Brinkley AR, 100 miles, 1900 feet of climbing
Another beautiful day in Arkansas. Arkansas is different from how I imagined. We started our ride along Lower Ridge Road, a quiet little country road that went past small farms with a few horses and large estates with a few horses. The route in the morning was on winding country roads, lots of trees (sycamore, maple and oak) very gently rolling hills. Temperature was great, humidity low, sunshine… pretty much an ideal ride in the country. After the lunch stop we got into the flat flood plane of the Mississippi. Although there were still lots of trees (and surprisingly a couple of lumber mills along the way, that slowly gave way to large grass fields, then huge rice fields and catfish ponds. During this second half of the ride, the high point (as in altitude) was the bridge over the White River. Our front group pulled into Brinkley by about 1:30 (a short day!). The main street was lined by huge trees giving the town a stately feel. Their high school on Main was immaculate as were a number of the big old houses. But clearly Brinkley has fallen on hard times. Many of the businesses and buildings along Main were closed and boarded up. When we got to the north end of town near the interstate, there were the typical strip mall/ fast food/ and hotels. But even these had seen better days. As we pulled into the large Best Western, there was not a single car in the parking lot. The pool had no water in it. The chairs in the attached restaurant were on the tables. We thought the place had been closed and nobody told us. With some trepidation we tried the front door. Low and behold, there was somebody at the front desk. We had a choice of smoking rooms with TV or non smoking with out (????). Johannes and I picked non smoking, so no weather channel that night. For dinner we went to Gene’s restaurant. I can assure you our group of 15 hungry cyclists stuck out like 15 sore thumbs there. But Gene was very accommodating (we were also going here for breakfast). Several of the patrons asked us about our ride. I got, coleslaw, grits, potatoes, onions, catfish, hushpuppies and green tomato garnish for a whopping $5.50… and it was good food. Johannes and I chatted a bit, and then I picked up a book and was asleep by 7:30 pm.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Ride like the wind

2006-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

May 11, Day 18 Fort Smith to Conway AR, 125 miles, 3100 feet of climbing
Pinch me! Am I dreaming? This is so much fun! Task master Mike Monk said 8 am load today… wow extra sleep time. Well that didn’t happen. I still woke at 6 am. BG in the morning was good, but deteriorated through the day. I bolused more insulin than usual, but BG still went up. I think it is because I am at the end of my insulin reservoir in my pump, and it has been in my pump longer than usual due to my low insulin usage with all this exercise (and with more body heat). So I am going to change it out tonight.

I had a casual breakfast at the Aspen hotel with Johannes, Rachael, Jenny, Klaus, Jim and Will. All of us are finding it hard to believe we only have 10 ride days left. We got out to the van with our bikes and luggage at about 7:30 and milled around like anxious kids waiting for their first day of school to start. The day was beautiful, only a couple clouds, 50 degrees, light tail wind (!) and 125 miles of pretty road ahead of us. We also had 6 new riders with fresh legs who would be riding with us to Savannah. A couple of days ago, Mike had referred to the 155 mile day with 155 hills (I ran through my gears about 300 times that day!) as an America By Bicycle “signature day”… oof, I called it a killer. Now today I would call a “signature day”.

I left the parking lot with Andy and Tom and we chatted and spun in a low gear until the Jeff/Scott train came by but now accompanied by Johannes and Tom/Ed/Andy (all new riders). Well we cranked up the pace, enjoyed the green scenery (lots of maple and oak trees), we followed a flat river valley, but there were small hills to our left and right. We rode next to pretty lake Dardanelle (with a nuclear power plant cooling tower putting out big white clouds of steam, blowing in the direction of Conway). Our lunch stop at mile 72 came amazingly fast (we beat the van there). We were doing over 22 MPH average. We crossed the Arkansas River on a long bridge with beautiful views of the dam upriver. Then flew to the next rest stop at 103 miles (setting a personal best for a century: 4:24) and again beating the van to the stop. After the last stop, we straggled out in ones and twos. When Scott blew by me at 30 MPH, I jumped on his wheel. Scott and I averaged in the high 20’s for our speed over the last 20 miles. Average speed for the whole 125 miles: 22.9 MPH. I was often spinning in my biggest gear on the flats! At tonight’s ride meeting to discuss the day and tomorrow’s plan, I was given a joke award: the 4 lb head of a hammer for the “hammer head” award! I get to put it in my jersey pocket tomorrow. What a kick.

I had one thing hanging over me. At our rider meeting yesterday to discuss the final day’s festivities, it became clear my flight out of Savannah on May 20 was too early to really enjoy our end of the ride celebration. I was having no luck rescheduling my flight, but with help from friends at home and here on the ride, I will be catching a ride with Doug down to Jacksonville on May 21 to fly back to Seattle that afternoon. What a relief!

Rest day for bike, body and soul
May 10, Day 17 Fort Smith AR,
This ride has been hard on bikes, stress on the body, good for the soul. We have had 4 broken wheels, at least 10 chains have been replaced, a few gear cassettes, some shifter levers, countless tires and tubes. Everybody has their aches and pains, but a few have been more debilitating (sick days, saddle sores, muscles, even John couldn’t ride his last day into Fort Smith because of his leg broke into tears at the “good bye” ceremony). But for me, this ride is well worth the effort for the incredible experience and camaraderie… a rare opportunity to disengage from the usual and be in the moment… and reflect on life.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Supercell

2006-05-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

May 9, Day 16 McAlester OK to Fort Smith AR, 108 miles, 1900 feet of climbing
Moments ago, as I was coming back from the grocery store with my post dinner snacks, the tornado warning horns began to sound. I was in the middle of an empty parking lot. Lightning started to light up the sky and I can assure you, I RAN for cover. Having never heard a tornado warning horn before, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. With great relief, I got back to the hotel before the down pour began. In the lobby, the big screen TV was tuned into the live Doppler supercell tracker with the hook of the storm heading toward south Fort Smith, lightning everywhere and 2-3 inches of rain falling mixed with hail. There are unconfirmed tornado sightings… I just unplugged my computer from the wall after the last lightening strike was very close. The warning horns are still sounding.

