Looking for Diabetic Adventure Bikers!

[wimj]

Hi all,
I'm a final year design engineering student at Bournemouth University, and currently working on my main dissertation/project.
For the project, I'm working towards designing a "Shock-Mounted Insulin Refrigerator for Overland Travel".

Great project!

I'm a type I diabetes patient of subtype LADA. This means I don't have to use insuline yet but I expect that to happen next year as my pills start to fail. So, keep us updated please. Good luck, Wim

[oldoak]

I have been a type 1 diabetic for the past 28 years and been bike travelling for the majority of that.

Your project sounds good and would be welcomed by some who were concerned by insulin getting warm.

However, despite what it says on the information leaflets, modern insulins keep very well even out of a fridge.

I traveled for 3 months around north america in 1993, a lot of it in the hot southern part, with some pig produced insulatard (them were the days....!) and it didn't go off.

I did take particular care of it, to be fair. The main stash, I kept deep in the middle of my rucksack and only got it out when cool at night with my day to day stuff being kept somewhere easier to reach.

The modern genetically altered human insulins we all use today are much more robust than the natural varieties. They will last a lot longer at higher temperatures.

I didn't bother trying to protect my entire stock of insulin from heat when I was last in Moroc for a month and I had not prroblems.

However, that is me, others might take a different view.

I have heard of some type 1 travellers using a fridge. They became well known as "those people with a fridge on their motorcycle"!

I could think of better uses for it!!!

[Billy Bananahead]

Are you still here? FOAD!

[Sukahutan]

Hi Fergus,

My fifteen year old son has type 1 diabetes and we have done a fair amount of travelling together on the bike as well as trekking in places such as the jungles of Borneo. Insulin can be kept at room temperature for 28 days so that's a reasonable amount of time for a trip. It has to be protected from extremes of heat and for that we have used the Frio Bags. These are soaked in water, which then evaporates leaving the the inside of the bag cool. They work well and it is easy to find water to resoak. They are expensive for what they are, in my opinion, but the issue with any sort of refrigeration system is power, and what do you do if it breaks down. Travelling with diabetes is always a challenge, so you put in as many safety nets as possible. We arrive with plenty of supplies, store some on arrival, maybe send some ahead, ensure we can resupply in country, that sort of thing.

Kevin

[PeteDuke]

I work in the caravan / motorhome industry and the very small fridges used for Medi fridges in this industry are made by a company called Dometic.
No arguing they are quality goods, but they are hugely expensive to get spare parts for. And would not stand up to rigours of motorcycling. Often the more budget versions spares are unavailable and the 12v lead is not available as a spare, and they have a recessed plug of a peculiar shape to themselves.