Monique Hanley's Race Across America
Am I nervous? You bet. I am really looking forward to this first shift, (which should occur sometime around midday on Wednesday back in Melbourne) despite it consisting of a number of climbs (I think a 20 mile climb is early on). We head into the desert pretty early, including through Monument Valley before crossing the Rockies through Colorado (via Wolf Creek Pass), so the terrain will be simply unbelievable at times. But we also cross through Kansas, including directing through the town that was completely wiped out by a tornado only six weeks ago (the road was reopened just last week). We have been asked not to undertake any rider changeovers at this town when passing through out of of respect for the huge amount of loss incurred including nine lives.
A low down on the logistics for our team in this event:
Our eight person team will be divided into two to complete this race.
The Red Team, consisting of captains Phil and Joe, with Bob and Nathan
The Gold Team, consisting of Bobby, Andy, Matt and myself.
Yep I am the only female rider and Australian on the team. We have ridden together the past few days, and spent a bit of time breaking the ice. Luckily everyone is pretty laid back and happy to receive technical advice on their Aussie accent impersonations. But the funniest comment I have heard all week was from Joe, with his strong southern accent who deadpans with, 'you shut your mouth when you're talking to me'!
Each team will operate out on the road for anywhere between four and eight hour ride shifts. During that time we will be in and out of the vans riding our designated sections as hard as we possibly can.
We will have race radios the entire time giving constant feedback on the race and rider conditions to our coach Rick Crawford.
Our team has all our bikes in top shape thanks to our mechanics - we all have Specialized bikes, including a Tarmac for climbing and technically descents, and a Transition for TT positioning. I did puncture my zipp 404 yesterday when out on a bike ride though, but I noticed last night that my TT bike now has a rear disc attached. Wo! The equipment we have is pretty fantastic.
We will be riding in skin suits the entire way, and our new kit looks great. As part of our deal with sponsors, we will be riding one of our days in a blue and green skinsuit (the colours of Amlyn, an insulin producer) which looks and feels fantastic - made by a company called Borah.
To assist us in this event I have two new attachments on my arm. One is a new insulin pump that sits on my arm full time - this 'pod' contains my insulin and a device to deliver it sub-cutaneously. When it is time to deliver insulin (basal or bolus), the pod receives instructions from a 'blackberry' looking device that connects wirelessly. So no more cables between the skin and the instruction device! The device is called an Omnipod, I think the website is www.myomnipod.com
In my OmniPod I am using a new insulin called Apidra, which is a fast acting insulin similar to Humalog and Novorapid. I have already reduced my basal rate by 10% as a result of the changeover to the new insulin and machine for delivery.
Monitoring us the entire way will be a continuous glucose monitoring system known as the Navigator, made by Abbott. The Navigator is in the final stages of gaining FDA approval here in the US, although it was recently approved in Europe for use. So to enable us to reap the benefits of having round the clock access to data and trends on our glucose movements, we actually using the device as part of a study headed by Dr Bruce Bode, and endocrinologist from Atlanta. Having had the Navigator for a couple of days now, I am amazed at how helpful the information has been for every one of us, and I am sure it will be an essential part of our teams continued form across the country.
The Navigator has a chip that is implanted in the skin on the upper arm - the same height as where the Pod can be located. Attached to the crip is a holding rail, which a transmitter is then located. The information collected is also transmitted wirelessly to a unit that can show current glucose levels, but more conveniently can also demonstrate trend data - ie, so will project based on recent collections if my glucose is going to drop low or high in the near future. So my arms have a bit more bulk to them, but my hips are finally free and it is a great feeling to have nothing attached round there, or to have any cords to annoy me!
So we have a support crew of about fifteen people who will be with us the whole way. This includes operating two RVs (one for riders, one for support crew), two leap vehicles with bikes attached, a utility van and a follow vehicle. Its a big operation!
I need to pack up my final stuff and get some coffee, which has been a bit of a challenge to get in southern California. Later today we will drive ahead, missing the official start, while we wait nervously again for the site of our diabetic team to come into view to trigger our contribution to this amazing event.
You can support us in a number of ways:
follow our race progress at
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org
send us a message and follow our teams updates through the Team Type 1 blog at
http://teamtype12007.blogspot.com
check out the team and profiles at our website
http://teamtype1.org
donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - if in Australia, please click here.
Monique
Team Type 1 Rider, HypoActive President