It has been another good day on the road (but aren’t they all?). Everybody was exhausted after our loooong day yesterday. We got Mike Munk to treat us mercifully so we slept in another half hour (6 am get-up). The big question was, will we beat the next big storm to Fort Smith? As we went outside to load up at a bit after 7 am, I was hit by the heat (77 F) and humidity (90%+). The air felt pregnant with moisture. I was not exactly sure how my blood glucose would behave in the heat/humidity (for instance, in a hot tub, blood glucose can drop rapidly); it turned out to be right on my target numbers today (130-150), but by the end of the day my infusion site had come loose from the sweat and moisture. I headed out with Andy. About 15 miles in, we passed the support van and I stopped to peel an undershirt (I was already drenched with sweat). The train (Scott, Jeff, Klaus, Johannes, Jonathan) passed me so I chased them until I caught up. We were in a flat valley with hill tops around us in the low clouds. About 25 miles in the sky opened up and we got dumped on (I have heard the phrase “frog strangler” applied to southern storms… this was one of those). We rode in heavy rain for about 10 miles. None of us stopped to put on our rain jackets because it felt good. The rain provided cooling that our sweat could not. I had put all of my electronic gear (glucometer, cell phone and camera) in double Ziploc bags that I hoped would keep out the rain, but there was nothing I could do right then if the didn’t. My insulin pump is water resistant, so I wasn’t worried about that. Just about the time we arrived at the first rest stop (thankfully, Barb had moved it under the cover of a closed gas station) the rain had stopped. By the time we left, the sun was out! The rest of the day was uneventful, until the big storm hit tonight. The rain is still coming down, thunder, lightning, but the tornado warning horns have stopped. I just got word several of the roads we were on today are flooded under water right now.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Lost

2006-05-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

Day 15 Chickasha to McAlester OK, 155 miles, 5100 feet of climbing

We were all awakened at 3:30 AM by a huge boom. There was an big thunder storm and pouring rain. But by our 6:30 start, the thunder heads were moving east.

I was still tired from yesterday so I started out easy. The roads were wet and the turtles were out in force (unfortunately the cars won). The terrain was rolling hills all day. I guess about 150 of them. After lunch, our small lead group was ahead and were the first to discover the gas station where we were supposed to turn at was gone, we took the wrong turn. By the time we discovered the error we were about 5 miles off course.

After we finished, we ate everything we could at a buffet restaurant. Now it's time for bed!
David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Half way

2006-05-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

May 7, Day 14, 125 mi, Elk City to Chickasha OK
I like Oklahoma. Yahoo that was a fun day today. We left the hotel this morning a little later than usual because service at breakfast was slow. But that was fine with me because I was at the table with Mike, Barb and Karen (three of our four ride team leaders, only Jim our ace mechanic was missing). This small team does a great team keeping the 30 riders fed, fixed, healthy, hoteled and rolling along. During the day they cover the riders front to back with support, sag stops, lunch, emergency repairs, medical help, photographs, and more. Kudos to them! The course they laid out today was perfect. Highway from Elk City to Chickasha is maybe 80 or 90 miles. But our course used the rural roads that are in a 1 mile x 1 mile grid for the farms. For example, this is from our route sheet: “1.0 L Unmarked; 1.0 R Main road goes R (dirt straight); 1.0 L Unmarked – SAG STOP (Main Paved road goes L); 3.0 R Hwy 58 at Stop Unmarked…etc” Its kind of orienteering on a bike, just make sure the bike compute mileage is working right.

Today was one of those days that everything just clicks along. BG’s were perfect (I guess I have my ride basal rates tuned in). In contrast to yesterday, today I just wanted to ride my own ride: cruise at my speed, look, chat, take pictures when and where I wanted. I started out chatting with Joseph for the first 15 miles. He stopped for a brief break so I chased down Andy, the lead singer to the band Zed-Leppelin. We rode together until the first sag stop at the city of Rocky. We hung around and chatted as more riders pulled up. Riders took off in little clumps, Jenny and Rachel arrived and we took pictures by the huge John Deere combines. When I turned around, everybody had left. So I took off and wanted to see if I could catch the front group by our trans-con half way point (1450 miles from Newport Beach). I grabbed my aero bars and the miles slipped by so easily. I could enjoy the wind, expansive landscape, beautiful farms, quiet roads, birds, chasing cows, being chased by dogs (one kept up a sustained 23 mph!). With a wind assist, I passed a couple groups at almost 30 mph. I got to mile 57 just as Jeff, Scott, Andy, John and Jay were gathering for a photo op with Mike Munk at our half way point. I threw my camera up to Mike (on top of his van) and got in the picture! We hung around until some of the other groups arrived so we could get a bigger group shot. Andy and I together cruised along to lunch as the sun was coming out. We ate everything, then a little more. The scenery was rolling hills with streams and trees in the occasional ravines, sometimes with twisting roads and bridges. As Andy and I were about to leave from lunch, Andy looked down and his front tire was flat. Jim volunteered to help and Andy waved me to go on. So I chased again, two groups ahead with the racers Jeff, Scott, John and Jay behind. I eventually passed everybody and was crossing the Fort Cobb Lake Dam when Jim finally passed me in the van to set up the next sag stop 2 mile ahead … at the Dairy Bar! I chatted with Jim then we both went for the biggest, best 93 cent icecream cones ever. I had noticed that even though I was eating more today, my BGs were usually around 100 -120, a bit lower than my target. While we were enjoying ice cream, several groups arrived. Two groups took off before I left. So I chased again. I eventually caught up with the front rider, Joseph and we chatted and enjoyed the beautiful roads, temperature, and sun! It was mile 100 when the race team finally caught us. Jay blew past at 24 MPH and just for fun I chased (to see if I could after 100 miles). I caught his wheel and we kept up a sustained 22-24 mph all the way into Chickasha. Like all the towns we have been through so far in Oklahoma, Chickasha is a neat, well kept town.

Tonight at dinner of a half chicken (each) and half peach pie (each), Johannes and I toasted our success at having traveled half way across the USA. Cool.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Hammerfest

2006-05-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

May 6, Day 13, 97 mi, Pampa TX to Elk City OK
Looking at the weather and the Weather channel last night, we were worried. The last riders to finish last night had to contend with pouring rain and hail. Then the lightning began. We were pleasantly surprised by dry roads, but dark clouds this morning. Most of us were again dressed for heavy weather. I planned to ride fast to get through the impending storm as fast as possible. When Johannes and I went back to our room after breakfast to get our bags and load them on the truck, I looked at my pump and the screen was blank: not good. It is a new pump and I had not changed the battery before so I tried that. The screen gave me a count down then came back up. Good to go. I hurried out of the room and Mike was already going through the ride summary. We left the parking lot and the pace was higher than it had been on previous days. As we left town the rain began. Our small group shrank as the pace intensified into the headwind (of course). By about 20 miles the rain had lessened, but not the pace, which was still intense. I enjoyed the challenge, but by 85 miles I had had enough hammering. I didn’t want to spend all my time 6 inches behind the rider in front of me monitoring each motion he makes so I can react without hitting my brakes or causing a “yo-yo” in the pace line. Needless to say, a high intensity paceline is not conducive to picture taking or enjoying the scenery, which was nicer than I had expected. I punched-out of the line, and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

