Day 25, Stage 19
Bourgoin-Jallieu – Aubenas, 178km
Mother Nature loves us again and gave us a massive tailwind for most of the stage which was very timely. It was also 32 degrees Celsius which was so nice after all of the inconsistent weather in the Alps.
It felt great to see high 30’s and early 40’s on my Polar CS600 speedo. Although, when you go fast like this it is a dangerous time as you think you are a great cyclist and should undertake massive challenges like riding the Tour de France route! (You never get these crazy ideas when you are struggling up a steep mountain). So, while it was great to go fast, I was making sure I didn’t get too carried away and dream up another bike tour for next year. We were just so happy to see the kilometres tick away a whole lot quicker than they had for the entire tour.
The morning session saw us make our way through numerous Lavender farms. There were paddocks and paddocks full of it and it was so relaxing I swear I nearly fell asleep on the bike.
The rest of the day went by quite smoothly and quickly except for one puncture for Marika.
On the final climb of the day my legs were starting to get a bit heavy and I found myself thinking – ”thank god there are only two more stages to go”!
I think this is the earliest we’ve made it to our hotel. With only two stages to go we are finally starting to get it right!
Attempted Video Diary
Crohn’s Fact
Australia is lagging behind the rest of the developed world in terms of funding biological treatment for Crohn’s disease. While public healthcare funding varies internationally, biological treatment for Crohn’s disease is funded in some manner by the majority of developed countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, as well as Europe. In Australia it accounts for just 0.1% of the total allocated recurrent health expenditure.
Crohn’s Profile
Name: Sonja
Age: 45
Lives: Stoevring, Denmark
Age of Diagnosis: 24
My Story: My story starts in 1982 in Aarhus, Denmark when I was 18 years old. I was living a wonderful life with good friends, lovely family, was active competition fencer travelling around Denmark, Poland and Germany for different fencing contests. Suddenly I started to get a lot of pain in my stomach, I could not go to the toilet and went to my GP, who gave me some medicine to deal with the problem, and it worked, but the pain kept coming back and over time I got diarrhoea, had to go to the toilet 15 - 20 times a day and lost 30kg. It took the doctors 6 years to find out what was wrong with me. It was so hard physically and psychologically not knowing what was wrong with me.
In 1988 they found out that I had Crohn’s and I went through my first surgery. After that I had three more operations and two minor operations. I have to go to the toilet 10 to 15 times every day. I have to take medication everyday Puri-nethol (mercaptopurin). I have rheumatism pain nearly every day, sometimes more than others so I also get painkillers. There are days where I have to stay home because I need my toilet that badly - it is not fun when you cannot reach the toilet in time. I have to sleep in the middle of the day to get enough energy. Today I do not work, I had to retire with a pension when I was 35 years old. I am married and have three kids aged 18, 16 and 6 years old. My family and some friend are helping out when I need it. I try to help others with Crohn’s here in Denmark. I also teach nurse students how it is to live with Crohn’s.
My message: Crohn’s can be so difficult and frustrating to live with. There are so many side effects like pain, malnutrition, social loneliness, loss of education (because you can’t go to school). Kids can not be normal like other kids, they want to but they are too tired, have too many pains. There are so many side effects with the strong medication we get. I hope that one day I do not need to go through more operations and take medication every day.
Today’s images can be viewed here
Sponsor Profile:
Sponsor Name: UK and Europe Travel
Sponsor Level: Project Partner
Sponsor Website: http://www.ukandeuropetravel.com/
UK and Europe travel provided the Crohn’s Crusaders with discounted vehicle leasing and can help you with all your vehicle needs in the UK and Europe.
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