Wow I almost got caught out with this one! I thought I had another weekend up my sleeve. Luckily I had today off work so I drove to Cambridge Retail Outlet with the intention of doing various laps around a very quiet Hobart Airport.
The plan was to stay within “walking distance” of the car, just in case of any mechanical or other incident. That way I wouldn’t need to call on anyone to assist me. I’ve been riding mostly local loops from home, but today I wanted some flatter roads to rack up a few hours on my time trial bike.
Clear the runway, Stealth Bomber ready for take off!
It was a nippy 7am start. Nothing too drastic, but it still called for arm and leg warmers as the sun slowly rose above the horizon to warm the blacktop. The TT bike was feeling fast, my legs not so much. There was a lot of protesting from my quads over the first 20km. I even considered bailing on the metric century (head games). I stopped a couple of times to make some adjustments to my position, which seemed to help, before I finally found my rhythm. After that, the next 40km flew by!
Unrelated, but some cute dogs in coats that were parked next to me.
With each passing lap though, I could feel the wind getting stronger and stronger. Fatigue was setting in, I was struggling to hold the tuck position and each headwind section was grinding me down. I needed a boost! I swung back to the car at 70km, fuelled up with a take-away coffee (double espresso with one sugar), ditched the arm/leg warmers and cracked on.
I knew this last leg was going to be tailwind out and headwind back, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about that. Soldier on! The outward leg was glorious, wind at my back, sun on my face, soft pedalling at 40km/hr. The return leg to the car? Well, that wasn’t quite as much fun. Head down, pedals turning, simply counting down the distance. It was a slog and I will admit not an enjoyable final few kilometres.
I eventually crawled back to the car with the metric century complete, more than happy to unclip and press “save” on the Garmin. It wasn’t the most exciting Resolution Ride sorry, but it got the job done!
Distance: 104 km / 64.5 miles
Total elevation gain: 290 m / 955 feet
Average speed: 31.3 kph / 19.4 mph
Tempo Cyclist - Tasmania 
Really don’t know if I’ll get one done this month. Last one nearly put me off cycling for life and I don’t really fancy a repeat! Also have done very little cycling since. The 2km exercise limit really sucks for cycling 😔
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You can only do what you can do. Don’t stress it. At the end of the day it’s just a ride. You should get out for a few shorter rides though, good for your physical and mental health! :-)
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Been doing lots of walking and on my third week of the None2Run program (bit like C25K but easier progression) so I’m out doing something most days keeping the auld noggin in good shape. Thankfully the weather here is amazingly good for NW Ireland in Spring which makes it easier 😊
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I’m trying to muster enthusiasm to do mine today. Standby for a blog if I do. Could be local laps the same to get it done. Considered a nasty 118km through the Ardenne on Rouvy but its really sunny so might venture out instead fir some Vitamin D. Fairplay getting it done though. I think we must motivate each other to do them lol
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Have a great one! Outside is always preferable. 🙂
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