One man and his bike blog: Slow, sore and tired

Well............after the epic 75 mile ride everything after that was going to be less glamorous unless I beat that milestone................and I wont tease you for long............there was no way on Gods Green earth that I would beat that in this short space of time and with all these continuous rides. I am feeling completely exhausted and washed out having not had a break now for 5 days and the big one yesterday was really energy zapping let alone leaving no time for recovery.

So a brief summary on Rides 5 and 6

Ride 5 started early in the morning with a dusting of icy patches in places which filled me with fright after my recent fall, advice from other cyclists and horror stories I have heard on the biking grapevine. However, the sunshine was glorious even if the cold was trying to attack. My only thought on this ride was to bank KMs towards the challenge so I chose a route I knew well due to the icy conditions as I didn’t want any surprises. I headed towards Dunstable and then swung a left towards Leighton Buzzard on the A505 and then on to Tring and a new road I had never been down before (the B466). A nice road heading directly in to Ivinghoe. Lots of hills though and some new villages. Ford End being one of them.

Over 3 hours 30 mins on the bike an nearly 85 KM towards my target and a good days work considering the big hike yesterday.

Here is ride 5 for you to view - http://www.strava.com/activities/102343667

One thing to note is that the day before I got me record on the segment that I am chasing for KOM, which was 43 seconds. On ride 5 it took me 1 minute and 9 seconds!!!! Fatigue???!!!

I knew after ride 4 and 5 that the end was in sight but I still needed some big rides to be able to complete this challenge before the deadline.

Ride 6

Not a lot to note on this one apart from how I felt physically. I am sure my body was about to fall apart earlier today. I know that the mind is a very powerful thing. However, even with the mind being as powerful as it is there is only a certain limit the body can take even when the mind is trying to bluff it and say "you can do this, dont worry". If the body is not extremely well oiled and lets just say I don’t pump premium fuel in to my body or live the life of a Bradley Wiggins then there is going to be a problem so I am really starting to feel and expect the worse on this final stretch.....

Todays ride again was an absolutely glorious day with the sunshine beaming down on a clear Blue sky background. Sunglasses were the order of the day. It was though even colder than yesterday and even icier than I had ever ridden on before. It was clear to see on all roads that Jack Frost had been casting his magic spell in as many places as he could. Caution, controlled speed and safety were mandatory today. Which was fine as I was in no position to step on the gas after all the recent activity. Today again was only about banking KMs and at least try to get over 400 KMs towards my target. I went out steadily to Aylesbury and then ended up doing a couple of loops nearer to home to get the me in a position where I could see the finish line. I managed another 3 hours in the saddle and 75 KM.

I am feeling in a very bad way and hoping for it all to be over now (having achieved the 500 of course). I am basically running on fumes and just hoping something doesn’t break or fall off. Here is todays ride - http://www.strava.com/activities/102574432

Achievements to date:-