April 30: Danville to Benton, Arkansas
I woke up this morning with a mild sore throat — much milder than the night before. The tradeoff though was now I could feel some congestion building up. It was mild, but by the end of the day, it would be enough to bring on a good headache and make me wish I had the sore throat instead. The sore throat fading into nasal congestion is a familiar pattern for me and colds, so as unpleasant as it is, I’m not worried about it and in a few days, it should be fading.
Today’s ride took me through the Ouachita National Forest. It was another beautiful day and some beautiful scenery on some great cycling roads (photo). The stretch of road through the National Forest (Ola to Hot Springs Village) had light traffic and a narrow, but usable shoulder. It was 35 miles of steep ups and downs.
It was such a nice day and I was having such a great time cycling through this area that I really wanted to share a bit of it with you. Here’s a photo of a great stretch of road.
Also, at the top of one of the hills, I attached the camera to the top tube of my bicycle just underneath the saddle. Then, off I went. My intention was to show some of that footage here, but our internet access here in Benton leaves something to be desired, so uploading a 5-10 MB file isn’t feasible. Maybe I’ll post an update this afternoon.
After Hot Springs Village, the traffic got busier, faster, and the road wasn’t as good until I turned off onto highway 5 headed for Benton. There, the traffic volume dropped again and the shoulder was very good until just before Benton. There, the road got steeper again and for a road with almost no shoulder, the road quality was dangerously bad. The good news is it was only about a 5 mile stretch. The bad news is it got bad about the time I ran out of water. Not knowing exactly how far it was, I was a bit concerned and wondered which house looked friendly enough to ring the doorbell and ask for water. Then, around the corner, I saw a convenience store. I stopped, got myself a bottle of water and was on my way again.
The last five miles were as curvy (”crooked” is the term you see on the warning signs around here) and up and down as the road was through the Ouachita National Forest! If they had just built the road STRAIGHT, it would have been about half that distance!
What a relief it was to see the Bayermobile parked in a hotel parking lot as I reached the top of a hill just inside the Benton city limits.
With the cold, I was concerned that my blood sugars might be a bit erratic, but they turned out OK.
| Time: | Blood glucose (mg/dl) | Notes: |
|---|---|---|
| 3:45 AM | 97 | night-time |
| 6:43 AM | 105 | fasting |
| 9:19 AM | 154 | pre-ride. Dropped basal rate to 70% of normal at about 8:45 AM |
| 10:42 AM | 95 | drank 12 ounces of apple juice (30 grams carbohydrate) |
| 12:16 PM | 133 | pre-lunch. Had about a half cup of raisins (30 grams carbohydrate) and a bagel (60 grams carbohydrate) with peanut butter. Bolused 2.5 units. |
| 1:06 PM | 96 | drank 12 ounces of apple juice |
| 2:50 PM | 57 | had an energy bar (44 grams carbohydrate) |
| 4:11 PM | 68 | post-ride. Had a chocolate chip cookie and a nice hot shower. While showering I mistakenly yanked out my infusion site. I’m doing that a lot these days with the shorter 60 cm infusion lines. No problem though because I was due for a site change this evening anyway. |
| 6:30 PM | 91 | pre-dinner |
| 8:18 PM | 75 | an hour after dinner. Normally, this is too low for one hour after dinner, but I had pizza for dinner, so this might be OK because the higher fat content. The body digests the fat more slowly. Therefore, even with no other adjustment, I would expect a higher reading just before bedtime. |
May 1st, 2006 at 9:09 am
Hot Springs was one of my favorite spots. When I lived in Dallas and my family was in Delaware, we would drive to Hot Springs for our first day of the trip home. And then top off the day with the luxury of their famous spa treatments including a fantastic massage!
Wish that you and Pat could have done the same while you were there!
May 1st, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Gogeous scenery today. You’re seeing a lot of Arkansas.
May 1st, 2006 at 8:25 pm
i was in hot spring in about 66 and have not been back but it looks like i should go to that area to ride keep up the good work pat