When we first entered north Texas yesterday, it was as I expected (except the rain) flat with cattle feed lots. But today, by the time we reach Wheeler County, the sun was out, there were trees, rolling hills and it was green. Very pretty. When we crossed into Oklahoma, the first thing that happened is the shoulder disappeared: the fog line was only inches from the pavement edge. The other thing was heavy truck traffic. I didn’t realize Sweetwater OK was a trucking Mecca, but it seems that all trucks must pass its one intersection. Fortunately, tomorrow the roads we will be on are rural to keep us off any highways. And we will cross our halfway point across the country.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Riders in the Storm

2006-05-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

May 5, Day 12, 112 mi, Dalhart TX to Pampa TX
Because we lost an hour when we crossed from NM to TX yesterday, our start time was a little later. The alarm went off at 5:30, so I opened the door to check the weather: dry, cool about 45. So I started dressing accordingly. Then I heard the BOOM of a thunder clap. I opened the door again and it was dumping a Texas sized storm. I changed my mind and went for “full inclement weather gear” : base layer bike shorts, breathable tank, short wool socks; next layer poly-pro tights, jersey, arm warmers, light full finger gloves, shoes; top layer skull cap, rain jacket, fleece gloves, Seattle Times plastic news paper bags over my shoes, neoprene toe covers over the Times bags, helmet, glasses and wrap around glasses. Now I was ready for some serious weather. We were going to load luggage then walk a quarter mile to breakfast: change of plan, shuttle riders to the restaurant so we don’t get drenched before we even start. After we loaded up, I didn’t wait around to find the fast group (this was not going to be a leisurely day) we would sort that out on the road. I quickly caught up with Scott. We put our heads down and started pushing into the light head wind as we headed south. In fact the wind was light enough we were able to talk for the first 15 miles. As the day became more illuminated I noticed the fog (we were right at the dew point): visibility about 2 mile radius. Then Route 87 turned east and put us right into the headwind 10-15 MPH. The funny thing is the scenery reminded me of my high school age training rides up the Willamette Valley north of Eugene Oregon with headwind, rain and fog just for realism (if I could had seen through the fog I would have expected the Coburg hills to my right and Coast Range to my left). About this time Jeff caught up with Scott and me, here we were again, the three amigos. The wind had kicked up so that we had to yell at each other to talk, so we pushed ahead in silence. This was going to be a really challenging day for our full group of riders. Fortunately I had spent all winter and most of spring training in weather just like this: cool, rain, wind, fog, but this is May in Texas! I did a body check after about 25 miles in: stomach fine, feet dry, hands warm enough to shift, torso warm and dry, legs soaked but warm, only one problem: as I was pulling at the front I have a flat back and my left knee was bumping my insulin pump infusion site and causing an irritation. For first time in days I was able to take strong pulls at the front (we would each pull for about 1 mile then rotate off the front). I was so thankful to be riding with Jeff and Scott. These guys are tough and strong.
Funny were your mind goes at time like this. First I played through my high school and college music play list featuring hits like: “Riders in the Storm”, “Here come the Rain Again”, “Standing in the rain” (do we have a theme here???), and that famous hit from Planet P “Why Me?”. That carried me to our first rest stop at 38.8 miles in the bustling metropolis of Dumas TX. Fortunately our ride van was next to a mini-market that had HOT chocolate (!) and hot air hand driers (!!), see life is good. As we were about to pull out, Joseph pulled in. He is the Eveready Bunny of riders, he doesn’t ride fast, but he keeps going and going.
After the rest stop the rain become drizzles on and off. Scott has his first flat. Then Jeff has a flat. We stop at a cemetery to change it. The land changes from flat farm land to rolling hills with more and more oil wells that look like ants going up and down. By lunch at 81 miles the weather is decent, it’s almost 50 degrees, and winds still 10-20 out of the east. But my blood sugar is going up. I fear my insulin infusion site in my abdomen has been damaged (bruised) by my leg and this is interfering with my insulin absorption. I make the decision to continue without changing the site/tubing/insulin until the hotel only about 30 miles away. We begin to set off and Jeff’s front tire is flat. After another tube, we set off, all stiff and cold by now. The road to Pampa is surreal. The fog is closing in so its hard to tell where the road is going, the road becomes very bumpy, the landscape takes on the look of scorched earth (a recent grass fire?), oil wells and the smell is that of a subtitle gas leak. Jeff has another flat, he is out of spare tubes; I give him one of mine. Klaus passed us while we were changing Jeff's tube. He hops on our train as we pass him but is too tired to take pulls at the front. We push on, but are getting tired after almost 7 hours on the bikes (and only a 15 mph average). Mercifully, Scott, Jeff, Klaus and I arrive at the Pampa Best Western before the thunder, lightening and hail start. For the rest of the afternoon, Mike, Barb, Karen and Jim are helping the riders who have requested assistance transporting them to the hotel. Johannes arrives after I am showered, changed my insulin infusion site, got by BG back down and have my pre-dinner snack. He is soaked and in his thick Norwegian accent he says “that was a HARD day”... but we both agree, very satisfying. These are the sights, sounds, smells, scenes (and weather) that are america and it is a lot of fun experiencing it first hand.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Cold day in Texas, with a warm heart

2006-05-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

May 4, Day 11, 96 mi, Tucumcari NM to Dalhart TX
Our hotel in Tucumcari was right next to I-40. The further away from the interstate, the more dilapidated the town looked. It was kind of depressing, like the town had reached its peak about 30 or 40 years ago and it was now in the slow process of being abandoned. The weather channel said temperatures of 51 low, 71 high with a 30% chance of thundershowers. Last night we say rainbows just to the northeast and cloud to cloud lightening. So I packed my rain jacket in my seat bag. I had had some stomach cramps during the night, but by morning I was feeling about 90%. I was in the first group out, we successfully found Route 54E which would take us all the way to Dalhart. This was intended to be a short, easy day (only 96 miles, no big hills), but as soon as we got out of town it was clear we had a couple challenges: 15-20 MPH head winds and cold. I bet the temperature was high 40’s to low 50’s, but since we were averaging about 15 MPH into a headwind it was quite a wind chill factor. Today was about working together. We organized ourselves into a paceline. There were 5 of us at first, but we picked up some folks until we grew to about 10. With the large group and high winds, we only took about 0.4 mile pulls at the front By our 30 mile rest stop my hands and feet were cold and I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t want to stop long a freeze. We got the pace as high as about 19 mph (and as low as 12 when the wind really kicked up). At mile 55 we crossed into Texas and took pictures at the state line. Unfortunately, after that we broke up into smaller groups so we never had the power of 10 riders against the wind again. By our lunch stop at 66 miles, my hands were so cold, I had to have Barb’s help to get my gloves off, and get her help opening my Ziploc bag with my glucometer in it. It was really tough checking blood with numb fingers, not enough blood in them and darn near impossible to “milk” it with numb fingers. Finally I got it checked and it was OK. Lunch went down OK also (tummy back to about 95%). Three of us fought the headwinds the rest of the way into Dalhart. It remained overcast and cold all day. A few things that made the surroundings more interesting: small rolling hills, occasional trees, great birdsongs.

