Don't drink the water.

Good Wednesday to you all.

It was a bit of a weird Tuesday for me. On Monday night, I went to bed — as one does — and my stomach started to hurt. I didn’t think too much of it and went to sleep. An hour later, I woke up and it felt like some cosmic hand gripping my innards and wringing them out. I’ll spare you the details; let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

In the morning, I started going through all the foods I’d ingested the day before with my wife. Nothing unusual. And then I remembered something. On Sunday, I went for a gravel ride. Before the ride I had cleaned out my water bottles with some soap. I must have not gotten all the soap out because when I took a swig during the ride it tasted like watered down Dawn. Out in the middle of country-roads Ohio, there was nothing I could do but keep drinking it.

But I’m not convinced that’s what prompted my stomach stuff. It was more than a day later that symptoms began. Everything online told me ingesting soap has relatively immediate effects.

And then I remembered something else. At the end of the ride, we stopped at a roadside spring and refilled our bottles. I dumped the little bit of soap-tasting water left and refilled it with fresh, cold spring water and took a few satisfying gulps.

“Well, that could’ve been it,” my wife said.

Curious, I texted the friends to see if any of them had experienced any symptoms. One of them said he felt fine but the other said he had started feeling nauseous earlier Tuesday morning. I don’t think his symptoms were quite as bad, thankfully. So … maybe it was roadside spring. Or maybe I already had something and passed it on to my riding friend. Who knows.

I’m happy to report that I’m on the mend. And after a day of gagging at the mere thought of food, I actually might try doing that today.

Have a healthy Wednesday, cycopaths.