It Makes Me Sick

Don’t worry, this is not a bitch session.

I took some time to my self da udda day and went for a ride.  I had a few errands to run, but since I wasn’t working I knew I would get in a decent spin in the dirt.  I went to BYT, our local slice of not flowy/smooth/way too easy/built for beginners goodness.  It’s always a good way to clear my head, and challenging enough that I don’t get bored.

I started my ride, and I was feeling great.  Only a few minutes in, I found a friend out on the trail.

Yes, I saved another turtle.  I’m getting pretty good at it.

Other than my little shelled friend, I had the place to myself.  I was on Darth Maul (my rigid SS), so I felt every bump, rock, and root.  I enjoy that.  I jump a little on that bike, but I don’t do any of that crazy shit.

I’m not stupid.

Well, sometimes I am.  Not in this case though.

It was a great ride.  The rain held off until I finished, and I didn’t feel like I had overworked myself.  There was only one small issue…

I felt a little sick when I finished.

It started as a small sinus/cold type thingy after my BYT ride, and then it got worse.  Sunday’s trip to the hills was all I could take I guess, and I woke up early Monday morning feeling like complete shit.  In fact, I noticed it in the restaurant Sunday after our ride when I couldn’t seem to get warm.

Monday evening when I got home from work it hit me hard.  I got in the bed and covered up, with chills so bad that I could hardly stand it.  The little lady said, “Why do you get sick every time you ride BYT?”

I have no idea.

I can’t blame the trail, but it is kinda odd.  I’m sure that trail doesn’t make me sick, but my job does.  I know, I know, yours probably does too.  I work in a hospital though, and not close enough to patients and visitors to build up any kind of immunity.  I wash my hands often and all that, but lack of sleep, stress, who knows what else leaves me prime for catching whatever the hell is floating around in the re-circulated air I breathe at my desk every day.  I gotta get outside more.

I’ve gone home and done absolutely nothing for the last few nights after work, hoping not to overdo it while I get ready for the Jerdon Mountain Challenge this Saturday.  I should be taking it easy anyway, but doing nothing while my body fights off some kind of death virus is probably not the best way to prepare for a race.  I haven’t even felt like drinking beer.  That’s no way to get ready to ride my bike.

I don’t care how bad I feel on Saturday though.  I’m “racing.”  Sure, I run the risk of getting worse like the last time I got sick, but I won’t pass up a chance to ride my bike in the hills with two hundred of my closest friends and two-wheeled enthusiasts.  I’ll get up at 5:00 a.m., drive to Old Fort, saddle up, and get all Enduro™ in my weakened condition.

It should be fun if I don’t die out on the trail.

At least I didn’t sign up for ORAMM...