The Ethiopian Flu strikes me down

February 21, this has been an incredibly long long day and I now find myself sitting in the swank lobby of the Intercontinental hotel in Addis Ababa. Today I lost "EFNT" (Every fabulous night in a tent) and "EFD" (Every fabulous day). I woke up last night at around 1am and had been struck down by the "Ethiopian flu" This thing is nasty and this is the sickest I have been in about 10 years. I spent the night over the squat toilet facing the most intense stomach cramping I have ever had. If this is what contractions feel like, you can be assured I will NEVER have a baby. I had a serious fever and was trying my best to sleep despite the hot cold chills. I could bearly make it out of my tent this morning let alone get on my bike. This was the first time of the whole trip I got up and dressed myself in something other than biking clothes and got my bike, through it on the lunch truck and opted for the back seat where I could lay down. Luckily I have made some very good friends and have an adopted mom and dad here (Geoff and Diane) and they helped me get settled. We drove the 65 brutal kilometers to lunch. At lunch I asked for the nurse to come see me and she gave me Buscopan (the magic little pill that stops stomach cramping) it took a long time to start working and lunch seemed to go on for ever. Smart choice not to ride, at lunch 20 riders also joined me on the lunch truck due to the difficulty of the morning ride. I finally got off the bus at 4pm, and Rick and Jenn loaded me up (somewhat reluctantly) to the intercontinental. $100 per night seemed crazy but now I am here I am very thankful to them. I hope to shake this thing tomorrow. I need to start riding again after Addis. I am still less than 200km short of completing the entire ride. The intensity of this thing is so real now. Every single day to ride 100+ km is nuts and so hard on your body. 5 weeks I have spent in my tent with cold showers and waking up to riding everyday. I hope the fever breaks tonight so I can get over this....and enjoy the hotel.