In the morning while having breakfast (a big one) I was contemplating the map and looking where to go. 4 hrs is a long long time and I did not feel like going over the same places a bunch of times. Going west was not an option, about 40 minutes into the ride it starts getting hillier and hillier by the minute. I did not want to end up Mount Tambourine or Springbrook (again). Going east I will get about 1 block before I drown. North...mmmm... the super GP is on, streets blocked everywhere with crazy car race fans, and I have gone north many many times. Lets go south and see where 2 hours gets me.
I pack 2 powerbars, 1 super nasty concentrated gatorade (it tasted like orange powergel almost), 1 water bottle, digital camera, VISA, and my riding map. I leave the house at about 10 am and start heading south. About 1 hr into the ride I am past Tweed Heads and start thinking it looks like I will get "pretty close" to Mooball, a relatively larger "city" on my way. Maybe I can make that my destination and ride with a purpose. Half an hour later (1.5 hours into the ride) I see a sign that says Byron Bay 52km. Reaallllyy?? uuhhhmmm, everyone always talks about Byron Bay and I am leaving in 5 days. No way I am going to go there unless is a day trip with a tour that will cost about 80$ at least.
The internal debate: Well, how about if I just add 1 hr to my ride and I just get there, have lunch, and come back? Shit, should have packed more powerbars if that was the plan. Well, 1 bar 1.5hrs into the ride, lunch 3hrs, bar 1.5 hrs into the ride back, home. Yeah, that works, but I am riding at 34kph average with a tail wind. Its about 100km to get there, so to come back at 27-28kph on a nasty straight headwind its going to hurt and take 3.5hrs. Does that mean I am riding 200km? I only have one tubular spare and the most I have ever ridden its 130km. Shit, I am going to be out in the sun from 10am to 5 or 6pm. ohhh boy, this is risky and its really going to hurt no matter which way you look at it. I guess this is what I do for fun huh??? well... just keep riding just keep riding...
3 hrs later I do make it to Byron Bay, small hippy town. I make it all the way out and up the light house (the most easterly point in Australia) before I go into town looking for carbs. A large pizza sounded pretty good despite the massive amounts of unhealthy fats. At 2:30pm I was on the way out of town, and could taste the pain of the headwind (about 25kph with nasty gusts). I blocked my mind and rode for 1 hr without internal mental complaints, keeping the legs smooth and "fresh". 1hr into the way back I started complaining, after all when I left the house I was only doing 4hrs =) I had my bar and filled my water bottles at the rest area on the side of the highway. The night was coming down, I was going to make it with daylight but my face and arms could feel the burn. 30C with the sun above my head between 10 and 6 plus 170km riding was doing it, but I was only about 1 hr away.
Finally I make it home. Surprisingly my legs were not in any more pain than if I climbed up Cypress or Seymour, but I guess it was all a matter of keeping it under control at all times and not redlining or going hard at any moment. I deserved a monster size Australian Meat Pie with mashed potatoes that I had in the fridge (after I showered I was not going anywhere...)
8 Bottles of water
1 Bottle of gatorade
2 Powerbars (Protein Plus)
1 Large Hawaian Dominos Pizza
200 km on the workhorse
Here are some pictures
Made it!
Next Stop: Food
mmm thats better...
I had no problems to crush that in a matter of minutes
The workhorse - 6pm
The sore right hand - 7pm
The overall numbers from door to door
My GPS =)
Back at home on Tuesday!
Facundo
3 comments:
"No problems to crush that in a matter of minutes" hehe. Sounds like a really good trip. I think you are just unstoppable.
I love the aerodynamic map setup. You could market and sell it to the randonneur crowd
The aerobars have been an invaluable "table" to keep my maps and directions throughout the last 2 months. If I did not bring them I cant imagine how I would have done (stopping every 10 min to see where I am would have become an annoyance!)
It works perfect on tail winds, sometimes like a parachute at 45 degrees when the gusts hit 40 kph on headwinds =) (several rubberbands have snapped!)
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