What I saw of Dalhart is in stark contrast to what I saw of Tucumcari. As I was walking to dinner on the side of the road (Dalhart is not a walking town, I saw no sidewalks in this section), two men in a jeep offered me a ride. I declined; the restaurant was just ahead of me. But Jonathan had the same thing happen to him. He had a longer walk and accepted the offer. The small homes and mobile homes I walked past were well worn, but often the pick-up trucks in front were very well cared for. Trains come by every hour or so: that’s the sound of commerce. There are large grain elevators across the street from our hotel, and huge livestock feedlots starting about 10 miles outside of town. The town has an honest, hard working feel to it.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
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It’s a long way to Tucumcari

2006-05-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Day 10, 110 mi, Las Vegas NM to Tucumcari NM
After the long day yesterday with lots of climbing, most of us were thinking today would be easy. Here is the route: follow highway 104 all the way to Tucumcari. Traffic? There were more bikes (us) than cars and trucks. I am still at about 85% health due to my stomach bug. The ride climbs gradually to about 7000 feet, then descends to our destination. I decided to take it easy and chat with some of the folks I haven’t spent much time with yet. So I was about the last to leave our b-fast spot in Las Vegas. I spent time talking with Jenny (a physical therapist for the University of Tennessee) and Rachel from England, then with Mike from Dothan Alabama (part of the 4 man team raising money for a child’s home), Andy a rock singer from Minneapolis, and John and Jay who just joined our ride and live in Alabama. At about 35 miles we came to the edge of the plateau and a road was carved into the face to descend to the plain over 1000 feet below. Wow, Stunning scenery and another great descent. However, by lunch my stomach was unsettled again so I had Tums and bananas again. Also the back of my left leg was starting to get tight. I decided to make a bee line the last 35 miles to the hotel, so I caught the Jeff/Scott “train” (a fast paceline were each rider takes a pull breaking wind at the front which allows the riders behind to use less energy). We picked up John from Alabama and Klaus from Germany, and a brutal head wind (15-20+ MPH). Thank goodness we worked together and got to Tucumcari first. But the ride turned out to be a lot harder than most of us expected due to the head winds. Jenny was nice enough to help me stretch the back of my left leg after she arrived. The blood sugars were not the stress points today!

Tomorrow… Texas

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
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Whipped in Las Vegas NM

2006-05-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

5/2/06 Albuquerque to Las Vegas NM, 135 miles, 8000’ climbing
Johannes and I were both lying on our beds after finishing the ride today, staring at the ceiling, too tired to type. But when the phone rang and Jeff said he we throwing a pizza party in his room, we were there in a flash. Amazingly, we had too much pizza so we took the rest to the lobby to be consumed by other hungry riders. As Johannes says in a thick Norwegian accent “I feel like a baloooon”!
It was really great to be back in the saddle again today. We started with a climb up the Sandia Mountains to the East of Albuquerque. I was feeling about 85%, but I could keep up with Jeff (his last name means “restless” in German) and Scott. Especially since Jeff took the first pull, for 20 miles! When we crossed through to the east face of the mountains we were at about 7200 feet and the scenery changed to pine forest. I had bananas and Tums at the first rest stop (I was trying to calm my still bubbly tummy). At 40 miles in we started one of the funnest descents I have ever done. The road was clean, almost no traffic, big shoulder, sweeping turns, about 5 miles at 35 to 45 mph, then we came to the town of Madrid, an eclectic little artist community in the middle of now where. After we left the town, the descent started again, but now on a brand new, smooth as glass, clean enough to eat off of, road! It was descent heaven. As the three of us went down hill, the person in front pedaled (if he had a big enough gear) and the two riders behind adjusted their speed not with brakes, but aero braking (first you sit up to keep from overtaking the rider ahead, then if you still need to bleed off speed, you move out of the lead rider’s draft slightly). After riding northeast behind the Sandia Mountains, we came to Santa Fe and got back on the interstate (I-25) to head east. The interstate was the best we have ridden and we picked up a tail wind while we climbed back up to 8100’. Then we descended for another 15 miles. At that point we were about 110 miles into the ride, and I was starting to drag. Fortunately, Jeff and Scott were sports and throttled back a little and let me sit in for the rest of the way to Las Vegas NM. It is a cute little old west town, but I was too beat to take a sight seeing trip tonight.
Now comes the night time ritual of watching the weather channel to help us pick clothes for tomorrow.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Rest day

2006-05-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Albuquerque 5/1/06
Well this is a beautiful town. Since Bob and I didn’t arrive until about 10:30 PM last night, we only saw the lights of the city as we crested 10 mile hill (I was told by my riding comrades it was a great descent into the city ). When I woke up in Albuquerque and saw the spectacular Sandia mountain range to the east, I was in awe. They have a tram way all the way up to Sandia peak at 10700 feet, but there is no snow due to a drought. We will be riding through those mountains tomorrow. Fortunately for my day off yesterday in Gallup and the scheduled rest day today in Albuquerque, I think I am recovered enough from my stomach illness to safely take on the climbs tomorrow. This stomach bug has hit several of our riders. Some riders, like me, took off a day or two, others have pushed on in spite of the bug. If not for my diabetes, I might have tried to push on, but that is just too much of a risk while also trying to control blood sugars. I have ended up in the hospital before from dehydration and low BG due to the flu (if you take a bolus of insulin for a meal, then loose the meal, blood sugar can drop dangerously low). Our riders had a great time yesterday crossing the continental divide. I got to experience it in spirit by reading Mike’s web site entry for the day: http://www.bamacyclist.com/Journal2006/FastSouth06/06fastsouth.htm

Today I got to meet a couple of really nice people here. Andy lives in Albuquerque and had done the ABB transcon rides a couple of times before so he is good friends of Mike and Barb Munk. He meets most of the ABB ride groups that stop in Albuquerque and shows them around. A number of us had various bike repairs (I needed some bullet proof tires), so Andy drove us to a couple of local bike shops for all of our repair needs. A group of us took a casual ride to the university, old town and the Rio Grande river (you have to wonder about people who are riding 120 miles a day and for the rest day, go for a ride????). Then this evening, Tom, one of my Dad’s former students from the U of O who lives here in Albuquerque, is an avid cyclist like myself and also has type 1 diabetes, took me out to dinner at a great restaurant near the campus. It was good to share our tales of cycling with diabetes, and who knows, maybe Tom will join me on one of my JDRF Ride to Cure rides one of these days… thanks Andy and Tom.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Cooling my jets

