Injury – End of Trip

This is an incredibly hard post for us to write.  We have had an amazing bicycle trip to this point: supporting and spreading the word about Can Do MS, a wonderful charity, interacting with and learning from great people all across the country, experiencing life in small town America, and seeing some of America’s incredible landscapes at a pace where we could appreciate it. After an injury however, we have decided to cut our trip short.  We have decided that the end of our trip came with the finish of the Natchez Trace on our First Anniversary.

Unfortunately, after over 60 days and 2,000 miles of self-supported bicycle touring, toward the end of the Natchez Trace I developed a saddle sore that became infected. When I got to the doctor at a walk in clinic while visiting family in Gallatin TN, the doctor gave me a good news/bad news: Good news is he didn’t charge me for the visit, the bad news is he didn’t charge because all he could do was refer me to an emergency room immediately with the likelihood of a procedure. When I finally got to see a doctor in the emergency room and had a more thorough exam, we received the good news that at that point I did not need a procedure. And, more good news, most likely I wouldn’t need a procedure if the antibiotics and baths were effective in stopping the infection and healing the sore.  The bad news however, is that I will not be able to ride my bike for several weeks at a minimum, and much longer if a procedure is needed. I will soon be going to a follow-up visit with a doctor to see if the antibiotics are working and to decide on a course of treatment. As we know more we will update and let everybody know what is going on.