I guess I was wrong. The other casualty from the trip was me. I got home and was extremely tired and sore. Not too unusual I guess but I was feeling even worse 12 hours later. Since I am the only one at the house last night, I took myself to the emergency room before it became a problem. Very high blood sugar levels (for me) and severely dehydrated according to the doc. And I must’ve drank 3 quarts of water on the relatively short 4 hour trip.
I stopped at the Birch Lake turnout again as it really is a nice view. Had some snacks and more water before continuing on home. I arrived home a bit after noon and all I wanted to do was sleep. Anyway, at that point, I had sort of decided that I don’t want to do any long motorcycle road trips. At least in the near future. I don’t plan on going to the sidecar rally in Coeur d’ Alene, ID, since I don’t think I can take the multi-day, long distance ride.
Glad it turned out ok in the end Richard. I had a similar event many years ago when I became dehydrated on a long ride. As well as affecting energy levels, In combination with a seafood meal, it triggered my first ever episode of gout which was really unpleasant. I make sure that I stay properly hydrated (with electrolytes quite often too)in hot weather now as I seem to have become a little more sensitised to the effects of dehydration.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was keeping hydrated. But it could have been cumulative over the whole weekend and not just two days of riding. I was tired and sore upon arrival in Dawson but that seemed somewhat normal. And drinking electrolytes as well. Oh well, chalk it up to age...
DeleteI find that drinking just plain water does the trick for me, are you taking anything for your diabetes?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, a couple of diabetes related pills a day. And they work fine under normally. It was getting dehydrated that messed things up. I normally use the sugar-free Gatoraid stuff to avoid leg cramps, especially in really hot weather. But it wasn’t really hot. Oh, I guess it was four days of riding both ways. But kinda short days compared to what I’ve done in the past.
DeleteDehydration can be sneaky....good idea re getting yourself checked out at the ER, hopefully not too expensive. As to old age, it's not for the weak, so you'll be fine....I'm also finding long day riding is not as pleasant as it used to be....one particular set of muscles in my lower right back tends to spasm at times.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the state has good retiree heath insurance plus double coverage. Maybe adding a backrest to the front of the top box...
DeleteGlad to hear you are alright, Richard. Take good care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm fine now.
DeleteThank God! you came to your senses, your just going to have to alter your riding style a little bit add that back rest, get off the bike every couple of hours or so to stretch your legs, personally I don't care for Gatorade but i do drink a lot of water. I met a guy in Dawson a couple of years ago that rode from Whittier to Dawson in one day. Then a guy this year drove from Dawson to Wasilla in 10 hours Thats crazy, I enjoy seeing where I've been, taking pictures. Do you take your own glucose readings? I take mine but not every day, I've never had a high reading but have noticed I can't eat to much rice or else i will
ReplyDeleteI've found that the drinks like Gatorade eliminate the leg cramps. This is primarily in hot weather which it wasn't. Most went from Fairbanks to Dawson in one shot but that would've been 11 or 12 hours on the Ural. I already knew I wasn't interested in that....
DeleteLong distance seems the only way to ride in the 49th state. Which maybe says something. Next year we are looking at getting a camper van. Hopefully less trauma, more dog and greater distances...
ReplyDeleteI believe you're right. It's a long way to get anywhere. Years ago while traveling down some RVers were talking about finally taking their "trip of a lifetime". We end up taking that trip anytime we drive out to anywhere. Even just around the state, it's quite a ways between towns. I would heartily recommend the RV route and the camper vans are easy to park. But not a lot of storage for stuff like bicycles, kayaks and the living space could get cramped in inclement weather. I'm looking forward to see this next adventure.
DeleteSorry to hear the ID rally trip is off. If a bike wears on me then I fix whatever it is on the bike that is causing trouble. I.e., better seat, better gear, different bars, more horsepower, and etc. Till I can ride the desired miles and not feel ill/sore at days end. That said I'm not keen on riding in hot weather, done enough of that. This past weeks ride had perfect weather. Hope you get your bike mojo back.
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