[PaulCL]

All week, I've been waiting for tomorrow to ride. I saw a break in the weather from 30's to upper 50's and sunny. Heck, its' hitting the 70's, but raining, during the weekend. My new wheelset is scheduled for Friday morning UPS delivery. My new bibshorts are scheduled for Friday AM delivery. I purposely didn't schedule any Friday afternoon meetings (like I ever do anyway....) Even my manager (a rider himself) asked me if I was blowing off Friday to ride....All was set. Right? Nope...a bomb had to drop.

I wake up Tuesday with a ferocious headcold. The whole enchilada....sneezing, congestion, complete exhaustion (I've gone to be at 8pm two nights in a row). The last couple days, I've gone directly from caffeine to sudafed to Nyquil. My wife has been home sick in bed for two days. Can a miracle cure happen overnight?? I know my body : even if I feel good tomorrow, I shouldn't ride. 'Cause if I ride, then I'll feel lousy Saturday. OK...enough of a pity party. Where's that coffee.....

Screw it....maybe I'll just do an easy 20 miler. Gotta break in those wheels and bibs....

 

[bikeboy389]

Yes! Ride! But take it easy. How many lives (or new sets of wheels, or new bibs) do you get?

As long as you don't push it to the point you feel "off" or get out of breath, I say go.

'Course, I'm not a doctor or like that.

 

[Mel Erickson]

You can sleep when you die.

 

[Bocephus Jones II]

I think I've had a headcold for the last 3 months straight. It sucks. Are you going on Bike Tour of Colo this year? I recently signed up. Route looks really good. I really like Telluride.

 

[Howzitbroke]

Hey Paul, I'm not sure what to do about the exhaustion but a dozen hot wings from Barleycorn's is gauranteed break up any sinus congestion. Depending upon how finely tuned your digestive tract is, the wings themselves might make the ride difficult for other reasons. So consider the side effects.

 

[PaulCL]

Btc

I think I've had a headcold for the last 3 months straight. It sucks. Are you going on Bike Tour of Colo this year? I recently signed up. Route looks really good. I really like Telluride.

I'm guessing that I'll ride tomorrow. My plan is to go home early today and sleeeeeeep. I am feeling better than yesterday....of course that may be due to the massive amounts of OTC drugs surging through my system !

BTC...I'm all signed up. My plane arrives in Durango at noon on Saturday, then a van to Pagosa Springs by late afternoon. I have a hotel room for two nights in Telluride then for one night in Durango on my way home. The Durango hotel is costing me more for one night than two nights in Telluride due to some festival in Durango that weekend. If you know anyone who needs to stay overnight in Durango that Saturday, let me know. I'm open to a roommate. By the way....the Alpine Cycling Connnection people saved me a ton (over $200 !!) on airfare.

Let's make a point to hook up and say "hi" on the BTC. RBR photo op for the board.

 

[Bocephus Jones II]

Let's make a point to hook up and say "hi" on the BTC. RBR photo op for the board.

Yeah for sure...I have to buy one of the RBR jersies for the ride. I'll be riding with a friend of mine and possible a couple others...probably camping the whole week. Since it's a loop it's really convenient--we just drive down and park a car for a week--no need to box bikes or anything. SOmeone out of the group might take you up on that hotel...I'll ask when we figure out everyone who is going. Training starts now. I rode the other day before it snowed here and my legs felt HEAVY....gotta start getting the miles in. On the Spin bike today and yesterday. Not that much fun, but it keeps my legs going.

 

[PaulCL]

wings would kill me

Hey Paul, I'm not sure what to do about the exhaustion but a dozen hot wings from Barleycorn's is gauranteed break up any sinus congestion. Depending upon how finely tuned your digestive tract is, the wings themselves might make the ride difficult for other reasons. So consider the side effects.

But my sinuses would be clear as they lowered my casket into the ground. I can't eat wings of any temp. I got a bad case of food poisoning about 15 years ago, not from the wings, but I ate the wings (at a Barleycorns in Hyde Park) as I was getting sick. The food poisoning put me into the hospital for a day. I just can't stand wings...even after 15 years. To clear sinuses, I highly reccommend the spicey mustard used on eggrolls.....youza!

 

[Mel Erickson]

Sometimes it's amazing. I subscribe to the RoadBikeRider e-mail newsletter and the issue I got today contained the following blurb.