2006-04-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Gallup NM. Yesterday we left Winslow AZ and headed up across the high plains. When we started the altitude was 4900 feet and the temp was about 37 deg. We had about 100 miles of interstate riding and dodging tire debris. At about 20 miles I made my first sacrifice to the interstate gods, but they were not appeased. I had another flat, for a total of 9 so far, and I changed out a tire also. . After pulling a long wire out of my tire and changing my flat, Jeff and I continued our gradual climb across the flat, straight plains. At 100 we pulled of the I 40 toward our last rest stop of the day. I was dragging, I thought from the altitude. But I checked blood and was a bit high. I left the stop and gradually got my strength back. Jeff caught me on the out skirts of Gallup and we were rocketing along at 25 mph. We lost an hour crossing into NM, so we had to be quick about our pre dinner search for food. The donut mart, taco bell and market were our targets. Later 5 of us had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Then it was time to prep for our 150 mile ride to Albuquerque.
Unfortunately, I came down ill last night. I was going to ride in the sag van, not then got a better offer. Bob was going to rent a car at 10 AM and drive direct. Well as it turns out, all the people at the rental car place are on vacation. Bob did manage to get the owner by cell and she will rent us a car at 5 PM. Until then I will rest up here in Gallup.

David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Yin and Yang

2006-04-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Day 5 4/27/06 Cottonwood to Winslow AZ 107 miles, about 9000 feet of climbing,
Richard Hooker describes yin and yang as representing “all the opposite principles one finds in the universe. Under yang are the principles of maleness, the sun, etc, and under yin are the principles of femaleness, the moon, etc. Each of these opposites produce the other: all phenomena change into their opposites in an eternal cycle of reversal… sickness has the seeds of health, health contains the seeds of sickness, wealth contains the seeds of poverty, etc.”

So you may ask, what does this have to do with a ride across the country? Well today started out the opposite of yesterday, pouring rain. I had to dig out all of my rain gear (including my Seattle Times plastic news paper bags to cover my shoes). We would climb out of the high desert and into the mountains today so I had been looking forward to another good hard climbing day. But last night I had a low BG during the night. I was awakened not by my old symptoms of shaky/sweaty but a more subtle feeling of anxiety. I rolled out of bed and checked my blood: 61… too low so I had a snack, turned down my pump and went back to sleep. I woke up at 120: good. We had a later start, 7 AM in hopes that some of the rain would pass. With another huge breakfast in our bellies we set off in a straight line across the desert toward the red rocks of Sedona. Mary at St. James church in Sedona had set out an extra rest stop for us only 15 miles into the ride. it was still raining lightly when we swung into the parking lot for a quick bite, BG check and “thank you”. After a muffin and juice (my BG was 190) Jeff, Scott and I grabbed our bikes in a mad rush to head into the clouds obscuring the tops of the cliffs in Red Rock Canyon… but behold I had another flat (my 4th). Our fingers were already getting numb from the wet/cold so I told them to go ahead. When I got out my spare tubes to fix my flat, my daughter Emma’s yin yang necklace fell out of my bag. She sent it with me for good luck. I got her that necklace on my first JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes ride in Carmel in 2003 after my islet transplant had failed. To me the Yin and Yang had symbolized a more holistic acceptance of my diabetes: that I could be healthy and sick at the same time.

So here I am in Sedona, I kissed Emma’s necklace and set off at a relaxed pace: today I was to appreciate the struggle up the hills, the flat tires (3), the rain, the clean smell in the air, the oak trees along the creek and to feel my diabetes intensely to make sure I didn’t miss any symptoms of a low. I took pictures in Sedona of the spectacular red rocks all around, chatted with a father and son who were visiting and wanted to know were I was going, then set off up the valley along Oak Creek. I caught up to Johannes and we chatted and reveled at the scenery in spite of the rain and cold. We climbed the switch backs together and he happily accommodated a couple extra stops for me to keep a close eye on my BG so I was able to fine tune it and keep it above 137 all day long. Yes, I had two more flats during the day, but I would happily put up with those flats for the wonderful day we had. After leaving the snow covered peaks around Flagstaff we headed out across the high plains, first on Route 66 then on interstate 40. To quote a group of philosopher/musicians from the late 20th century, “take it easy, don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy”. It was sunny and 76 degrees when we took pictures on the corner of Winslow Arizona. What a great day on the road.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Desert to Mountain tops

2006-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Day 4 4/27/06 Wickenburg to Cottonwood 105 miles, about 11000 feet of climbing,

This is the day I was waiting for. I wanted to see if my body was getting into a rhythm, if my BGs were a bit more predictable, I wanted to find out how hard I could push myself on the climbs and I wanted to see some spectacular scenery. I was not disappointed.
We got started slightly later start than anticipated. When Johannes and I arrived at the restaurant at 5:25, there was a crowd of hungry bikers milling around outside. The staff as the Golden Nugget Restaurant thought we were coming for dinner last night instead of breakfast this morning. Fortunately Barb and Mike got them straightened out and we ate a filling meal (nice change from Denny’s). We went thru the morning rituals, Mike gave us a run down of the ride route and a note of caution descending, expecially the last one into Cottonwood. As usual, we pumped bike tires before leaving (since I had 3 flat on the back so far, I changed my rear tire and have had none since). We headed out of scenic Wickenburg (it is a charming old west town with the museum displaying art by western women artists right now). As we set the pace this morning, I felt excited crossing the desert and looking up at the mountains we were about to climb. Looking at the range ahead of us, the road up to Yarnell pass at about 4900 feet cuts a diagonal line across the face. This meant we would have a stunning view back across the desert we crossed yesterday. As Jeff and I started up the climb, his pace was about 0.1 or 0.2 MPH faster. If I tried to up my climbing tempo, I feared blowing up on the first climb of the day (not good considering there were 2 higher passes and another 80 miles after we made it to the top). I climbed solo up the 7 miles, taking pictures while I rode. At the pass, we regrouped and descended at about 40 MPH to Peeples Valley a pretty agricultural valley. After lunch, four of us climbed the next pass together: Klaus from Germany, Jeff from Kansas, Scott from Missouri and me. I had fun listening to Jeff and Klaus discuss all of the mountains on the Tour de France that they had climbed in the Alps and Pyrenees. These folks are strong riders. The scenery had another dramatic change as we climbed: it became a pine forest. After a fast descent into Prescott, we promptly got lost. Ride Que Sheet in hand we asked several people where Whipple Parkway was, to no avail. Then we say Mike in the Ride Van and flagged him down for directions (lucky for us we saw him). Prescott is a beautiful town with many of it’s old 1800 building still facing the large town square. As we headed out of town on highway 89A, we passed stunning red rock formations. Then we got to see our next pass ahead, Mingus Mountain. The approach was agonizing. I was stiff after our third rest stop, then Klaus flatted, then we had to stop for road construction. Again the scenery changed from dusty valley floor into ponderosa pine forest (some of it had been hit by a forest fire a few years back). The summit was at 7023 feet, then came a long 18 mile fast winding descent of 5000 feet down. I stopped in the city of Jerome at 5000 feet which was once a copper mining town and then a ghost town and has now become an arts community and tourist destination. The Town is built into the side of the mountain, amazing. When I was looking around and rather eccentric gentleman name Jim struck up a conversation with me. What a great day!

