WTF is with the rate of top riders getting sick, "food poisoning" or mystery ailment?

Socket946
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Socket946 4/6/2014 3:13pm
4/6/2014 3:13pm
DonM wrote:
They always call it food poisoning and it clearly is not...it's kinda funny how the "food poisoning" has been spreading through the pits...it must be an...
They always call it food poisoning and it clearly is not...it's kinda funny how the "food poisoning" has been spreading through the pits...it must be an epidemic....
zehn wrote:
I'm not making any accusations here, but in the cycling world, "food poisoning" its often codeword for getting a bad batch of drugs.
You seriously went there?

Jesus dude. Really?
jloucks742
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jloucks742 4/6/2014 3:21pm
4/6/2014 3:21pm
I understand all of the stated above but what i don't understand is that i have been watching supercross/motocross for my entire life and have never seen this much "illness" happening as i have this season. It sucks to hear and almost wish they wouldnt say anything at all on national tv about someone being sick every week. Most hardcore fans understand it but just think about the people who just started watching for the last couple weeks thinking wtf why are all these guys sick all the time?
zehn
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zehn 4/6/2014 4:17pm
4/6/2014 4:17pm Edited Date/Time 4/6/2014 4:17pm
DonM wrote:
They always call it food poisoning and it clearly is not...it's kinda funny how the "food poisoning" has been spreading through the pits...it must be an...
They always call it food poisoning and it clearly is not...it's kinda funny how the "food poisoning" has been spreading through the pits...it must be an epidemic....
zehn wrote:
I'm not making any accusations here, but in the cycling world, "food poisoning" its often codeword for getting a bad batch of drugs.
Socket946 wrote:
You seriously went there?

Jesus dude. Really?
I was just pointing out what food poisoning means in cycling. I don't think any of these guys use PEDs for Supercross.
c_dub
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c_dub 4/6/2014 7:24pm
4/6/2014 7:24pm Edited Date/Time 4/6/2014 7:31pm
Reading this thread made me think of George Carlin's bit on germs. Thanks....good stuff.

And yes, it is somewhat peculiar the amount of racers that are getting sick this year. But like others have said, they are under a lot of stress which tends to have a profound effect on the immune system.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X29lF43mUlo[/youtube]

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backinthesaddleagain 4/6/2014 7:28pm
4/6/2014 7:28pm
blaming the fans? come on, its the fans who buy bikes, go to races, wear their signature apparel, drink the stupid energy drinks that pay their wages. go forbid they want to get an autograph. I don't see athletes in the ball type sports getting so sick all the time, and obviously they have more fans that want their autographs. I think the problem is the flights and the food on the road.
backinthesaddleagain 4/6/2014 7:29pm
4/6/2014 7:29pm
GuyB wrote:
Imagine signing autographs for a few hundred fans every weekend (between dealer signings and at the track). Now picture how many of those fans want a...
Imagine signing autographs for a few hundred fans every weekend (between dealer signings and at the track). Now picture how many of those fans want a photo with you. What percentage of those who lean in next to them do you think might have a cold or the flu, and are more worried about their moment with the rider than they are about the rider's health?
maybe they should race in a bubble. and we can watch on pay per view.
Motodude
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Motodude 4/6/2014 9:37pm
4/6/2014 9:37pm
bar epstein virus again...I thought that trophy girl left mx.
StartedTooLate 4/6/2014 11:59pm
4/6/2014 11:59pm Edited Date/Time 4/7/2014 12:09am
Anyone who travels extensively for work knows that the farther you go from home...the more likely you are to get sick. We all have immunities built up for bugs, etc in our region. When you go further away...you get exposed to strains you are not used to. Now....imagine being an highly trained athlete...which depresses your immune system. Now...you have fan interaction, etc. I doubt that all these illnesses are really food poisoning. More likely just guys getting various viruses they do not have resistance to.

