Right, a fair bit has happened in the last few weeks so an update is well overdue. Two 4-day weekends in a row meant getting time to put in the miles was fairly easy. This post gives a bit of detail about the Easter long weekend and I'll make another post about the 4 days we had in the Lake District over the the Royal Wedding weekend.
So, Easter weekend. The plan was simple, 200 miles over 4 days, 2 of which would be with panniers and about half the kit I would need for the end to end attempt in June.
Friday - Day One.
A work mate was heading out for an "easy, 35 mile" ride with some old uni mates so I tagged along. Turns out these old uni mates are pretty serious roadies churning out regular 80+ mile rides. The weather was amazing, 24 degrees and hardly a breath of wind. Ended up on some of my regular roads I use for training but also found some new places and roads to ride. One descent was particularly good and needed only a short climb to get the reward of a 40mph downhill. We parted ways at 40 miles and, feeling strong, I did another 20 on my own to bring a first day total to a nice round 60 miles.
Saturday - Day Two
Back on my own after riding with 3 others yesterday. Turns out riding in a group is much easier and pretty good fun. I ended up venturing a bit further a field and re-visited some of the new roads I discovered the day before. Weather was really good with blue skies and glorious sunshine again. I always knew I would end up with tan lines from my lycra shorts after 14 days in June, but I didn't expect these lines to be appearing after only 2 days riding in April! Even my hands didn't escape and I ended up with lines from my fingerless gloves on my wrists and knuckles. Not a good look. Mental note: pack sunscreen for the trip in June. Ended up doing 65 miles which equalled the most miles I had done in a day.
Sunday - Day Three
I woke on the Sunday knowing that today would be the first day I had ridden 3 days back to back. To be honest I felt quite good and after a quick stretch and breakfast I was out spinning the legs. Weather wasn't quite was good with grey, overcast skies but my skin was loving the change from the relentless UV rays of the previous 2 days. I'd already covered 125 miles of my planned 200 so I decided to change my goal and aim for 250 over the 4 days. Today was also the first time I had ridden with both panniers, loaded with about 50% of the kit I need for the end to end trip. I noticed a massive difference in acceleration, handling and climbing ability with the added weight. I reckon packing as light as is physically possible is definitely the way to go. Even with the added weight I felt good and really pushed the last 20 miles covering 70 miles in the end, coming home in just over 5 hours including a couple of quick stops.
Monday - Day Four
I really shouldn't have pushed those last 20 miles yesterday. The legs were feeling pretty heavy on Monday morning. It would have been too easy to stay in bed so I dragged my body back onto the back for the last 50 miles to achieve the goal of 250. After about 35 miles I was getting a twinge in my right hamstring and, wanting to prevent injury before the Lake District trip, I bailed out and ended up covering just over 40 miles.
So, 240 miles in my first 4-day back to back ride seemed like a pretty decent effort even if I was shattered by Monday night. After a quick beer, I looked forward to my 3 day week at work and then 4 days riding with Callum in the Lake District.
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