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Sweat gets in your eye

2006-04-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Day 3 4/26/06 Blythe to Wickenburg 118 miles, about 4000 feet of climbing,
A couple of interesting phenomena I had not considered: I tan (or burn) more on my right side because it is the side facing the sun most, and sweat only drips into my left eye because the wind was out of the Southeast. Interesting what you think about and notice as you ride 120 mile across the desert southwest. After we left Blythe about 6:30 am, we headed east on I-10 again, fortunately the shoulder was cleaner and the traffic lighter (the ratio of trucks to cars was about 10 to 1). We crossed into Arizona and there was a distinct change, no more palm trees. Now there were cacti everywhere. An interesting thought, in the northwest our big evergreens look about the same whether Douglas Fir or Cedar, but the cacti have all sorts of shapes, from an explosion of ping-pong paddles, to towering monoliths with arms to ones that look like an overgrown lint ball. When we finally got off the Interstate, Jeff and I toasted with our sticky water bottles full of Gatorade (I think I will have gotten my life time fill of it after 4 weeks). We began heading northeast on highway 60. Let me help give you a mental picture of highway 60: take 3 lines, place one horizontally (that’s the horizon line), take the other two and put them together in an inverted “V” with the apex touching the horizon line (that’s the road). That’s pretty much what we saw from mile 36 to mile 100. Sometime we saw agricultural fields to the side of the road (like near Aguila), sometimes hills in the distance. Sometimes a long line of telephone poles that vanished into the distance. So on the rare occasions we had a change like the climb coming out of Hope, were the road winds between two hills, we relished. It was a lot harder mentally riding long straight distances with a headwind than climbing (we will fully test that theory tomorrow when we climb 11,000 feet). We passed several bicycle tourists. One was a craggy old fellow who was pushing his mountain bike loaded with about 100 pounds of gear up a hill on I-10. The others were a couple going the opposite direction on highway 60, fully laden. Even though they had a bit of a tail wind, they were not going nearly as fast as us. It is really fun being able to do this on a light weight road bike. Temperatures got to about 90 degrees so I went through about six big 28 oz water bottles. But our tour leader Mike Monk says this is easy compared to some of the other tours (higher headwinds, hotter temperatures)… so we only get half credit on the “toughness scale”. Oh well, I’d rather only get half credit and be able to enjoy the ride. We descended the final 5 miles into Wickenburg (originally founded by a German gold miner). For dinner we went to “The Mine Shaft”, a fine Italian restaurant (as you can tell by the title), and had an all you can eat pasta feed (I’ll bet they wish they didn’t have Wednesday be all you can eat because we cleaned them out).

A day in the life of this transcon bike rider
Alarm 5 AM, check blood glucose (target 100), step outside to confirm the bike clothes for the day (eg do I need arm warmers, leg warmer and vest for the first part of the ride), put on sunscreen and ointment to keep those tender bottoms from developing any chafing, dress, fill water bottles, walk to Denny’s for a “grand slam” breakfast and morning ride report, map, instructions. Wolf down breakfast. Return to room. Put rest of gear back in back pack and carry to trailer and load, sign-in, get Gatorade.
Leave hotel about 6:30 AM, enjoy the company of really great people, and amazing scenery (yes, that includes the straight line riding thru the desert, I don’t want to live there but I am glad to have experienced the heat, dust, smells and exertion… now it feels like I have earned my way into enjoying the mountains). The first 10 miles or so I have the Denny’s-heavy-breakfast-in-the stomach-speed-limiter. Until the GI tract starts to clear, no heavy exertion.
First rest stop about 30 miles, about 8 AM, takeoff gloves, sign-in at van, wash hands (we don’t want to have sickness go around when our systems are already stressed), blood check (target 150), refill bottles, take a potty break, snack, go; on the road when one of the vans come by, give them a flat wave across the top of the handlebars if all OK, if not tap your helmet for help
Second rest stop about 60 miles, sign-in at van, wash hands, BIG Lunch, Barb and the ABB team do a great job of keeping us fed and hydrated on the road (“eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirst” and “if you have to use the restroom at each stop, you are hydrated”). We have pasta salad, tortillas with beans, cheese, meat salsa, hummus, tomatoes, lettuce, bananas, apples, bars, chips, and on and on. I eat an inordinate amount of food but it probably takes 4000-5000 calories to keep us doing 120 miles per day. Go some more, more great scenery and company.
Third rest stop at about 90 miles, sign-in at van, wash hands, BG check (target 150), go… this is a lot harder at 90 miles than 30 and it takes a while for the legs and bottom to re-conform to riding.
Arrive hotel about 3:30 or 4 pm with the first riders (before the luggage van arrives), check blood (target 120) shower and wash bike clothes. When van arrives, help to unload peoples gear. Set out gear for next day. Eat a huge dinner with friends, check e-mail and update web. Go to sleep. 1 AM check BG (target 100). I do this check to make sure I am not dropping low during the night. Also, some of these huge meals take some time to digest and my send my BG high during the night.

Thanks for your help in finding a cure to diabetes:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

