The boys at St. Peters Station for a lazy late 7.30AM (we decided to ignore our differing allocated times and start together). Waking up this morning to birds chirping was a good sign, looking out the window I saw that the sun was out. Despite the rain forecast it was a beautiful day!
Seeing Jing in tights took some getting used to (lol).
Brandon and Felix at Loftus Oval. At this point I was completely gone. My groin was very sore, shoulders too and my legs were jelly. In a few past rides I’ve not even stopped here! Considering Loftus is the 1/3 way point. I knew I was in for a hard day.
The view is the reward at Stanwell Tops. I somehow managed to make it up and out of the national park. I knew I was unfit after not being on the bike for a year but I didn’t expect it to be so hard. I relied solely on mental strength and even then I was completely crushed. I thought so many times about hopping off the bike and walking up some the hills. I somehow managed to stay on though and made it up without walking.
The boys at this stage were really starting to wait for me. I was about 10 minutes or more behind them.
In so so so much pain!
I love this bridge so much. Left is the ocean, right is an amazing high cliff face.
The finish just never came. The last 4-5km’s were the hardest and I’m lucky I had the boys urging me on. Brandon especially who really helped me to make it.
Richie had a great ride.
Eddie, Jing, Richie, Felix, Brandon and myself.
This had to be the hardest ride of my entire life.
I’ve never had a cramp before, ever, but I felt my right calf tighten up every time I tried to get out of the saddle and mash it so that forced me to stay seated. At times I had to just look down at the road and take it one pedal at a time. I had my BMU sticker there, it helped in an odd way. I also thought of my mate Sean who was diagnosed with MS this year and I also thought about my generous sponsors and their messages of encouragement. That combined with the BMU guys waiting for me at each main stop saw me through to the finish.
I’ve got to say I’m shocked at how much fitness you can lose in just one year of not exercising. Scary when you really think about it. It’s a tough lesson learnt for me. I’ve got to get fit again and this time stay fit!
