In Which the Winter of Illness Pounces

Dec. 14--It had been wet earlier, but my late afternoon, the sky was starting to clear. Late ride, sky seen near east end of Lindale Trail.

Dec. 14--Late in the ride, heading towards home, view of setting sun from Lindale Trail farther west in Marion, Iowa.

There was a recent New York Times story about how crummy New Yorkers are feeling.

It’s not just COVID19. Nor flu. Nor RSV. It’s all three plus other viruses making many in the Big Apple frequently miserable.

I feel your pain, urbanites. Here in fly-over country, the winter of 2023 is also making its mark and blocking my biking goal for the year. Just under 300 miles to go, but a big winter blizzard and freeze is headed this way, starting tomorrow.

And, right when I wanted my miles to pick up, the winter crud struck.

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, I felt a little wonky, but checked my temp in the morning and I was OK. I taught two classes, but was fading, and cancelled the third. By the afternoon, I was feeling weirdly tired. Tired is not unusual for me in an afternoon—I am old and am a frequent napper—but this was different. Unable to function tired. And a headache started.

That night, I checked my temperature at bedtime, as my head was still feeling sore. I don’t recall the reading, but I do recall the result—a fever. Which over the next few days would rise regularly, each day. I would start the morning with a normal temperature, but by evening I was hot blooded, flitting about 102. Tylenol and Advil became my daily routines.

Dec. 5, maybe? Morning light at C Avenue Pond.

I was sure it was THAT virus. After two years of evading that wily new infection, I figured the jig was up and I had joined the legion of ’VIDers. But Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning I took home COVID tests, with the result always being negative.

Maybe flu? Except a headache and fever was not accompanied by any general aches nor respiratory symptoms. I don’t often suffer from flu, so I’m no expert, but I just didn’t think it was that.

With my fever, I was missing some decent biking weather. We’ve had some wet days this December, but there was a bit of dry. Yet, there’s something about a 102 temperature which keeps one inside, even on relatively warm December days.

On Monday, I tossed in the towel and sought the wisdom of my primary medical provider. Let me tell you, a doctor’s office test for flu and for COVID-19 involves swabs that are way, way more uncomfortable than a home test. But the results were consistent with the home test results. Not only did I not have THAT virus, I also didn’t have influenza, either. So a blood test was in order, which proved negative for all the infections they could test for, but also indicated a pattern consistent with a viral infection.

Great. I’m the first victim of the previously unknown CR Biker Disease. Or just one of the many viruses that are making this winter such a wonderland.

Anyway, there wasn’t much that could be done. Stay hydrated, use the pain meds without exceeding the 24-hour limits, and wait it out. My doctor called me on Tuesday to ask how I was doing, and the answer was “not very well.”

This was during finals week at the university where I teach. Well, at least one skill the pandemic taught us professors is was how to quickly whip up an online test when one is called for.

By Wednesday Dec 14, your biker correspondent was feeling a bit more human. I actually went on my first ride in a week late that afternoon, riding the Lindale Trail, the new leg east of C Avenue and the older branch heading into Marion. I was missing the work Christmas party I had been looking forward to, but didn’t think joining an indoor crowd on the first day I felt OK after a week-long illness was the kind thing to do.

Dec. 14--Golden late afternoon light shines on my mountain bike at the Milwaukee Road bridge on the Lindale Trail.

Dec. 14--Sunset at Milwaukee Road bridge.

Between family holiday trips, frantic grading catch-up days (it’s very inconvenient to fall ill with 5 classes of grades to get done) and winter getting a bit more determined to be inhospitable, biking has been mostly nixed more me, for now.

And here we are, 11 days from the end of the year, with a bomb cyclone (a weather term for a really, really nasty winter blizzard and cold snap) headed our way for Christmas. I managed 61.28 miles so far in December, despite the week off courtesy of the CR Biker Virus. My longest ride was 14.56 on Dec. 14. Year-to-date is 2,708.69. I have some hope of getting a few more miles in, but 300 more? I am pretty sure I won’t make my 3,000-mile goal this year.

Oh well. May 2023 be filled with more riding. I’m grateful to be in the land of healthy again, waiting for the storm to come and go. And I’ve enjoyed the miles this year, even if I had hoped for more.