Day 4, Stage 4
Montpellier – Montpellier 39km
Today the Crohn’s Crusaders set the slowest time trial speed in cycling history! A 39km time trial around Montpellier took us forever as we took so many wrong turns and got lost so often.
Despite the snail’s pace we crossed paths with our first professional team of the ride today which was a great highlight. The Columbia High Road team were scoping out the Stage 4 Team Time Trial course and flew past us at a million miles an hour. A few corners further down the road we found them stopped with a mechanical problem and stopped for a chat and a few photos with them. We bombarded them with questions and they seemed happy enough to have a chat which was nice.
We then tried to keep up with them for a while after their mechanical fault was fixed but they have a bit more energy than the Crohn’s Crusaders team and left us in their wake pretty quickly. It was a great little adrenaline rush for us though and the highlight for stage 4.
We had a quick look at the OzCycling website when we got to the hotel tonight and found that if Crohn’s Crusaders team member Dale Buchholtz was on the Columbia High Road team he may have broken a golden team rule relating to alcohol. Their rule states that they can have “one” alcoholic drink on the night of a stage win for a team member or on somebody’s birthday. “Bucks” has had at least one beer every day but has pleaded that as we are the only team in our ride we have had a stage winner every day!
Crohn’s Fact
Crohn’s is a serious condition and can only be properly diagnosed by a medical practitioner. However, some of the symptoms include abdominal pain, mouth ulcers, weight loss, diarrhoea, fatigue, fever, nausea and vomiting, rectal bleeding and poor growth and development in children. Crohn’s disease can affect other parts of the body such as the eyes, skin and joints. Complications include arthritis, malnutrition, intestinal obstruction and fistulas (ulcers that form tunnels to surrounding tissues).
Crohn’s Profile
Name: Tom
Age: 26
Lives: Leuven / Belgium
Age of Diagnosis: 13
My Story:
Hi, I am Tom and I’ve been living with ulcerative colitis for half my life now.
I was Diagnosed at age 13 when I had a Salmonella-infection during a flare-up of my colitis. I probably had colitis for about 2 years before that, but I was afraid to tell anyone that things were going wrong.
Because of the Salmonella-infection I wound up at the hospital. When the diarrhoea didn’t go away after a week, they started checking other things that could be wrong. After about a week of examinations they told me I had ulcerative colitis.
Many things have changed since I was diagnosed. Especially my social life has suffered because it is hard to go outside because of the constant need for a toilet nearby.
But I have adapted to this new situation so that I can still go to work, have some social contact and feel as normal as possible. And I am lucky to have parents and friends that can help me out when needed.
Living with ulcerative colitis has taught me that you can be happy with the little things in life, like having a good day or a nice chat with your friends. These can make me feel really good, although they are just simple things.
Despite my illness, I’m a very happy person.
My message:
I would greatly encourage anyone who wants to get involved with helping people with IBD. We would love for you to donate some money that can be used to research a cure for IBD. It would be an immense relief to be able to go out without the fear of not getting to a toilet in time. I would feel like a prisoner released.
Today’s images can be viewed here
Sponsor Name: Go To Wo Consulting
Sponsor Level: Official Web Development
Sponsor Website: http://www.gotowo.com.au
At Go To Wo, all our clients are unique in needs and expectations. Brands and products aren’t static, therefore we need to create solutions in a strategic manner where we can foresee evolution and growth plus the ability to change as the market does.
Go To Wo have designed the new-look Crohn’s Crusaders website and are providing ongoing technical support. Go To Wo can tailor a creative experience which will meet your objectives and exceed your expectations. Visit www.gotowo.com.au for more info.
Loading ...