That said...the number of health/bug related issues this year is weird...
StartedTooLate 4/7/2014 12:05am
4/7/2014 12:05am Edited Date/Time 4/7/2014 12:07am
backinthesaddleagain wrote:
blaming the fans? come on, its the fans who buy bikes, go to races, wear their signature apparel, drink the stupid energy drinks that pay their...
blaming the fans? come on, its the fans who buy bikes, go to races, wear their signature apparel, drink the stupid energy drinks that pay their wages. go forbid they want to get an autograph. I don't see athletes in the ball type sports getting so sick all the time, and obviously they have more fans that want their autographs. I think the problem is the flights and the food on the road.
Sorry...but interaction with PEOPLE is the issue. Fans are PEOPLE. Whether they pay for ANYTHING is irrelevant to biology.

It has been known for decades that extreme aerobic fitness/training results in depressed immune systems. Pro cycling teams teams go out of their way to isolate riders from the public on stage races like the Tour. They even go so far as to book empty rooms around their riders at hotels...and bring in air filtration equipment, etc. If a top rider catches a cold...it usually instantly becomes bronchitis or pneumonia because those athletes systems are so strained. Catch a cold....and you will probably have to drop out of the Tour..almost guaranteed. MX riders are not quite as strained...but it would not surprise me if many riders immune systems were compromised due to over training.
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RedDirtDog 4/7/2014 2:08am
4/7/2014 2:08am Edited Date/Time 4/7/2014 2:12am
It seems like food poisoning claims have gone way up from preveious seasons, just this year I can recall seely, stewart, brayton, grant, wilson, poto, davalos, barcia Sick Pinch
DonM
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DonM 4/7/2014 7:52am
4/7/2014 7:52am Edited Date/Time 4/7/2014 8:37am
My daughter had the same type of "food poisoning" that RV had....major stomach pains and couldn't keep anything down....maybe they ate at the same place....
Seriously, the racers don't get any sicker or are any more susceptible to illness or viruses than the average person. With that said because they interact with basically the same people in the racing community, which is small and pretty tight knit, they may pass a virus more readily to each other, much like a classroom of students or how viruses sometimes spread on a cruise ship.
But food poisoning is highly unlikely and for some reason is the go to excuse for the MX/SX community when they get sick...people just think that when they do get sick "it must be something I ate". Now one type of virus called norovirus can come from raw vegetables and fruit that is not properly cleaned (among other things like improper temperatures), and then is spread quickly by simply being around someone who has been infected, this is more likely the cause of the SX/MX epidemic of "food poisoning" than anything else.
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RedRum666 4/7/2014 8:35am
4/7/2014 8:35am
I was thinking the same thing the other night....WIth James being sick , then they interviewed Grant who talked about his issues .....Then you have RV's issue last week and the all the others noted above.......

Often I think people in general just say " food poisoning" when they are either puking or shooting water out their ass...its not always "food" related but maybe its easier to say than " well, I been on the shitter more than my bike and you saw those photos of the dinner I had the other night, you should have seen it when it came back up"....

The first picture I saw of Stewart from Houston, you could tell he wasnt in good shape...he looked very ashy (pale for the black guys) and he looked very weak on the bike....hope he gets it out of his system....
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GuyB 4/7/2014 9:59am
4/7/2014 9:59am
RedDirtDog wrote:
It seems like food poisoning claims have gone way up from preveious seasons, just this year I can recall seely, stewart, brayton, grant, wilson, poto, davalos...
It seems like food poisoning claims have gone way up from preveious seasons, just this year I can recall seely, stewart, brayton, grant, wilson, poto, davalos, barcia Sick Pinch
OMG. It's an epidemic. We need to start food testing.


