Japan

The adventure comes to an end.  A hard week it was.  An unforgettable experience was had. 2017.08.17 Stage 5 I heard Mashu's alarm go off at 7.  I heard everyone else in the Ger wake up and start their morning.  I didn't move.  I still laid in bed.  I hadn't slept well the night before.  I might have spent more time on the toile than I did in bed. In all seriousness, my bowel movement was unpredictable at this point.  I was seriously concerned that any movement at all would trigger some unwanted consequences. I stayed in bed till I heard Rob call for me.  I don't even know what time it was at this point.  Apparently word had gotten around that a few of us had the runs.  I was one of the unfortunate ones.   I went to go seek some medical attention and was given some anti-diarrhea pills to help with my problem. At this point, I knew I was going to start.  I was already a non-finisher, I had nothing to gain but everything to lose.  My first pedal stroke on the

My adventure continues.  It starts to go downhill from here. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger (K. Clarkson, 2011) 2017.08.14 Stage 2 I knew this was going to be the toughest day out of all.  Labelled as the 'Queen Stage', I began to seriously worry whether or not I'd make the cut off time of 10 hours.  I woke up with stiff legs but felt ok overall. I had a bigger breakfast than the morning before and went to the start line feeling a bit more confident.  I told the other guys I rode with that I was planning for a slow day. at the start of stage 2  When we took off I felt better than I thought.  I rode in a faster group than the day prior and thought that I was going to have a good day.  That quickly changed once I saw the first climb of the day.  A large mountain stood in front of us and there was a long line of riders going up.  Some struggling to pedal up, while others simply walking the bike up.  I tried to go as far as I could pedal up.  I dec