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The official website is here: www.coughingthedistance.com

Also, my latest adventures are here: www.coughing4cf.com


Monday, August 06, 2007

Cycling and CF

Here is a quick word from Walter: I started the ride on oral antibiotics, started ten days before the flight to Europe and continued till a day or two into the ride (a good two weeks+). I then changed to nebulised antibiotics for a while. Now I am just on the usual vitamins, glucosamine/chondroiton, Pulmozyne, decongestants etc. Doing a fair bit of coughing on all hills and the first 1-2 hours of each day.

One of our daily battles is keeping medicine chilled. We use hotel fridges, campsite fridges, refreeze our ice-blocks... And we have a small car fridge for pulmozyne and antibiotics.

Something above my left knee started hurting lots after a few days of hard riding, which made my leg very stiff. Now I am taking some aspirin in the mornings, and it is slowly going away. I am the slowest rider on the trip, but that was to be expected! Also, app art from David, I am the only one riding every day!

Tomorrow we leave France and enter Switzerland. We will have an unscheduled rest day there, but will catch up to our schedule shortly thereafter.

We miss our good gear from our lost luggage very much. My GPS navigator PDA is a painful loss, we might have to replace it soon before we leave civilisation. David's Garmin GPS is doing well, but the support car has nothing to locate us with.

The great Patagonia outdoor gear that was in our luggage would have made life much better too, we miss that lots. David got his luggage, so he has his! The clothing I bought in a hurry is mostly misfitting and uncomfortable, especially the sleeping bags. But once you are riding and on the bike everything is perfect, ills or no hills, tail or head wind no matter!

That's enough from me, back to Heather!

8 comments:

Connie said...

Dear Walter & Co.
My 2 previous comments did not get through somehow... Very strange.
I try again: Good to hear from you all the time.It is the talk of the day here, every day!Family and friends, we all keep in touch with each other to make sure no one misses the latest newsletter.All the best with knees and health.You are all doing very SUPER.Now up to Switzerland!Lots of love from Mum in C.

Tiina said...

Good on you Walter for riding every scheduled riding day :) Look after that knee - I recommend exercise - gentle flex and extend with the knee accompanied with vigourous elbow flex and extend with a bit of beer weight on the end.

Jim Reeder said...

Gear missing ,sports injuries, drug taking; who needs the Tour de France. Vivre Le Tour de Walter!
You may want to play with your cleat settings if the knee doesnt settle. Furtherforward on the shoe could reduce the load on the knee and increase the load on the calf or maybe even raising your seat and lowering your bars could help transfer the pain to some other innocent part of your body. It took me 4 bikes before I found the right one- before I started!
I think you just love challenges Walter and starting with new gear is just ahnother one that you will triumph. Best wishes from Myself, Ricky Lloch and Abbey

Dini said...

Well done to the team for keeping up the blog at every opportunity. Are you keeping a diary of notes as well as the blog and pictures? More work, but the handwritten word is special, much more to be told about each day than just the text. And with all this gift giving you will soon need 2 support cars!Lots of presents for Kath holding the fort at home.
GA, Tassie Hash went to Waratah this weekend, some of the worst weather and Karaoke one could ever experience, required a lot of medicine over the bar to stick it out. Around 50 starters dressed in wild west gear, pix will be on the flickr after next weekend when Griz gets his sh*t together, so till then you will have to imagine!
Hugs from Dini and all at Burnie HHH. On On to Switzerland.

Lord Robert said...

I follow your exploits with envy knowing you are all enjoying this trip far too much, but then I expected you to.
I know that by the end of this you will have found out far more about yourselves then you thought possible. Onwards and upwards ...... Bob & sue Lawrence

Anonymous said...

Walter Van Praag he's a machine. In another country, living his dream. Following a train track, riding on a bike. He's the kind of hero that all us Aussies like. Go Walter Go. Hope all is going well. Wakey & Kaz

The Green Group Trading said...

Hi All,

We have checked out all Google sites re knee pain from riding 4,000 klms.........

and apparently the best remedy is to grab a huge handful of very smelly cheese and wrap it around the sore knee with Gladwrap [plastic wrap]...........

If you leave it on all day you will find yourself without any companions and not able to complain to anyone :)

Keep up the blogs and the great commentary.

Cheers & beers

J & L

fiona m said...

Hi Walter and David (and the others who I haven't met)

David - I said I'd leave a message so here it is. Seems like you are all having a great time (despite the lost luggage). And the french food (described in such detail by Walter I think) sounds great!

enjoy yourselves (and see you when you get back) but don't hurry - its sunny but still cold here in Canberra.
cheers
Fiona