Living Well With Diabetes

One week from today, I’ll be climbing on my bike and headed for Alaska.

Much has happened since I started planning this trip back in February and this trip is not what I had envisioned when I first wrote about it back on March 31. Still, I’m looking forward to getting started and a lot of work has gone into getting ready for this two month long adventure.

Willie Weir, a life-long bicycling tourist, and now a columnist for Adventure Cyclist Magazine, writes in his article Liftoff (you can read it online) that the space shuttle burns 90% of its fuel in the first eight and a half minutes of flight. His point was that it takes a huge amount of energy to overcome the pull of gravity. He goes on to talk about how this is true in bicycle touring too — it’s very difficult to overcome the pull of home.

I completely agree with Willie. I remember how much work it took to get Pat and myself on the road for our 48-state Dream Tour back in 2006. I also remember a huge sigh of relief once we got on the road because it meant all the work and planning was done and was successful. All I had left to do was ride my bike 10,000 miles and that seemed simple and straightforward compared to all the planning.

Much of the same kind of work and planning has gone into this tour. It has been made simpler in that no house and pet sitter is needed for this tour. Much to my disappointment, Pat has decided to sit this one out. She’ll be tending to things at home and will not be joining me in Bellingham, Washington like I originally planned.

But, the planning for this tour has also been more difficult because this is a self-supported tour. In the Dream Tour, I had a support van and the weight of gear such as a laptop or cooler or tent wasn’t a big concern. On this tour, all gear choices come with serious consideration of its weight. I spent an entire afternoon debating whether to bring a large tube of toothpaste (4.2 ounces) which is enough for the entire trip or to bring a travel-size tube (about 1 ounce, but much more expensive) and then have to purchase more along the way. (The travel-size won.)

Last week, I took a three-day bicycle tour to Brigham City, Utah for the Utah Tour de Cure fundraising bicycle ride. It was an excellent opportunity for me to try out riding with all my gear for three days. For the trip to Brigham City, I had 48 pounds of gear, but I think when I leave next week, I’ll have something closer to 52 pounds of gear. So, you can see why I take the weight of things very seriously.

Another difference in the planning for the Dream Tour and the planning for this tour is my job. For the Dream Tour, I took almost the entire year as a leave of absence. I had nearly two months prior to departure when I dedicated my time to planning (and training) for the upcoming tour. This tour, on the other hand, I’m working full-time right up until the day before I leave. That has made for a very busy spring.

There is one more detail about the trip that is different than I had originally planned. Instead of going only to Juneau, I’ll be spending a few days in Juneau and then going to Sitka, Alaska for three days. My good friend Dave Nevins lives there and he’s organizing a event in the evening of August 2 for one of the local diabetes support groups. I’ve been invited to come and speak at that event. I’ll be able to say a few words about The Dream Tour and I’m sure I’ll have a few pictures to show and stories to tell from my journey to get there.

For the next couple months, I’m going to try to make regular postings on this web site. How well I succeed at that depends mostly on how often I have internet access. I’m bringing a small laptop with me (2.2 pounds!), but I will be relying on hotels, campgrounds, coffee shops, public libraries, etc. for my internet access.