Pretty good three days of riding.
In a hotel room right now 'cos i was freezing cold last night. I am smelly and horrible and have had two nights at the side of the road so am ready for a hotel night. I wanted to make it to Riverside and had plenty of time but I called ahead and there was no answer from the hotel there. I didnt want to take a chance of not getting a room and there not being anywhere to eat so this seemed the better option.
Two days ago 190 miles - pretty good day after my earlier problems. Felt much better food wise (still spending way too much time stopping to eat - but hey I guess thats just me). Yesterday was a real good day - a good tail wind in the morning which I paid for in the afternoon with a strong head wind.Stopped at a great cafe and met a really nice guy travelling the route in the opposite direction. He was touring but covering about 160 miles a day. Thats not touring - thats faster than some of us in this race! He is thinking of doing the race next year. So it was cool to talk to him in this really nice riverside cafe which served some of the best food ever. Meatballs and mashed potato and coffee cheesecake.
That was really good!
I did struggle to get to town as it got late. Headwind in the dark and getting cold.Seemed never ending. I tried to stay in a hotel but all full as there was a Beer Festival going on. So I literally walked off the main road into some long grass and lay down. As I was lying there I could see people walking along the path above me - and I remember thinking "They can totally see me". An dth enext thing I knew it was morning! So that worked!
Today was another good day. Wind helped. Seemed like a cross wind most of the time. I rode well until I got a flat tyre. Bit of a bummer. Put more sealant in it but it just won't stay full so I will have to see what happens overnight. I will probably have to put a tube in in the morning.. But that all cost me some time. However felt pretty good all day. Finally figured a few things out. It's a constant management problem - eat this, drink this - don't eat that, don't drink that. It's weird. This race seems to be more about managing food than cycling. Seems I am catching up slightly with the two guys just ahead. maybe I'll catch them yet!
Am hoping that when I wake in the morning I wont feel as awful as when I wake in my bivvy bag. My body aches everywhere. Wish my knees didn't feel as though they were going to explode. Maybe to do with the high cadence I try to keep. My muscles aren't really too sore - just my exploding knees. Odd. Oh well!
This is kind of funny: When I was talking with the guy yesterday he was asking all sorts of questions about the race. This is what I explained. Basically I get up in the morning and hurt all over, hungry and feel sick. Try to eat some food while wondering what on earth I am doing - this is ridiculous. get on my bike and struggle for a while, just trying to get going. A couple of hours in and I begin to think " OK this is not so bad. I could ride a few more hours" Then half way through the day and I've clocked up some miles and think "OK Yes I can do this. I can do another 100 easy" Then I get to about 150 miles and think that I can go all night! I can catch anyone! About an hour later and now I am feeling tired. At the 200's my thoughts are "OMG. Make it stop" And then at the 220's I am back to thinking" Why am I doing this? I want to go home"
So, pretty much full circle - nearly every day.
Today was nice though. I only did 170 miles so an easy day and I get to go to bed at 9 pm. I plan to get started again at 3am though. Good night!
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