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 ev...

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 a...