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Day 54: Genoa to San Rocco
Firstly, thank you to Elpis canoe club for looking after my boat and kit since last October, especially Pietro and Nicolo, and Alice, who helped me get ready. After a few days in Genoa I was ready to leave, although not feeling ready. A week of poor sleep and not eating enough left me feeling…
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Hitch-hiking to Genoa: Day 4
Perched on the edge of a 140 metre cliff overlooking the Rhone valley is the medieval Mornas fortress. It was already hot at 8 o’clock as walked through the small village in the shadow of the cliff and laboured up the trail to the fortress. I felt dizzy just standing near the cliff edge and…
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Hitch-hiking to Genoa: Day 3
My sugar levels were high all night after my truckers feast and I woke up feeling dizzy. I knew they’d go high once the insulin I injected before bed wore off and I planned to inject through the night when my dexcom high alarm woke me. Unfortunately the dexcom alarm failed, as technology does. On…
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Hitch hiking to Genoa: Day 2
My ferry journey to France was uneventful, other than me spilling my whole bottle of olive oil on the floor of the shuttle bus to the ferry. I exited rapidly but it glugged all over my sandals which hasn’t helped my blister situation. As soon as the decks opened in the morning I went from…
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Hitch-hiking to Genoa: Day 1
If you’re just joining this blog, last summer I kayaked from near Cherbourg to Genoa. The trip came to an abrupt end when I had some issues with my heart. Since then, all I’ve wanted is to start the adventure again. A couple of weeks ago my cardiologist said I could. I’ve found these seven…
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Kayaking with T1D – from racing to adventure
Exercising with type 1 diabetes is challenging – blood glucose levels are hard enough to control at rest, and exercise is another factor that affects them. Generally, exercise reduces blood sugars and makes you vulnerable to hypoglycemia, since your body is burning glucose and exercise activates non-insulin sensitive glucose transporters. I’ve written in detail about…
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Dougal’s live blood sugar levels
What do the numbers mean? A healthy person without diabetes has blood sugar levels that remain between 4.0 and 5.4 mmol/L when fasting and rise no higher than 7.8 mmol/L two hours after a meal. Basically, the line stays pretty straight. For someone with type 1 diabetes, the line is a little more wavy. Why?…
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New Zealand
In 2018 I cycled 3000km around New Zealand, here are some photos and memories of the trip. I picked up an old Gary Fisher bike for 100 NZ dollars or about £50 from Adventure cycles in Auckland, the best bike shop I’ve ever been to. The owner, by the name of Bruce O’Halloran, was a…
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Factors affecting blood sugar levels
“Oh, you have type 1 diabetes! So you have to inject insulin every day?” If only living with T1D was as simple as just injecting some insulin every day, like taking a pill or watering the plants. Instead, injecting insulin is more like administering your own anaesthetic – too little and you suffer, too much…
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Glycemic Index in depth
What is the glycemic index (GI)? A bowl of chickpeas has the same amount of carbohydrates as a handful of jelly babies, but they have very different effects on blood sugar levels. This is what the GI quantifies. It’s a classification of foods containing carbs that ranks them by the effect they have on blood…