This blog follows Wayne Andresen on a fully supported 52 day coast to coast bicycle ride from the Pacific Ocean at San Diego, California, to the Atlantic Ocean at St. Augustine, Florida.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Day 34: Thursday 04/07/16, Shepard, TX to Silsbee, TX

Day 34 distance:  0 miles

Total miles:  1832 miles

Elevation gain: 745 feet

Map of today's ride:

Today was a major disappointment for me. I lost my EFI (Every Fabulous Inch!) status due to being unable to ride today's ride. About 7:00 PM last night, I had the urge to throw up. I wasn't feeling bad so thought it must have been something I ate. However, that was just the start, with being up at least every hour throughout the night vomiting along with diarhea. Not too convenient of a situation when sleeping in a tent! By 4:00 am, I had also lost enough electrolytes that I had both calf's cramping and both upper thigh's cramping at the same time.Not a pretty sight when you need to get up off an air matress to go to the bathroom!

I wasn't any better at 6:00 am when it was time to get up, so I called Coach, our mechanic, to bring a chair to my tent so I could prop myself up on it to take some weight off my cramped legs, so I could work on the cramps. I then showered and SAG member Beth Thomasen took me to an Urgent Care Center about 20 miles away. The doctor did a saliva test and confirmed I had gastroentitis, or a good old viral stomach flu. I was given a shot and a prescription to combat nausea. It seemed to help, but I did throw up again one more time this afternoon. I am the fifth coaster to have gone through this illness.

When I arrived at Silsbee, Texas, this afternoon with Beth,, I found that someone in the SAG group had gone to a laundry and washed all my bedding. Talk about being Pampered!

I am not sure what tomorrow will bring. At the very least, i want to ride across the Texas and Louisiana state line. We will see, but it will be a couple days after I regain my appetite to get my body replenished for consistent daily riding.



10 comments:

  1. Sorry, Wayne. That stinks. No doubt that you are fit enough for EFI. This is just bad luck. I'm sure there have been lectures about hand sanitizer. Hope you bounce back quickly.

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  2. Hope you get lots of rest tonight and wake up feeling much better!!! Xoxo

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  3. Sorry to hear that. What a bummer!! Hope you feel better for the ride tomorrow

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  5. Oh so sorry! I sure hope you have a quick recovery. You've put so much into this. Hopefully a day's rest will do the trick and you'll be back in the saddle soon.

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  6. Sorry Wayne, know that is a major disappointment, but getting better is the answer at this point.
    Again, sorry my friend but this is a lot better than what Texas had in store for you last year.

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  7. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

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  8. So sorry that you are sick. You are in good hands with the wonderful staff! Prayers for a quick recovery!

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  9. BUMMER...BUMMER...BUMMER...I hear Blackberry Brandy is the cure for what ails you. We hope for the quick recovery.

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