Sick - "Da Bomb"

Yesterday, my trackstand post notwithstanding, I was also sick. I wrote most of that post after a ride in California where someone asked me how to do a trackstand. I explained but it's hard to do on a long group ride where you've already covered most of the ride.

In other words, I had been too tired to make a lot of sense.

Anyway, I spiffed up what I'd written and put it up. That post is for that rider out in Oceanside, CA, and for a Cycling Forum reader who seems really into cycling.

Back to being sick.

Yesterday I woke up for long enough to eat something (I was dizzy with hunger), call in sick, and go back to bed. My phone rang at 4 PM, jolting me out of bed into a confused, still-in-REM-mode haze. In short order, it rang again. I finally got up, not feeling too much better than when I went to sleep.

I was still feeling terrible last night so I decided to unleash "Da Bomb". It's the last resort for a racer worried about his Sunday race and it's already Thursday and he hasn't touched his bike the whole week.

"Da Bomb" consists of two, perhaps three elements.

First, find all the cold weather gear you own. Layers and layers of this stuff. Put it on.

Second, get on your bike. Leave the fan off. Start riding. Moderate pace, mind you, no sprints here, just a "loosening the legs" kind of ride.

Third, stay hydrated.

The last bit is tricky since after a few minutes you're drenched in sweat. I soaked my gear enough that I could feel the chill air of the basement through all my layers of soaked gear. Even the best gear doesn't evaporate the moisture for you - it's up to the atmosphere to do that. And by skipping the fan, I had created my own little steam bath.

Anyway, after an hour of this sauna-like ride (and the point where my clothes became water-logged), I climbed off the bike. I felt drenched, tired, and like I did something to get rid of my tenacious cold. I ate a bit, took a hot shower, and went to bed.

At about 2:30 in the morning, a work related call came through. I thought for sure this would blow my ride-benefits as it was in the single digits overnight, and although I do live in a house, we turn the heat down overnight. Breathing the chill air wasn't doing me any good.

I did pull on my gangster knit hat and slept the rest of the night with that on.

I woke up this morning and my head is stuffy, my throat is phlegmy, I'm coughing some horrendous sounding coughs. But they're wet coughs, not those scratchy throat dry coughs. And wet coughs mean I'm recovering. It's dead bad stuff being evacuated from my system.

So I'm off to work in a bit. I have to get gas for the car and for the generator for the race on Sunday.

And for some very good racers at the Bethel Spring Series...

I have to pick up the Leader's Jerseys.