Greetings from the "Rat Queen"?

Greetings from the wife of the newly dubbed “Rat King.” Let me explain…

There is a new theme in Hollywood that refers to attractive men with sharp facial features, as “Rodent Men,” which you can read about here. Upon arriving in Salida last weekend and seeing Bryan’s gaunt face meter at a 5, my friend and I decided Bryan was the latest adopter of this trend. This somehow turned into us lovingly referring to him as the “Rat King” and even singing the song Ratagan from The Great Mouse Detective as he rolled out of town.

Before you call me a monster, just know that morale support comes in many forms. As Bryan mentioned, rolling out of Salida was not easy for many reasons, and they say laughter is the best medicine.

Unfortunately, his journey did not get easier from there. He has been struggling with his gut for a while now, and it all seemed to be coming to a head this week. Thankfully, our incredible network of support was ready to step in and help. Bryan has been consulting with docs, pro athletes, ultramarathoners, and finally, on Thursday, he was put in touch with an Olympic nutritionist. Now I have to share this text thread because it was the highlight of my week-

I am happy to report that the nutritionist did, in fact, help Bryan’s tum tum, and we learned some valuable information about how your body conserves energy during extreme activities by slowing down your digestive system. We are now pivoting some of his food and snacks, and I hope he will check in soon with funny anecdotes about the children’s applesauce pouches I have waiting for him in Steamboat.

So, in conclusion, the Rat King is doing better! He is on the move again and is taking things slightly easier at my insistence. His tum tum is doing much better, and we are hopefully back on track to getting his calories up and filling in those cheekbones. I take off late next week to pick up a camper van and join him on the trail for the rest of his ride, so I look forward to more updates from the wilderness!