6. Scott's Spin: Sick and Twisted o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o



For most people, getting a cold offers a great excuse to stay home from work, eat Crispy Pork Rinds (excellent for a sore throat) and watch back-to-back reruns of The Facts of Life (kills germs -- and brain cells).



But for us obsessive-compulsive cyclists, getting sick spells disaster, as in N-o R-i-d-i-n-g.



This year, I resolved not to get my annual winter cold. I mainlined vitamin C. I washed my hands more often than Lady Macbeth did. I cleansed my mucous membranes using a Neti Pot, a mini teapot whose spout you stick up one nostril so you can pour warm salty water through your sinuses, out your other nostril and down your shirt. (Tip: Best done in private.)



Naturally, I got sick. Thank goodness I was able to squeeze in a 6-hour ride in the sleet before I was inexplicably incapacitated.



While recuperating, I realized that sick cyclists go through five distinct stages:



Denial

I'm not sick. It's just allergies. A-choo! Ooh, sorry about the mucous membranes on your skirt, boss. Don't worry: I can still ride home. Just need to . . . catch my breath . . . sit down for a sec on this . . . paper shredder? Uh oh.

Anger

Who did this to me? I'll bet it was Feeblemeister in Accounting. That idiot's always catching colds from his rug rats, then breathing all over me while yelling that I can't put energy bars on my expense report.

Bargaining

If I go home and rest, it'll be just a 24-hour bug, right? I'll be able to ride tomorrow, I won't lose any fitness and I won't gain weight. Deal? I promise to drink plenty of fluids.

Depression

I'll never be well enough to ride again.

Acceptance

Pass me the stupid Pork Rinds.

(Scott Martin wrote feature articles for Bicycling magazine for 12 years. You can e-mail him at [email protected])

 

[PaulCL]

somewhere in between...

...bargaining and depression for me. My thinking was that I'd rest today, ride tomorrow and sleep all day Saturday to make up for the stupidity of riding on Friday!! Or screw it....the weather will suck forever, I'll never get well, my bike will break, and I will lose all the fitness I've gained over the last two months by suffering through 3x per week 5 mile runs!! Pass me the pork rinds............

 

[PaulCL]

now it's "Acceptance"

...bargaining and depression for me. My thinking was that I'd rest today, ride tomorrow and sleep all day Saturday to make up for the stupidity of riding on Friday!! Or screw it....the weather will suck forever, I'll never get well, my bike will break, and I will lose all the fitness I've gained over the last two months by suffering through 3x per week 5 mile runs!! Pass me the pork rinds............

Now that it's Friday morning - and I feel like sheet - I'm accepting the fact that I can't ride. The plus of this cold thing is my weight. I've dropped about 4lbs this week 'cause I'm not eating anything. Maybe I can maintain the loss....gotta look for the silver lining. I started the year at 201lbs (6'1" tall and too many hours in the weight room plus Christmas pigout) and down to 190lb. At least my new bibs and wheelset are to be delivered today. I've got something to look forward to....

 

[teoteoteo]

All week, I've been waiting for tomorrow to ride. I saw a break in the weather from 30's to upper 50's and sunny. Heck, its' hitting the 70's, but raining, during the weekend. My new wheelset is scheduled for Friday morning UPS delivery. My new bibshorts are scheduled for Friday AM delivery. I purposely didn't schedule any Friday afternoon meetings (like I ever do anyway....) Even my manager (a rider himself) asked me if I was blowing off Friday to ride....All was set. Right? Nope...a bomb had to drop.

I wake up Tuesday with a ferocious headcold. The whole enchilada....sneezing, congestion, complete exhaustion (I've gone to be at 8pm two nights in a row). The last couple days, I've gone directly from caffeine to sudafed to Nyquil. My wife has been home sick in bed for two days. Can a miracle cure happen overnight?? I know my body : even if I feel good tomorrow, I shouldn't ride. 'Cause if I ride, then I'll feel lousy Saturday. OK...enough of a pity party. Where's that coffee.....

Screw it....maybe I'll just do an easy 20 miler. Gotta break in those wheels and bibs....

The body is a wondeful thing....when it works right. When things go wrong then you realize you are at its mercy. Was supposed to race last Sunday but Friday I woke with bad pain in my right testicle (yikes). Saturday it was unbearable and ended up at emergancy clinic when pain moved to abdominal and back. Xrays, tests, and more tests have followed. Today was a cat scan. Probably kidney stones but they still haven't given me word. I want to ride but things don't feel right down there even though severe pain subsided.