From a veteran cyclist of the Germanfest Bicycle Rally near Gainesville, Texas...
    FYI...some important information on (salt deprivation) hyponatremia. It's too easy to prevent, yet can be life threatening when not prevented.  (Hyponeutremia seems to be an acceptable spelling as well but turns up fewer search results.)  Indulge me for a moment to give you a background, a reason why you should visit this web site: www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/salt.html
    At Germanfest, I OVER hydrated myself.  On the 60 mile ride, I drank around 2 1/2 gallons (which is only a little over average for me) in 4 hours.  I've trained my body to take half water and half Gator/Power Ade, but that day, I somehow decided that just water would be fine.  It wasn't. As I salted out through sweat, urine, and even saliva, I replaced my fluids with only water, effectively flooding my system and diluting my concentrations of sodium, potassium, and hemoglobin.  Average sodium is 135 and varies only by a few degrees; mine was 122. This is hyponatremia.
    This caused an increasingly worse headache.  For the last five miles I was crying and pleading to every known pantheon of gods, deities, and dead bikers.  I didn't sag because I figured I could get home sooner on a bike than in a van.  And, at least I can say I finished, right?!  When the headache didn't lessen and, in fact, continued to get worse after 40 oz of gas station Gatorade, a lukewarm shower, and an hour and a half's time of hoping for improvement, I asked John to drive me to the ER, simply because the ambulance would have never found his family's farm.
    By then, I was vomiting -- indeed, all 40 oz of the gas station Gatorade.  I didn't stop vomiting until it was bloody and the hospital staff attempted to put a tube down my nose and into my stomach to stop it. The tube triggered my gag reflex, and I became intensely combative -- you see, my brain had swollen from the hyponatremia.  I ripped out an IV and required six people to hold me down in addition to the arm and leg restraints.  They quickly abandoned the tube-down-the-throat-idea and opted to paralyze me instead.  I remained paralyzed in the ICU on a breathing machine, catheterized, and fed through an IV for three days.  I remember none of this and rely on John's account of everything that happened from the ER to waking up in a regular hospital bed some three days later.
    But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  By the time I realized that the headache wouldn't fade on its own, I could barely see from the pain nor could I speak intelligibly because of the numbness and pins and needles sensation that had taken over my entire body.  It was then that I realized that if I DIDN'T die, I'd probably never feed or dress myself again.  (It turns out, my intuition was right.  Hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma, and death.)
    In the car on the way to the hospital, I apologized to John and told him that I loved him and had always loved him and began to pray in earnest.
    As I write this today, it's two weeks later, I'm still 10 pounds under weight, but I'm not walking into doors anymore, I'm remembering things without having to ask four times, my mouth is using exactly the words that my brain is telling it to, my fingers have "remembered" how to type, I've regained my fine motor skills, coordination and reflexes, my bruises and heart monitor patch marks are beginning to fade, and not only can I stand up without swooning, but yesterday I rode 10 miles and felt great.
    The way for me personally to prevent this from happening in the future is to do what I've always done:  drink half water and half electrolyte replacement drink, have pretzels a few days before the ride, eat right, sleep well, hydrate, get on somebody's wheel...
    I hope I've convinced you to take a few moments to read the attached web site; it's the best I've found so far.  Oh, by the way, in addition to each of the doctors' bills and the bill for the ambulance transport from Gainesville to HEB, we received the hospital's bill today... $18,322.21 -- now, go read that web site!  I've copied only my cycling buddies whose email addresses I have; please pass this on to anyone I've missed since it's such an easy mistake to avoid. --Suzanne--

    The Low Country Boys made a great showing at the Night Train this past weekend (May 12) in Fontana Village, NC. 

Two teams from Charleston competed in the Night Train12-hour relay mountain bike race in Fontana Village, NC. The first team, The Spearheads, included John Darrohn, Scott Bays, Mike Treman and Rob Cone. 

The second team, [Three] Muddy Buddy Peddle Pushers, included Burke Allen, Jim Tomsic, John Glover and Christian Walters. 

Out of the 12 teams that competed in the 4-rider sport division (the division our guys competed in) only 6 actually finished the race and our guys placed fifth and fourth respectively.
    We started out with 4 teams. The MBPP were originally a 3-person team. The other team that was to have competed was a 4-person team, named Too Lame for a Name. TLFAN suffered a couple of injuries on the practice loop Friday afternoon; so, we began the race with 2 teams. After a 100-foot roll down the side of a mountain, Frank Pain tattooed his armpit by getting up-close and personal with his chain ring.

Is it in you Frank?

 Ken Kirchner tried out the ole tuck and roll on his shoulder except he forgot to tuck and roll. From what I understand it was more of a thud.

    The course was a 7.4 mile loop.  The first section was a serious up-hill ride and pushing your bike to the top was the preferred method of reaching the summit. Once at the top, signs stating “Slow Danger” preceded a rocky muddy downhill trail named “First Blood” which made you wish you were still pushing your bike up hill.  After the first three miles, the course turned into a cardio roller coaster with a few steep up and down slopes to keep you on your toes. To add additional challenge (as if it was needed), we had a steady rain the night before the race and periods of drizzle throughout the day. Fortunately, later in the afternoon the sun worked her way through the clouds and conditions on course improved a bit.
    There were many memorable moments throughout the entire weekend.

 However, one stands out as being the most noteworthy. Each rider was required to ride into the finish chute to turn in the baton to the timekeepers who would then pass the baton to the next rider. 

At each hand-off for both teams, we were well represented to cheer our guys on. So with that image in mind, here we are waiting for John Glover of the MBPP team to come in. The sun has already set, so it’s dark out and all riders were donning their lights. John’s a bit overdue based on his previous lap times and calculating for the darkness, but we figure it’s a flat or something mechanical, hoping he’s not been injured. “Rider” is called out by one of the officials. We then hear “58” and know that’s John. So we begin yelling, “Go John!” then we all get quiet, someone yells out “his leg is hurt” we look and there he is left leg hanging there and he’s steady pedaling with his right. But he has this look on his face I can’t quite explain, somewhere between determination and disbelief. Then we realize, he’s not hurt but his left pedal is missing and he’s pedaled the last mile with one pedal. The entire area cheered him on in; it was a great moment.

    The race officials were most impressed at how well our guys did given our steepest “hills” around here are the connectors. We had one of the largest support contingencies of all the teams represented. Including the teams, 18 people made the trek from Charleston (or Columbia) to either participate in the race or support the teams.  It was a great weekend!
    Check out the photos from this and other great events at www.coastalcyclists.org/CC_Photos/CoatlatCyclistsinAction.htm

June Ride Calendar
Rides depart at the indicated time. Arrive early, so you can prepare without holding up your fellow riders!

2001 COASTAL CYCLISTS OFFICERS
President – Charles Fox 224-5015 or 740-7200 x.123 foxiecharles@hotmail.com
Vice-President -- Rob Cone crcone@hotmail.com
Secretary – Frank Pain 832-6069canhun@hotmail.com
Treasurer – Pat Clarke 768-1569 cyclistPat@aol.com
2001 Committee Chairs
Newsletter – Wade Harrison 875-6487 70640.2741@compuserve.com.
Mountain-Biking - Scott Bays mbiker@InfoAve.Net
Ride schedule and PR – Paul Hedden 762-5747 phedden@awod.com
Membership – John Darrohn j_darrohn@hotmail.com
Webmaster – Rob Cone crcone@hotmail.com

Coastal Cyclists Membership Application