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71Fish
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71Fish 4/7/2014 10:20am
4/7/2014 10:20am
It's only the top guys(that we hear about), think about it; they have trainers and nutritionists monitoring everything they ingest. On such a strict diet, any little morsel out of the ordinary can cause illness.
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BobbyM 4/7/2014 10:44am
4/7/2014 10:44am
scooter5002 wrote:
I've been flying twice a month for just over two years now, and I can't tell you how many times I've gotten sick within a couple...
I've been flying twice a month for just over two years now, and I can't tell you how many times I've gotten sick within a couple days of my flight. This from a guy who hasn't had the flu for years, and rarely get a cold. Airports and planes are nasty places, would imagine that has something to do with it as well.
rcm406 wrote:
Don't most of the top guys fly private and not commercial?
Lmao...good one.
Tits Legendary 4/7/2014 11:21am
4/7/2014 11:21am
jloucks742 wrote:
I understand all of the stated above but what i don't understand is that i have been watching supercross/motocross for my entire life and have never...
I understand all of the stated above but what i don't understand is that i have been watching supercross/motocross for my entire life and have never seen this much "illness" happening as i have this season. It sucks to hear and almost wish they wouldnt say anything at all on national tv about someone being sick every week. Most hardcore fans understand it but just think about the people who just started watching for the last couple weeks thinking wtf why are all these guys sick all the time?
Bingo! These same guys have been doing this for years on end and never seemed to have these problems until this year. What gives?
kzizok
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kzizok 4/7/2014 11:53am
4/7/2014 11:53am Edited Date/Time 4/7/2014 11:58am
jloucks742 wrote:
I understand all of the stated above but what i don't understand is that i have been watching supercross/motocross for my entire life and have never...
I understand all of the stated above but what i don't understand is that i have been watching supercross/motocross for my entire life and have never seen this much "illness" happening as i have this season. It sucks to hear and almost wish they wouldnt say anything at all on national tv about someone being sick every week. Most hardcore fans understand it but just think about the people who just started watching for the last couple weeks thinking wtf why are all these guys sick all the time?
Tits Legendary wrote:
Bingo! These same guys have been doing this for years on end and never seemed to have these problems until this year. What gives?
Not to the level they are now. Most of these guys that have gotten sick have more intense trainers and programs than they have had in the past. It gets more intense year after year in order to keep up with each other. Thus, numerous riders have attained such a level of fitness that leaves them compromised and they have all been ramping it up at the same pace. It is no wonder that they have all shown similar patterns of illness. See my previous explanation.
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oshow 4/9/2014 6:57pm
4/9/2014 6:57pm
scooter5002 wrote:
I've been flying twice a month for just over two years now, and I can't tell you how many times I've gotten sick within a couple...
I've been flying twice a month for just over two years now, and I can't tell you how many times I've gotten sick within a couple days of my flight. This from a guy who hasn't had the flu for years, and rarely get a cold. Airports and planes are nasty places, would imagine that has something to do with it as well.
rcm406 wrote:
Don't most of the top guys fly private and not commercial?
No

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Highsider
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Highsider 4/9/2014 7:14pm
4/9/2014 7:14pm
Don't eat the shrimp buffet at the strip clubs.
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2thefront 4/10/2014 1:39am
4/10/2014 1:39am
RedDirtDog wrote:
It seems like food poisoning claims have gone way up from preveious seasons, just this year I can recall seely, stewart, brayton, grant, wilson, poto, davalos...
It seems like food poisoning claims have gone way up from preveious seasons, just this year I can recall seely, stewart, brayton, grant, wilson, poto, davalos, barcia Sick Pinch
FWIW RV didn't have any type of food poisoning, just abdominal pains. From what I was told, he never threw up, just a couple dry heaves.

I think most of the sickness this year is just these guys' training getting more intense every year and being exposed to so many germs. The top guys are in way better shape than anyone was back in the "good ol days". Like other people have said, that just naturally decreases your immune system.
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FLmxer 4/10/2014 8:13am
4/10/2014 8:13am
The other ball sports may have more fans but not huge autograph lines at every single venue or any actually like the moto guys do. This is also a bad flu year. I don't know to many who have not had one this year. ( I know not you or you). I have not seen my wife sick in 20 years and we are both on our fourth week of it. Its pretty obvious how it happens really. Its no mystery that's for sure.
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jasonward73 4/10/2014 8:55am
4/10/2014 8:55am
71Fish wrote:
It's only the top guys(that we hear about), think about it; they have trainers and nutritionists monitoring everything they ingest. On such a strict diet, any...
It's only the top guys(that we hear about), think about it; they have trainers and nutritionists monitoring everything they ingest. On such a strict diet, any little morsel out of the ordinary can cause illness.
I'm sure there are plenty of "backmarkers" having the same issue but the nobody gives a shit so you don't see it reported.

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