31st July UPDATE

It's been a very bad few days, whatever I picked up was serious enough to keep me bed ridden for 3 days to the point I only had strength for bathroom breaks.  I stayed in ullapool for those days and have been looked after by a tough American lady who married a Scotsman called Angus or "Angie" as he is known.

I only met Angie briefly as he is very ill and was taken into hospital, he is 86 and his wife Pam is 66.  I will be eternally grateful to Pam as she brough me soup and drinks and made sure I was ok, she has not complained once about her smelly cyclist guest and along with Morven her dog has made me feel like part of the house.

Despite all she has to cope with Pam has taken care of me and I am beginning to think it was fate I made here to someone so kind instead of ending up in Scourie with the poor excuse for a human being that the landlady who turned me away in the state I was in was.

I have seen two doctors the first simply told me to rest the second has given me the "right" antibiotics and found I had a fever etc..  I have been treated for meningitus before and that is the only time I can say I have felt as bad as I am, I have never felt so weak.

I flew back home, there was also a family medical emergency which kept me in the hospital till the early hours of the morning, once that was sorted I have slept and rested as much as I can to allow my body to recover.

It is now early in the hours of friday morning, I can feel my strength returning my chest is clearing and once again I am itching to get back out on my bike.  I am going to wait till Sat/Sumday, I have made some adjustments to my route and left some things out which I would like to have seen.  I am going to lighten up my bike and I will be blogging less, however I am confident I can make up the time lost.

A few people I have spoken have ranged from telling me that my trip is over, to telling me I should cut out ireland, to just telling me I am crazy to continue and then there are those who know me and simply say, be careful and don't kill yourself you will get it done.

I won't lie, being in bed, struggling to breath coughing till every part of me hurt I thought my trip may be over, but as Marc says give your body half a chance and it will carry you through, I kept that one in my head and  I made myself drink as much as I could eat what I could keep down and let my body and the antibiotics fight whatever was having a feast on me..

I can't wait to get going!