What followed was a bit of a battle with the Health Service and their waiting times. I asked to be treated privately but was told there was no need. I was due to have functional tests for exercise induced asthma, but that would take a few weeks and in the meantime I had another chest X-Ray to rule out any lingering infection or other problems...
A chest X-Ray, yesterday...My lungs had "stopped working" again the day after my PB at Cwmcarn. I was Ok walking around and working, but 10mins after I got on my bike I started to cough and wheeze. It didn't happen on the couple of occasions I mustered up the energy to go to an indoor spin class in hotels I was staying in.
Rich Holmes could see (as could everyone around me) that things were getting a little tiresome, so he did some asking about. Then his Girlfriend, Jan, did some asking about, too.
2 days later I had the results of a spirometry test, done at a local University, in my hands. It said that my lungs are still 23% bigger than the norm, and that they work fine: No asthma.
Phew.
I originally went to the doctor with my chest infection and a request to upgrade my hayfever meds since I didn't think they were working.
Back to the doctor: "You've got asthma."
"No I haven't," and I show the test results.
The chest X-Ray was clear, too.
"Well the only other thing it can be is acid reflux."
"Your notes should tell you that you've been treating me for that for the past 3 weeks, and it's made no difference."
"Oh yes, so we have. It must be hayfever."
Imagine my head bouncing off of the desk, 4 times in frustration. It's taken nearly 3 months post chest infection to get to this point: the same point I talked about with them 4 months earlier when I had the infection.
10hrs later, after taking my new medicine?
No cough.
The G.p's have all been great, but the notes systems let them down badly.
So 4 months wasted; fitness lost and weight gained.
But it seems like my new "prescription only" hayfever meds are working a treat, although I'm loathed to get too excited for now. Time will tell.
Wish me luck.
Last Friday was the Premiere of Reset Films' "Find." It's a gently tempoed celebration of all forms of cycling and includes our Rob Lee, Danny MacAskill,Peaty, Hans Rey and local Hero Rowan Sorrell.
It's really funny in places and the audience seemed to enjoy it. I did.
It was slightly ruined by the fact that Rob and I did the film intro, along with a little presentation on the 7DS. I felt a bit of a fraud: I'm not in this film (but am in the extra scenes, being grumpy) and we were stood there "lecturing" to most of the other guys on the film- and the audience. When you see these guys ride and realise that Rob and I are XC queens you'll see why I felt this way.
But we were very well received, or tolerated, so that's ok.
Buy the film, it's great.
Alongside all this other activity, someone else has done The WC2C! It was a group from VC Melyn in North Wales and they did it over a few days. Initial reports from Justin say that it was fun and that they really enjoyed doing the route as it was actually intended.
To add to the excitement, two friends (Rich Holmes, and Huw Thomas) did Twentyfour12 with some great success. Read about it on their blogs. They have now become officianados of "The Christmas Pudding Chamois" preloading trick, which reduces friction to such an extent that you don't need to change shorts at all during a dry race. It also helps reduce ingress of mud and stones through the chamois. Rich Managed 20hrs in mud, in one pair of shorts!!
Huw being the clever type, realised that adding a coating of anti-monkey butt powder on top stops the clammy feeling you can get in hot weather with the preloaded chamois. Everyone says it works! We have the happiest bottoms on the scene!
I could give up cycling now, happy in the fact that someone has done the route and enjoyed it and the "Christmas pudding chamois" works. But I'm not going to do that, I've got "The Hobbit's Tale" to prepare for if coughing and chest allow!
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