East Coast Connections

There was enough time to dry out my bathing suit from the canoe trip, do a load of laundry and re-pack my diabetes supplies. The week after the CIM Canoe Trip here in Ontario, a few members of the CIM Team headed off for the first traveling leg of the 2010 Connected Across Canada Summer Adventure Series – The East Coast!!

Not only is there unbelievable scenery and an abundance of outdoor adventure options right outside (and often inside!) city limits, but the people are amazing.

CIM was welcomed to the East with open arms, the arms of CIMer Jonny White to be exact, and others that we would meet in the coming days.

Our first stop was Dieppe, New Brunswick (right outside of Moncton). We had arranged to meet a group of youth and their families for an afternoon of swimming at the Dieppe Aquatic Center. This was not a “swimming pool”… this was an aquatic adventureland – complete with pirate ship, water slides, Tarzan rope, obstacle course, inflatable kayaks, the works!

It wasn’t long before meters and pumps lay lonely on the pool deck while their owners challenged each other to duels on the giant obstacle course. Luckily, the only casualties were a couple of infusion sites that just couldn’t hang on. We splished, splashed and learned that for some, being ‘unattached’ from the pump for an hour so resulted in elevated BG’s (we could have used a little bolus mid-way through the swim), while for others, the exercise and activity seemed to keep BG’s in a good range. For some, aquatic obstacle coursing was a down right BG dropper!

Pass the juice please!

After toweling off, testing and re-connecting,  Chris, Jonny and myself had a chance to share some of the interesting things we’ve done, places we’ve gone and experiences we’ve had with diabetes.  Cycling from the North to South of Africa, dog sledding in the Arctic and competing at the Olympics, we had lots to talk about. We also had a chance to hear some of the neat things that youth were doing – heading off to camp, winning running races and more.

With our hair still wet, we made the short drive to the Rotary Park Velodrome. Our evening would be spent cruising around the huge wooden cycling track, defying the laws of gravity and counting on the laws of physics.

The most challenging part of getting on a fixed gear bike (pedal forward, you go forward, pedal backwards, you brake) is that your legs seem to develop a mind of their own. It’s either that, or the bike seems to come alive. Because the rotation of your legs is matched with the rotation of the wheels, coasting is impossible. When the brain forgets this, the bike QUICKLY reminds you by turning into a bucking bronco. We were reminded that pumps really are hearty little devices. Tammy, taking one for the team, got bucked off her bike and landed right on her pump, just to test it out…right, Tammy?

Like our velodrome time in London, ON great coaches made all the difference. Those of us new to the track picked it up quickly. Alright, pretty quickly. We had a few close calls and a few real falls, but as the sun set on a great day in New Brunswick everyone was cruising around the track.

Special thanks to Gerry and Mike (Super Dads!) for pulling everyone together from the Moncton Diabetes Group and for getting us rocking at the Aquatic Center and Velodrome. What a treat!

After saying our goodbyes to our new wee friends, we headed back down the road to Halifax.

Saturday morning we headed out to Duncan’s Cove, about 30min south of Halifax, where we met a new and wonderful group of Type 1’s, friends and family for a day-hike along the coast.

We tromped through soggy terrain and scrambled our way over rocky outcrops under misty skies. We stopped to watch seals fishing in a bay – popping up like gophers to scope out the above water scene before diving back down for their lunch.  We would have sat there a lot longer, however another group hiking the trail passed by and mentioned that they had spotted WHALES fishing in the next bay over. We trotted along the trail through bushes as high as our shoulders, well, as high as Chris Jarvis’ shoulders (WAY over some of our heads!) and through an enchanted forest of moss and ferns before the trail opened up once again and the ocean lay out before us.

It was then that CIM’s hiking trip turned into a WHALE WATCHING trip. We stood high on the rocky cliffs and peered down to watch the scene below. Calm waters would instantly erupt into a frenzy of silver fish and white water splashes. Every once and a while, a smooth long black back would crest gracefully out of the water before disappearing again.

How conversations went from whales to diabetes, I’m still not sure, but that seems to be the way things go when a group of Type 1’s head out to do pretty much anything. We had a chance to chat about basal rates, adjusting insulin for exercise and to demo a few different ways (and places) to put in a sensor.

Most importantly, we had a chance to spend time with some phenomenal people; committed parents, rambunctious kidlets, inspiring young people and adventurous adults.

Though there is still so much of the East Coast to explore, we experienced more than I ever could have imagined in 4 short days. In between hiking, swimming and cycling, Jonny found the time to take us sea kayaking at sunset, cliff jumping in local lakes, to crossfit at his gym and for a bbq at his folks place. We also had a chance to meet up with Jen Alexander, Type 1 long distance swimmer and Haligonian. She took us for a super informative walking tour of downtown, complete with Citadel, historical storytelling, a Bluenose sighting, Pete’s Frootique salad and a stop at a cupcakery owned by a fellow Type 1!

It was a jam-packed week of new activities, new friends and new inspiration for the challenge at hand – to connect Canada in motion.  As I type this blog I am surrounded by piles of gear, clothing and diabetes supplies. I am packing again. In less than 48-hours, the CIM team will hit the road again – West this time to Alberta, where our hiking adventures being next week. Lace up your hiking boots!

Thanks to all of our friends on the East Coast for making CIM’s first trip a great success. A special THANKS to Tim Robichaud for this photos from the Dieppe Events.