2006-04-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ride Day 2 4/25/06 Thousand Palms to Blyth CA
Into the Desert Southwest
Our day started with a big breakfast at Denny’s then we hit the road by 6:30. For those of you who wished us tail winds, I express my appreciation. Yesterday we had tail winds and this morning when we woke up, the palm trees were all blowing in the right direction. As a result we could spin-out our legs at a leisurely 27 MPH (!) pace. Somehow I thought that Palm Springs was a small isolated enclave in the desert. I was wrong. Although when we entered Palm Springs yesterday, it was abrupt, right into the swanky heart of the city. But today I learned the strip malls and outskirts stretch for miles and miles like the tail on Haley’s Comet. One interesting sight was a palm tree plantation that had hundreds or thousands of palms, from small bushes to 20 foot full grown trees that could transplant into all the new developments and golf courses. It was not until we reached Mecca, 27 miles past Thousand Palms that we really got out of populated areas. After my first flat of the day at the rest stop in Mecca, we started into agricultural land: grapes, oranges, grapefruit and lemons. Then we started twisting and climbing through some beautiful rock formations (like the beginning of it’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World). After we entered Interstate 10 (we had about 70 miles of interstate riding today) the tone and tempo of the ride changed. Since it was difficult to talk with the traffic, Jeff and I did a lot of 2 man time trial riding, while admiring the Desert Southwest scenery. Something you probably don’t appreciate when you are driving at 70 MPH on the left side of the “rumble strip” is all the interesting things you see to the right of the rumble strip. For instance: tire blow-out sculpture, snakes, kamikaze lizards (after Jeff rode by, it promptly jumped into my wheel), a red and white checked table cloth, a Louis Vitton handbag, 8,000,000 bungee chords, a handgun, and of course, the kitchen sink. Another interesting phenomenon: as we were 22 miles out from our rest stop at 100 miles, we were doing 22 MPH, so just one hour to more water (it was about 94 degrees), but 5 miles later, the wind had shifted to a headwind, we were struggling to do 17 MPH and we were still 1 hour from our rest stop… weird things pop into my mind at this point, like what would the wind profile have to be such that we were for ever 1 hour from that rest stop? Thankfully that was not the case. After that stop first Jeff then I had rear flats (I never appreciated that when steel belted tires disintegrate at 70 MPH they leave about a gazillion little piece of steel wire on the right side of the rumble strip). A last note, about 20 years ago when I raced bicycles I shaved my legs. We had all sorts of excuses like: less wind resistance, easier to massage, etc, but honestly it was biker fashion. Today, I got so much road grime and grit stuck in the hairs of my legs that I had to shave them to get it all out. What comes around goes around.

The BG Report
After Day 1, I adjusted my insulin basal rates slightly, and here is how it came out today: 100, 106, 110, 134, 189, and I finished at 171. My only problem was I was shooting for 150 (other than when I woke up). I will tweek it again slightly tomorrow. Also with all the heat and sweat, my infusion site came loose, but not out (good thing since I hadn’t though to carry a spare site change with me).

Life between the nodes

2006-04-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

As I flew into Orange county airport yesterday, I was struck by the urban sprawl for as far as I could see. I was reminded of the saying all roads lead to Rome. The modern phrase must be all roads lead to LA. This morning we rode to Newport Beach before the city had come to life and it was so quiet. Then we rode out of the city along the Santa Ana river bike path, no stops! The cars in the morning rush hour were not so lucky. My kids introduced me to a Cake song "Long line of cars", it says it all. It took us 45 miles to get out of the suburbs. So now we get to enjoy life out side the crush, hustle and bustle. And there us a lot of life out here. In our 120 miles we had 4200 feet of climbing with an average speed of almost 18 mph (and one flat tire). But the most surprising scene was at mile 85 we looked at a wind farm of wind turbines on the desert floor with the snow capped san Jacinto mountains towering above. Wow! The swanky main street of Palm Springs doesn't compare.

Drafting Dr Jeff
As I have been planning my insulin strategy for this ride, I have been trying not to underestimate the risk of making even one bad decision. Last night I programmed new basel insulin rates that cut my normal rate per hour by 20 pct at night and 80 pct during my riding period. Well my first results are in: I need slightly more insulin with bfast but need to cut my afternoon insulin to almost nothing then boost up back up right after I finish (I finished today at 104. But 30 minutes later it jumped to 280!). I am also very appreciative of my riding partner today, Dr Jeff. Not only is he strong, so he pulled more than me, but he also understands diabetes. He is a great back up while I get new insulin dose dialed in. Unfortunately, just before he flew out here he had to help with surgery to amputate the leg of a man younger than me due to complications from diabetes. That's why we need to find a cure.

Goodnight!
.

David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Lost and found

2006-04-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

I always get nervous at the start of a big trip regarding what I lost or forgot to bring. So I will start with
Lost
* My mind (when I kissed my family goodbye for a month I just about lost it)
* AC/DC converter for my lap top
* my small seat mate lost his breakfast in the severe turbulence we went through. Fortunately I hadn't eaten yet.

Found
* my sense of adventure
* my glucometer (I have checked my pocket about 10 times and its still there. Guess this big trip brings out my insecurities. Especially my dependence on my Bg monitor, glucose, and insulin pump which is hard to loose because it is attached to me. Several years ago I lost my Bg meter on the first day of a bike trip. This time I brought 3 bg meters and 2 pumps).
* anticipation of meeting new friends.
* bike an luggage all made it here to Newport beach (one of our riders was not so lucky and his bike is somewhere on the East coast).

Our ride leader gave is a 3 hour orientation, the quick summary, ride safe, smart, drink and eat lots, breakfast is at 5:30 tomorrow, then we ride.
David Nestvold
Engine Strategy
206 226-4595 cell --------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Thanks for the support. here I go!

2006-04-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

4/21/06
Wow, I have been overwhelmed by the support from my family, friends,
co-works, even people I don't know! I truly thank all of you who have
made donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=521
4
We have literally raised thousands of dollars toward the mission of
finding a cure. Having been involved in the Islet Transplant Clinical
Trial research study, I know we are really making progress. I got a
note wishing me good luck on my ride from a fellow islet recipient: Ken
wrote "I still have insulin production and with the introduction of
Byetta (a new drug) I have near perfect blood sugars. We are still a
way from a cure but the Diabetes Research Institute is really getting
close. Good luck on your ride. I hope we can see the end to this disease
very soon."

I have received diabetes management advice from a fellow transcon rider
with diabetes who did this ride a couple years ago. I have linked up
with one of my father's former students who lives in Albuquerque and
rides bikes and has Type 1 diabetes. We will meet up on May 1. But the
most unusual gift for my ride comes from one of my teammates on the
Northwest Ride to Cure team http://www.jdrfnwride.org/ who did this
transcon ride. Mike gave me "Bag Balm"... used on the udders of cows...
and for saddle sores for those who are intent on riding their bicycles
across the country.

And thanks to the support of my family, especially my wife who
encouraged me to follow my dream of riding across the country. Now I
have a 35 pound backpack with my clothes, bike tools, riding outfits,
diabetic supplies ... and Bag Balm to last me a month, and my bike. I
get on a Southwest 737 early Sunday morning and arrive in Newport Beach
and meet my new friends who will be my riding partners Sunday night. I
noticed their names have been posted here:
http://www.bamacyclist.com/Journal2006/FastSouth06/Riders/01meetriders.h
tm

I will miss you all, but look forward to seeing you again in about a
month.

Cold Rain

2006-04-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

"Cold Rain" could be the story of my training in preparation for the
transcon ride that starts in just 5 days. This had been the wettest
winter and spring in the Seattle area that I can remember. We almost
set a record for the most number of days in a row with rain - about a
month straight. So I have spent a lot of wet time and miles on the
bike.

