I had Dory singsonging this in my head for the last five kms of today’s 100km charity ride. Seriously.
Just keep spinning.
Just keep spinning.
Over and over as I suffered my way though to the end. 5kms to go and I was in the hurt box. But I suffered through and finished 100km (99.42km to be exact) in four hours.
Check out that heart rate. It’s not happy is it? My average heart rate on a ride is usually around 140bpm. 150bpm is high for me.
The conditions weren’t ideal. I woke up at 6.30 and it was bucketing down and I started to think maybe I’d be staying at home. I hadn’t registered for the ride so I didn’t have to go if I really didn’t want to. But I’d pretty much decided I was going to do the ride. It stopped raining and it seemed like it would be okay apart from a really annoying headwind. I got myself into a group which was happy to work together. Then it started raining. It rained on and off for well over an hour. The wind got stronger and eventually someone got at the front of the group who decided we were going too slow. I fell off the back and couldn’t get back on. It was brutal.
It started raining really heavily which reduced visibility significantly. I was having major problems seeing because my sunglasses fogged up. I got prescription inserts for them on Friday (I can see!! Hopefully I’ll stop riding over things) and what I learnt today was that once the inserts fog up, it takes a very long time for them to clear. In the end I had to take them off. I was holding them in my teeth as the rain came in sideways and was hitting me in the eye. It was not fun.
So, uh… yeah. 30 – 50kms really sucked and the rest stop was a long time in coming.
It did get better. We finally got to head south so we had a tailwind which made life so much more pleasant. The sun came out and it just seemed easier. And that would be because it was. Nothing like a tailwind to pick up your spirits. 50 – 90km passed by relatively quickly.
95kms in and I had a nasty surprise that I really should’ve known was coming. The ride turned once again into the head/crosswind. That’s when Dory started up in my head. Just keep spinning, just keep spinning. I knew I was so close to the end. I did take some satisfaction in overtaking the sag wagon for the 50km ride. Still, it was really weird to have an animated fish singing in my head. Worked though. I made it to the end.
I was going to get a massage at the finish but there was this really creepy guy there who kept staring at me. I really wanted a massage but I felt so creeped out that in the end, I left. I was entitled to a free lunch as well but I decided a shower was a better idea so I hopped on my bike and rode back to Mum and Dad’s.
Enjoyment is not a word I’d use for today’s ride. It was one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done. I’d even say it was harder then the first time I did the Kinglake climb. My confidence for my ability to do the 156km Scotty’s Ride in December has taken a bit of a beating though. Last weekend’s 80kms was so easy but this was the exact opposite.
Still, pretty pleased with my time though. I didn’t think I’d make it in four hours but I did. That’s something really positive to take from it.
