Challenge Over - The Result!

With 407 KMs on the challenge clock I needed 93 KMs to get me to the magical 500 in this festive challenge. I always had in my mind if I could complete the 500 before the end of play on the 30th that would then give me back my life and I could really kick back and enjoy New Years Eve on the 31st.

............So Ride 7, here we go.......... This was never going to be easy but does anyone really want anything handed to them on a plate?

After the last 6 consecutive rides I had acquired lots of pains in areas of my body that I didn’t know you could feel pain. Does this mean I have muscles there? hmmmm. Anyway my bingo wings and thighs were the most battered and the thighs in particular felt as if I had been continuously punched in them until they got to the full dead-leg scenario. That aside I still had the motivation to get on the bike but the next decision was to play the weather waiting game. All through the night and the early morning saw heavy rain, gales and saturated roads. Not exactly a cyclists dream situation. A quick look at the weather report and it suggested by 12 noon that things would start to turn and at least the rain would stop even if the gales would not subside. Frequently twitching the curtains and looking out the window hoping the downpours would stop I started to get the little demon on the left shoulder telling me not to worry and leave the "ride" until tomorrow as you have plenty of time and the weather will be better tomorrow.....blah, blah, blah. One last check on the weather app and it stills says things should clear up so I placed my faith in the BBC weather website and off I go to get ready depositing that demon on the left shoulder on the way out of the door in the nearest recycling bin.

I had an idea of a route in mind that I hadn’t been on before and really wanted to reach the town of Thame in Oxfordshire. As I set the wheels rolling pretty much on the button the rain eased up but the wind did not. I think that was a fair trade off for the final day of the challenge. Heading up through Berkhamsted and Tring the wind was really pushing me back with gusts of over 25mph. About 10 miles in I kind of wondered why I was doing all this again as it was not enjoyable in the slightest but then the focus on the bigger picture, fund raising and accomplishment brings you right back to the task in hand. Having reached Aylesbury in one of my slowest times ever I took the A418 left and headed towards Thame. It was about 18 miles in to the ride when the sun finally broke through the haze and although still very windy it made for things being more enjoyable. I am definitely a sun flower. My mood was up, energy in my legs picked up and I was starting to enjoy the landscape. The A418 introduced me to some interesting town names on route to Thame. Starting with a place called Stone. Then on to Dinton, Ford and there was even a sign for Gibraltar. The one very noticeable thing that connected all of these towns and villages was the expanse of farmers fields that had been saturated with the awful amount of rain received in the last week and it had created lots of large lakes from flooding in the fields that would usually provide many crops for the country.

On arrival to Thame I realised that I only needed to get home and the challenge would be completed. I turned my wheels around, had the wind at my back, the sun on my face and pedalled towards the finish line and the end of the challenge. On a side note being outside for all these hours on the bike has added a decent amount of colour to my face. Every cloud......

Now whizzing back past the towns and villages I had admired on the way to Thame I was enjoying the wind giving me an extra nudge on the way home. However, after 3 hours riding, for the first time since I have been cycling, I felt a "call of nature" coming on. I wondered if I could hold it until I got back but the problem was I still needed to take on lots of liquids during the ride. Also, another consideration was where could I find a private space.

I also had another issue. Due to my earlier curtain twitching and waiting for the weather to turn I left the house late meaning I didn’t have too many hours of daylight to cycle in - so I would need to also attach my lights at some stage which were stored in my rucksack. Reaching Tring enough was enough and something was going to give unless I reacted. So I dismounted, found a dark corner and completed a number 1, attached the lights ready to go and took the opportunity to eat / drink one these energy gels (they are bloody fiddly to try and open whilst cycling). After maximising my pit stop as much as I could it was on to slog out the last 15 miles. They say that people hit the wall at certain stages of continuous exercise and I knew that with 10 miles to go I felt a pain that I hadn't felt before. Not sure this was the wall but felt more like a big hole in the ground that I couldn’t get out of. Sheer determination and a very slow pace got me back to Hemel and then one final climb up the last hill (not what you need at the end of a long ride) got me to the last straight. Looking down at my computer it told me 58 and approaching 59 miles. Now Strava completes the challenge in KMs so when I arrived home there was an anxious wait on upload to see if I had done. I really couldn’t go back out again that day.

On upload I received the message the challenge was 100% COMPLETE! and I had ridden 501 KMs. The relief, joy, emotion, achievement that swept over me was immense. 

Here is the final ride of the challenge - http://www.strava.com/activities/102827308

I packed the bike away for a well-earned rest and looked forward to celebrating the end of the year without a ride! I can not thank my bike enough. It hasnt let me down and I have grown very attached to him (I will also post later in January more about this connection as it deserves a separate entry).

I have learnt a lot over the last 7 days about me, the bike and the future challenges that lay ahead. The experience of this challenge will set me in good stead for the future and I am delighted to have completed this challenge within 7 days of the allotted 8. Having only taken up cycling 4 months ago I am very proud of where I have got to this quickly and looking forward to improving and developing further. The basic principles applied have been ensuring I had the right tools for the job, train well, addressing nutrition and taking relevant supplements before, during and after along with an enormous amount of determination which have served me well.

Most importantly this has been an incredible fast track training programme for my cycle to Paris in April this year. I have been tested to my physical limits and started this challenge on 24th December in the dark at 5am with excitement, intrigue and anxiousness and it aptly finished in the dark on the 30th December, 7 days later, with exhaustion, relief and a huge sense of achievement.

I have already signed up to another challenge for January which I will update you all on shortly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!