Will ride for coffee. And cinnamon donuts.
I must admit it was pretty cool when the press got wind of what I was doing and asked to cover my 'Road to PBP' story. Now? I'm not as sure now as some of the 'facts' aren't how I would tell it. I guess it's always strange to hear how others describe me. But I'll leave it to you to decide.
When considering a 1000km ride over three days, one could be overwhelmed by the distance. Disheartened after two days of never ending headwind. Demoralised with the hours and hours of rain squalls. Or one could consider how many stories and dad jokes one could fit into all that time on the bike. Always look on the bright side of life!
And now for something completely different. "Settle in and buckle up; this is a fun, deep, long and laughter filled episode of Sparta Chicks Radio."
Once upon a time someone mentioned the idea riding 600km without sleeping. #itseemedlikeagoodideaatthetime The end.
Sometimes big goals need other big goals to aim for along the way. So here it is, the ride that tested where I’m at on my road to PBP, and also test my bike and kit setup. Let's just say the weather was character building.
My third qualifier was the 400, and it was a distance that I was riding for the very first time. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Adding to the excitement we rode through a rather apocalyptic storm, a lot of wind, and riding rather late into the night. Well, you wouldn't want an easy 400 now would you?
So turns out there is something to be said for specificity training. Therefore, if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. And never stop learning.
The final PBP qualifier (the 300km) ended up being more of a mental battle than I thought it would be. But misery is a choice. And I have trained for toughness. Today I proved to myself, yet again, what I am capable of.
So what does riding 600km in the wind actually look like? It looks something like this.
