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From: fred@varian.UUCP (Fred Klink)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Highway Hypnosis
Message-ID: <327@varian.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 21:53:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: varian.327
Posted: Thu Jun 13 21:53:55 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Jun-85 01:42:49 EDT
References: <absolut.4300001> <205@bocklin.UUCP> <568@ihlpg.UUCP>
Organization: Varian, Walnut Creek, CA
Lines: 26

> Your blood sugar is at its lowest late in the day, after work and
> before dinner, especially if you skimp on lunch and drink a lot
> of coffee.  Next time, slurp down some O.J. before heading out,
> or even take along a water bottle full of the stuff.  It will
> keep your blood sugar up and your brain fueled.
>  __

Be careful taking sugar right before you ride.  This is inviting
hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar right off.  In short, the feedback
system your body has for regulating blood glucose is easily fooled
by a dose of sugar followed by heavy exercise which puts it right
into your blood.  This slows down the mobilization of glucose from
its stores in the muscle cells.  Well, you soon run out of the 
blood sugar you got from eating, but by now the feedback system is
telling the glucose mobilizing mechanism it can take a break.
The upshot is, no glucose coming in when you need it most.
Taking a water bottle full of sugar-containing fluid is OK as long as
you take it once you've gotten going for 10-15 minutes.  This
gives your muscle glycogen (glucose precursor) a chance to get
mobilized and oral glucose will help supplement it.

I disagree that hypoglycemia will affect judgement and alertness.
Doing dumb things is usually an effect of hypoxia (low oxygen), which
is not caused by nor related to hypoglycemia.  More likely, the 
writer who said riding into the car was a result of simple fatigue
and "hanging your head" was most on target.