Firstly, apologies for the lack of fancy formatting as I am using the blogger app and I'm too tired to learn HTML coding right now.
Well this morning we were up bright and early meeting outside All Hallows' school in Fortitude Valley. Everyone was packing the van and doing last minute checks on their bikes. Dad, Bee, Sarah (Bees sister and Matty (Bees brother in law) all came out to see me off which was great. The Retro Riverloop crew (ie. bunch of great guys who like to ride older bikes and talk a lot) also dropped by to follow us out over the Story Bridge. We rode out as the sun rose and riding across the bridge in the early light was magic.
I waved farewell to the Retro kids and we continued down Ipswich Rd, following it to Rocklea. From there we beelined towards Springfield and entered the highway at Goodna. After a quick stop outside Ipswich we headed down the Cunningham Hwy.
Up until this point we had stayed largely together a group for safety and to get to know each other. I quickly worked out that myself, Lawie from Brisbane and Ivor from Caloundra were the quickest three riders. We formed a breakaway and kept a high pace along the highway until the lunch stop in Aratula.
Lunch was a great spread of smoked ham, silverside, salads and fruit. We stocked up knowing that the big climb was still to come.
Our breakaway of 3 left together for the climb but at a more reasonable pace to conserve energy. Before long we had spotted the "9km of bendy roads" and "caution 8% grades" traffic signs signaling the start of the climb.
Once on the climb, I let Lawie and Ivor go ahead and went at my own pace. It was a really, really long climb. 9km is a long way to go uphill and it was quite hot and humid by now. Nevertheless, I pressed on with my steady cadence. A few times, passing cars would slow beside me long enough for me to notice people staring at me with a mix or wonder and pity on their faces...presumably wondering why the heck would someone want to ride UP this road!
The climb has 3 false peaks but eventually I got to the top in a time of roughly 23mins. Not too bad for my first go!
A long and fast descent followed before a rest stop at the service station down the road. It was over half an hour until the next rider arrived which hinted that it would be a long, long day for some of them. We decided to push on as Warwick held the promise of a hot shower and something to eat.
The headwinds leading into Warwick were horrific. We were only 40km from our destination but it felt like million. The rough open gravel road surface combined with the headwind sapped all energy and momentum until we were 3 mortals struggling to keep moving.
I started to hunger bonk (cycling term for no energy & low sugar levels) badly. My vision was blurry and I could barely turn the pedals anymore. Worse still, I was still 25km from Warwick. The next 15km were easily the worst I have ever had on the bike. I felt terrible - the true definition of depleted, empty and alone. I had no water or food with me and if it wasn't for the company of the other 2, I probably would've stopped. Eventually, I got my second (or third) wind and my energy levels came up a notch or two - but still nowhere near feeling 'good'. It was enough to get me to Warwick and I have never been so happy to see a McDonalds sign in my life. The motel was a few block down and we rolled in thankful to be home.
For reference, we arrived around 4:30pm and the last rider was 2hrs behind us. It was a long day for all. After 7hrs20mins riding time I had travelled 170km and climbed 2150m.
Showered and changed, I filled up on the BBQ dinner and salads. It's amazing how much better you feel after a shower and some food.
Tomorrow is a shorter day (100km) thankfully, but we will be abit ginger getting back on the bike. Also, it will probably be below 10 degrees up here which will make life interesting.
See how we go.
No comments:
Post a Comment