That being said, it is understandable that the rides I lead for the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Cascade Bicycle Club have
been less well attended in the past 4 months. Saturday April 16 was a
perfect example of that. As I left my house at 7:45 AM for a moderate
pace group ride it was... raining (surprise)! Fortunately Joe and Andy
showed up anyway and we did a brisk 20 miles up to the north end of Lake
Washington. By the start of my JDRF group ride at 10 AM, it was nice
weather all the way to Marymoor Park. However, the sky opened up just
before we finished back at Log Boom Park.

Then came my ride home- that's when "fun" really began. Each day I have
a blood sugar plan for my diabetes. My insulin pump basal rate (the
amount of insulin my pump delivers each hour) is programmed for my
average day (9 mile commute by bike to work, sedentary 10 hours, 9 mile
commute by bike home). If I don't ride, am ill or stressed, I may need
a higher basal rate. If I am planning long duration and high intensity
exercise, my basal rate needs to be adjusted down (by as much as 80% ...
which really give me a feel for how exercise can help treat type 2
diabetes). Saturday I had to adjust my basal several times, down by 50%
for my first ride, back up to 90% for my second ride, down 75% for my
ride home. Well it was pouring after my blood glucose (BG) check at Log
Boom Park (BG = 141, which is above the ideal range of 80-120, but right
were I want it for when I am riding to give me some margin without my BG
going too low). After I had been riding in the pouring rain for an
hour, I started to shiver and my power was dropping off - was it a low
BG? I couldn't check because my fingers were too wet and cold to get an
accurate blood check from. So I had to treat it as a low (stop, take
glucose gel, wait a few minutes then see if my power comes back). After
I got home I could properly check my blood and by then I was at 119.

Hope in sight. I have just got word that my insulin pump manufacturer
has just gotten FDA approval for their REAL-Time Continuous Glucose
Monitor integrated with their pump. If this system works as advertised,
it would have been able to tell me my BG every 5 minutes in spite of the
cold rain. It could also be the key step toward a "closed loop"
external artificial pancreas. Too bad it is not available during my
transcon ride.

Support the search for a cure here:
https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.donationForm&riderID=5214

Riding with a Mission

2006-04-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

My mission

I sent out a number of JDRF fund raising letters to friends over the last week, and several have asked why would I want to ride across the country and what is the connection to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)? I thought that was an easy one at first blush �I like to ride bikes and I volunteer for the JDRF�. That�s a simple answer, but after I received several other responses to my letters, I concluded the answer lies deeper�

I had a request from Becky at the local JDRF office for a write-up for the Cascade Bicycle Club web site and their Pedal Power program (a program that lets riders in the big Cascade events like Seattle to Portland raise money for causes like the JDRF). To answer her I went to our Ride to Cure Diabetes web page jdrfnwride.org and stole shamelessly from out team mission:

nUse cycling as a healthy part of diabetes management, provide support and mentoring to all individuals and families dealing with diabetes, and to raise funds and awareness for the JDRF mission to find a cure to Diabetes

So that is my mission to ride across the country in a nutshell: Support for people dealing with the challenge of diabetes and support to find a cure. Several other messages confirmed for me that really was my motivation and mission for riding across the country now. A riding friend, Desiree, responded saying she had made a donation to the JDRF on behalf of her 8 year old niece who had just been diagnosed with diabetes. When I read that I was brought to tears. I have an inkling how devastating the diagnosis of diabetes is. I was diagnosed 20 years ago when I was attending the University of Washington. I would guess it is 10X or a 100X harder having your child diagnosed than it was for me as a young adult (and even then it rocked my world). My heart went out to that family I don�t even know, but can empathize with. So I got in touch with Desiree and dropped off a child�s size Ride to Cure Diabetes bicycle jersey. I wanted her niece to know, she is not alone. She had just joined our Team, and we are riding for her.

Then I got a call from my second cousin Sarah. She wanted to share some good news. Her co-workers had agreed to donate $100 from their coffee fund toward the JDRF Ride. Wow! Then when I got home, there was a care package from the local JDRF to say they were with me in spirit on my ride� on our ride across the country. So here is the flip side of the �provide support� mission� I get support that I dearly need to cope with this disease. Sharing the burden makes it so much more manageable.

I have also gotten several responses that said, it sounds like the JDRF is a great cause, but they are dedicated to another worthy cause such as cancer or AIDS. I so appreciate that dedication. I know from personal experience, it is only since I have become involved with the JDRF that I have been able to deal with my diabetes in a constructive way.

Thank you all for your support!

just 2 weeks until "launch"

2006-04-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

It really hit me this weekend. As I have been planning, training, fund raising and recruiting for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), AND going through life with my family, taxes, job, etc… I had not yet internalized I am going to be riding across the USA for a month, and taking my diabetes along for the ride. I began packing/check logistics/buying final supplies this weekend, and I am already missing my family. That was part of the butterflies in my tummy. I have also just finished up with some key business trips - it is nice to have those done. But also, I don’t underestimate the havoc type 1 diabetes can wreck with my best laid plans. So part of my shopping was picking up glucogon at the pharmacy. Like insuln, glucogon is a blood glucose regulating hormone produced in the islets of the pancreas. Insulin causes blood glucose to drop, glucogon causes the liver to release glucose into the blood stream. So the Red Glucogon kit is an emergency injection kit that I will have to train others on the ride to give me in the event my blood glucose drops so low I pass out. Not something I look forward to telling my fellow riders in my introduction – but that’s the reality of diabetes. I have a hat that the JDRF gave me for coaching my Northwest Ride to Cure Diabetes team (our JDRF ride team website is http://www.jdrfnwride.org/ ). On the front it says “Got Islets?” I got the hat when I was in the islet transplant clinical trials. But alas, I lost my islets for a second time in 2003, so my current answer to the question on the hat is “no… but I hope my answer is YES someday ”. The words on the back of the hat always apply: “Diabetes Sucks”. Later, I got another hat from the JDRF for coaching the team again in 2004. Same hat, but now with the more politically correct words on the back “Cure Diabetes Now”. I certainly agree with that statement, that’s why I am on the JDRF Northwest Board of Directors… still, “Diabetes Sucks” resonates with me after all it has put my family and me through.

As I went through the list of supplies that the ride logistic organizers (at http://www.abbike.com/ ) gave me, it didn’t say anything about the supplies I have just filled the bottom third of my backpack with: a month of insulin, blood glucose strips, glucose tablets, spare insulin pump, insulin pump supplies, blood test lancets, alcohol swabs, glucogon, etc, etc. And Sunday night I spent the evening tuning up my bicycle (Trek 5000 the carbon fiber wonder bike I bought from my friend Joe). I even dug into my spare parts bin to find a bike seat bag I bought 25 years ago when I worked at a bike shop in high school… good thing I am a pack rat since I have not been able to find a big seat bag, even though I looked hard this weekend.