A time and a place...

Well it would appear there is indeed a time and a place for everything. Even falling ill. Having arrived in Lyon on Friday evening, by Saturday night I was having a restless night's sleep feeling like my whole body had been beaten by iron bars. I then couldn't face eating on Sunday, and have been suffering from what once could politely refer to as an 'upset stomach'. In short, I have been showing all the signs of dehydration, not of my body's water supplies, but rather the deplenishment of my stores of sodium, potassium and various minerals caused by long term abuse and lack of care.

However, as the title suggests, I (luckily for me, unluckily for Emma) found myself a wonderful host this weekend. Not only has Emma put me up, and put up with me, but she's also been fantastic for dietary advice and has really helped me get back on track.

I feel far from being in as good shape as before, but I'm definitely on the road to recovery. The plan is to set off for Grenoble this afternoon (which is only 110km away) taking it easy over a couple of days. Hopefully this should give my body chance to sort itself out before a full on assault on the Alps!

I guess if there's a moral to the story, it's not to take any challenge, however big or small, too lightly. From now, I'll be drinking electrolyte mixtures, taking Sodium tablets, mineral supplements, and I've got some EPO and amphetamines on order.

A la prochaine donc, and in the words of Tom Simpson, "Put me back on my bike".