Day 17, Stage 13
Vittel – Colmar, 200km
We stayed at the dodgiest place in France last night (I’m disappointed now that I was too tired to get some footage last night as I’m sure this is where the Amityville Horror was filmed) and to top it off the dodgy sleazebag hotelier tried to rip us off when it came time to check out. We wasted time with that idiot for a while and then messed around a bit ourselves with GPS problems and also needed to get a few crucial groceries to get us through the day.
When we finally got started I felt very comfortable for the first 70km and led the group for most of the way. We even pushed a little bit to try to make up for some lost time.
After the break at 70km my body started to feel really sore and I started to get impatient and agitated. I actually wasn’t enjoying it at all and started to think negative thoughts and got quite whiney. That was until I saw a guy with only one leg riding up the category 2 climb we had just descended. What a machine! We actually saw him a bit later and he was hammering. I stopped whingeing after that and suffered in silence.
Mum and Dad, who are driving a support car each, decided to both drive to the hotel ahead of us so that they could cook and get a few things ready in advance of our arrival. This left us to push on towards the Category 1, Category 3 and Category 2 climbs with the plan being for Dad to join back up with us somewhere near the Category 1 descent. It was actually the first time since stage 4 that the support cars haven’t been by our side and so, as Murphy’s Law would have it, we got properly rained on for the first time of the tour.
The category 1 descent was freezing and with no support cars we couldn’t get the remainder of our wet weather gear (we did carry a few items with us though). On top of that we didn’t cross paths with Dad in the support car until the final climb of the day so we were a bit wet and over it and couldn’t wait til the end of the stage.
The actual profile of this stage wasn’t released until a few weeks ago so while we have been mentally preparing ourselves for the massive climb up to Andorra last week for months, we didn’t know too much about this stage until a few weeks ago. And it was a stinker! I think today was hardest day we’ve had psychologically.
It was a great feeling to finish today and there is real satisfaction with clocking up over 200km on your bike computer day after day. In the end it was a massive 13 hour and 23 minute effort and probably our toughest of the tour so far. We smashed Mum’s risotto and fruit salad on our return, showered up and put our feet up.
Post Ride Video Diary
The number of times that we have collapsed, exhausted, on the bed at the end of the day and woken in exactly the same position in the morning is amazing. It’s happened nearly every day.
For the people living with Crohn’s I think you will be interested in this fact. We haven’t been denied use of toilets anywhere in France throughout the whole tour. This includes bars, restaurants, service stations etc. Everywhere we have been we are allowed access regardless of whether we are a customer or not. Australia could take a leaf out of France’s book here!
Crohn’s Fact
A person has a higher chance of developing Crohn’s disease if they have a close relative with the condition.
Crohn’s Profile
Name: Karissa Schmidt
Age: 23 in August 2009
Lives: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Age of Diagnosis: 14
My Story:
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at age 14 after a short two months of diagnostic testing. Doctors tried several medications, including Pentasa, Salofalk, 6MP, Immuran, antibiotics,
and the very well-known Prednisone. All medications they tried, other than Prednisone, I ended up being allergic to. They caused severe cases of Pancreatitis and eventually lead to the condition called ‘chronic pancreatitis’. So, unfortunately, I was put on
Prednisone off and on for 3 years (with some extreme side effects such as hallucinations, horrible nightmares, weight gain/water retention, as well as headaches, nosebleeds, easy bruising, mood swings, joint pain, muscle weakness, and eye conditions).
After three years of this, I had the total colectamy and ileostamy surgery in August of 2003. I had the ileostamy bag for 7 months, and
then had the reconnection. (During the time I had the ileostamy, I ended up being allergic to the skin adhesive, so I was only able to
shower when I was changing the bag). After the seven months, I was reconnected, and then only a month or two later was diagnosed with
Chronic Pouchitis, and a few months after that, Crohn’s Disease.
My general symptoms were bathroom breaks from 8-15 times/day, severe cramping, constant dehydration, EXTREME urgency, and the common
feelings of constant pain and nausea. During the time before the ileostamy, my urgency was so awful that we invested in a camping
port-a-potty and left it in the main vehicle, plus adding an old ice cream bucket with toilet paper and hand wipes in every other vehicle
that I usually drove in. There are so many horror stories – but I always had amazing support from friends and family that we always
made jokes about it.
After the reconnection surgery, my main problematic symptom was ‘leaking’. To be going from age 17 with an ileostamy making noises
during class, to age 18-21 with Depends at night – it definitely makes you appreciate some of the small things.
My message:
Appreciate the days that you feel decent – Go out and DO whatever you feel like (even if you upset someone because you were too sick the night before to hang out).
The days you feel the worst, make yourself LOOK incredible. It’ll give you the strength and desire to leave the house
Adrenaline slows down digestion for a short time - take advantage of this!
Find humour in the ugly stuff.
Find friends that understand!
Buy a port-a-potty and leave it in the car. Trust me. It saved my life at least a dozen times
Today’s images can be viewed here
Sponsor Profile:
Sponsor Name: HotelClub
Sponsor Level: Project Partner
Sponsor Website: www.hotelclub.com
Fast secure access to over 48, 000 hotels in 126 countries! Let HotelClub guide you to your next Hotel. HotelCLub have guided the Crohn’s Crusaders on several occasions during the tour.
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