Well, today the biosuit finally broke down and I couldn't finish the ride. What happened? Guess, just guess....OK, give up? - of all things - a sinus infection!!!! AAAARRRRRGH!!!!!!!! (Can you get a sense of my frustration?!)
I woke up not feeling great, but not bad enough not to ride. I started the ride strong - even with headwinds the first 30 miles. Unfortunately, by the time I stopped at mile 69 for the SAG, I was feeling woozy and like my head was in a bubble. The last 30 miles were lots of uphill and I didn't think I could make it, so I rode in the van to the hotel.
I am very glad I did. Turns out, lightening had started a huge fire in the hills 5 miles outside of Hot Springs and it was really smokey in areas on the way in - I would have only aggravated my sinuses.
When we got to town, I was dropped off at the hospital - I went to the emergency room and got a prescription for antibiotics. Since it was Sunday, the nurse at the hospital said to go to the Pamida store - it was the only place open that had a pharmacy. And, the only reason it was open was because of the fire. This was a bad fire - one person died, and several people lost their homes (27 homes).
I walked from the hospital to the hotel and went to the office to see about getting a cab to the Pamida. The woman at the desk heard my story and said that the pharmasist was not there - he was actually across the parking lot and staying in one of the hotel rooms - he was one of the people who had lost his home in the fire. The woman at the desk knew him and we went over to him and explained my situation (I was leaving in the morning before any pharmacies would be open) and amazingly, he took my prescription and paperwork and drove to the pharmacy and filled my prescription!!!! Here this man had just lost his home to a fire less that 24 hours ago and he went out of his way to help a stranger. Talk about small town goodness. Needless to say, I will be sending him a very special thank you when I get home.
I took the antibiotic and I can already feel it starting to work. I don't think I'll be riding tomorrow. I want the drugs to kick in and start working, so that I can feel better faster and get back on the bike sooner. Also, tomorrow is a hard day with lots of big climbs and I don't think I would fare well if I tried to ride.
Ride statistics for as far as I got: 69 miles, 5 1/2 hours, 5 hrs 53 min on the bike, Ave. speed: 13.1 mph, Climb: ???
Now it's off to bed and rest.....
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