What were you thinking? Part 2

It was midnight and I just couldn't sleep. This was more to do with excitement about the day ahead of me.

What were you thinking?

I planned to ride 250 kms in a day, beating my previous best of 223.74 kms/day (What were you thinking Part 1) which I rode on 26th June 2021.

Let me share more on Part 1. All went well till I completed 223 on that day, however it turned out to be bad post the feat. The stress of riding 9+ hours hurt my back days after the ride. I had to be off bike for next 6 months nursing it to recover. A gentle walk for an hour seemed painful. It just had to be rested and nursed with medical attention. I feared for the worst. What went wrong?

This gap as an opportunity saw me research on endurance riding? 227 kms was difficult but achievable, how about 250 then or 300 kms in a single day. Even if I average 25 kms/hr it would take 10+ hours to cover 250 and this is without any breaks.

The planning for this feat started early Jan 2022. First was get my back fixed. Over the years since I started riding, one of the most important lessons learned is seek professional advise when necessary. Got myself a medic (Chiropractioner) who patiently worked on fixing my back and slowly and steadily it started to strengthen. Core and back exercises were now part of my daily routine. I still did not ride, run or walk much. Fix my foundational back was the key thing for me. Somewhere in March 2022, with weather improving I started to what I enjoyed the most in my life. My daily 30 mins commute by bike to work. Not push hard but a gentle pace. These morning rides proved to be a test on how my back is responding to the gentle stress on the back riding. Lesson number 2: If you don't measure (have a checkpoint), you wont know if you are improving or not. I could fell right, but still not quite there. April to June was 3 month to get my back sorted, build my endurance and plan my epic ride. Never before I dreamt of riding 250kms/day in my life.

This suddenly seemed possible.

With my back improving, there were other things that needed addressing. Firstly, weight was 6+ kilos more to my target weight, needed to sort my bike (Cycle) that is trustworthy and comfortable. This was more to do with distance than speed, so the bike geometry had to support a seating position that does not hurt my back. Route was another attribute as I was keen to avoid hills that would eat me up more time than distance. Fuelling strategy to be laid out, what to eat when, where and how? Valuable lessons from Part1 started to flash as memories. Part 1 was solo and really hurt being all alone riding for 9-10 hrs. How can I club with other riders where mentally I am occupied and the ride being social will keep me going. I picked my fav C ride group who cover 120 kms on a Sunday at a pace of 24 kms/hr which was like 50% of my target.

I realised that all of the above attributes would play a key role in achieving 250. Never before I had gone deep into visualising on how the day would look like.

With most of the attributes sorted, I zeroed in on a Saturday that allowed me Sunday for a complete rest. Little I realised that Saturday would be raining and hence my strategy had to realigned now ride on Sunday with a constant watch on the every changing British weather.

I visualised my ride on that day. First leg was to leave by 4am and cover 100 kms in time for a break at 8:30am. If all well, then proceed to Leg2, which was to cover 100-120 kms with the ever enthusiastic C Group. This ride being social would keep my mind and energy level high till the end by 2pm, hoping to complete between 150-160 kms. The last leg 3 would be a solo effort till 250 that tests my mental ability and determination to the goal. Leg3 would be hardest as I would be on my own. Also devised a 2 bike strategy. Start with a faster road bike where I am able to cover max distance in Leg1 and switch to my endurance bike for comfort in Leg2 and Leg3.

What can go wrong?

Previous evening, my road bike developed problems where the spindle was not moving freely. It was not rideable. Plan b was to use my endurance bike which means I have no spare bike incase of any issues. Had no choice, worst thing possible was to abandon, but I had to give it a go.

Early hours on June 19th I started off at 5:30 am with my objective in mind. 250 it was. It was nice to be alone in the morning. No cars, no traffic. Just me, my bike and the morning chirping of birds as the Sun was making its way out to a clear sky. The first 60 mins was all about assessment on how the bike, body and mind was responding. I was continuously speaking with myself as it would be long day ahead of me. My mantra for the day was 'A good start is a half won race'. This time the race was with self. With a steady pace of around 22-23 kms/hr, I completed my 1st leg at just about 65 kms and reached home. Way below the target of 100. Hot tea and cake was waiting for me. Quick bike check indicated low tire pressure on both the tyres. Gosh, how did I miss this?

All set for Leg 2 and the C-Ride starts at 9am so I had to reach there which is again about 15 mins ride from home. Was so glad to see the C-Group and then started my 2nd leg and the target was to complete at-least 120 kms in this leg.

A very recoverable 2nd pit stop for coffee and cake mid way was perfect to fuel me with valuable carbs. Legs just about felt alright, mentally very strong at this point. Surprisingly, no huge hills and very decent pace allowed me to complete a total of 187 kms by 2:30 pm. I could feel my legs hurt now but the sign of Wedges Bakery lifted my spirits. It was my scheduled 3rd pitstop. The cake (Cherry Bakewell tart) seemed like Gold.

With around 190kms covered and 3ish on the clock, I set off on my last leg. Still 60 kms to go and probably 2-3 hrs which seamed achievable. I knew I was alone, I knew it was just me and my bike, I knew I had to continuously speak with myself, I knew ..... that I had to do it.

At a reasonably pace, I started off. I felt my legs trying to free up the joints. From previous rides, was aware that after a bit of warm up the legs do get fine tuned, but they were never put to test after after 7-8 hours of riding. The kms were ticking very slowly that expected on the garmin, the cars seems to zoom past faster than expected, my legs were rotating slower than anticipated, the road seems longer than every before... my mileage was 196. WHAT? it seemed like ages and still not touched 200.

What's happening?

The show must go on. The pace was alright and I was doing all the right things. I don't remember the moments, but I just kept going. Sipping my drink every 15 mins and keep going. The one thing that played to my advantage was the known roads which encouraged me to just carry one. The sign of crossing 200kms lifted my sprints. There were only 2 things in my mind... 224 and 250. It became more easy when I broke this in 2 smaller goals.. 24kms to reach 224 my previous PB and another 27 odd kms to cross 250. Ride...Ride..Ride...27kms came thick and fast and yeah.... i did it.. there was no one to cheer me, it was just me and my bike. Patted my bike on the handle bars :) 250 appeared to be closer now ... but it was still 27 kms to go or just more than an hour. A quick check on legs, bike, back, state of mind.. all seems to be in order. At this point, when I picked my bottle for a drink... it was empty...God, I need a drink..can't risk a cramp or a pull for lack of water...... I had two choices.. choose the shorted route to home and complete 250.. take a break and get water first and move as per plan. Not risking anything to do with my fuelling I decided to take a deviation to a local store for water. Thankfully, knowing the route, I managed to get some water at the store a few kms away. This was the best moment.. water + energy bar + a pause to ponder on where I am and next steps. Still had the all important 27 kms to 250... with body (fuelled with water + energy bar) + mind sorted, a check on the bike too. I could faintly hear both the body and bike whispering 'give me a break, i am done' and I whispered back 'hang on, we are almost there'

Started for the last kms with full of renewed energy I cycled back home on my planned route perfectly to cover 250.4 kms at an average speed of 24.1 kms over 10 hrs.

Thats me after I reached home.

What are you now thinking Hari? 300

The thought I gather a few days later to 250 is : 'Dream, thats when magic happen'