Not a bad weekend in Hopetoun. The Mallee Routes is a lovely ride and superbly organised by Les Solley. There were about two dozen riders from Melbourne and Adelaide - including one who had ridden from the South Australian capital - tackling distances from 100km to 600km.
It was an unaccustomed cool start at 6am Saturday as we rolled out on the 200km, but it warmed up soon enough. I managed to stay with other riders for much of the day, letting them go when their speed crept up too much. I drank plenty of water, ate enough, took plenty of breaks and kept a steady pace.
Despite all this I wasn't able to back up for Sunday's 200km ride. It wasn't anything specific, just a collection of minor woes: uncharacteristic saddle soreness, painful hands and a sore back were the worst of it, but there was also the nagging feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea to tackle the four-hour drive home in a state of utter exhaustion.
I have some toughening up to do. I have two more 200km rides pencilled in this month ahead of a 300km, 400k and 600km in December. I'm confident of the 300km. The 400km will be a stretch. I can't even imagine a 600km yet.
4,829km so far this year.
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3 comments:
Good on you for going out with a bold plan, but it sounds like you make the right decision regarding that 4-hour drive!
Earlier last week I had intentions of going out on the Flowerdale Jaunt but I didn't get my act together for it. Oh well, let's see what's on next weekend, Tarrengower or maybe Maryborough the week after.
I reckon I'll have to get my act together for the Mallee Routes if it's on next year—it's been too long since I've been to Wyperfeld in the spring…
And for what it's worth, I can't imagine a 600km either!
I'll be at both Tarrengower and Maryborough - doing 200s. Would be great to finally meet.
The Paris thing is the Paris-Brest-Paris audax ride in August next year: 1,200km in 90 hours. It's considered the ultimate audax ride.
The local rides are run by the local Audax club. The details can be found at www.audax.org.au. Highly recommended, lots of fun and a lovely bunch of people.
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