Back to back centuries

[Pedal Wench]

Hi folks,

I'm gonna attempt to do two centuries this weekend. I have no problem doing one century a weekend, but this will be my first time trying to wake up the next day to do another. I have done two but had a day off in between.

Anything that I should do differently? I imagine that making sure I stay hydrated before, during and after the first to prep for the second is essential. I do Endurox recovery drink afterwards, and I'll make sure I take the full dose (at my weight, they say it's okay to cut the serving size in half.) I'll also assume that it's essential on teh first century to make sure I don't get into a calorie deficit, because I'll never make it through the next. But, any advice on what to eat the night in between or any other tips?

[Godwin]

Might be a good idea to do the first later in the day and the second early in the evening to leave a smaller gap between so your muscles don't seize but if you are sore the second day, just start slow. Don't binge after the first night, sometimes after a long ride I'll eat a lot of bad food because I'm craving it but if you have to go the next day eat well (like you did the night before the first day). The second day may actually be easier.

[Hocam]

Stretch, strech and stretch some more. Seriously, it makes an enormous difference in recovery time. Every time you stop during the first century, stretch. Give it a good forty minutes of slow easy stretching afterwards too.

[spokenword]

Anything that I should do differently? I imagine that making sure I stay hydrated before, during and after the first to prep for the second is essential. I do Endurox recovery drink afterwards, and I'll make sure I take the full dose (at my weight, they say it's okay to cut the serving size in half.) I'll also assume that it's essential on teh first century to make sure I don't get into a calorie deficit, because I'll never make it through the next. But, any advice on what to eat the night in between or any other tips? I don't have much experience with recovery drinks but on tours with back-to-back long days or on multi-day brevets, I always make a point of focusing on having protein in my dinner. Your body's been cannibalizing muscle during the ride, and it's important to have protein to rebuild them.

For me, it's also been important to stretch out my legs, calves and thighs especially before bedding down, just to reduce muscle soreness the next day. You will be sore when you get up, but the feeling fades after ten minutes on the bike. The important part is to just get back on the bike.

Someone else that I was talking to on PBP swears by ice baths in between her cycling days, to address issues with knee pain and joint inflammation. I'm fortunate enough not to have those issues with my bike, but it might be something to consider if you have joint pain issues after a long ride.

[kpumpy]

I would agree with the stretching...I've found on back to back major efforts like this that it's best to actually keep moving once I'm done with the day's ride and fuel replenishment if I know I'm going out again tomorrow on another biggie. I've found the next day I'm a lot better off, if, oddly enough, I go out to some big box like a Target and ramble up and down the aisles for a while just to let my body unkink itself. It also makes my Target-loving spouse quite happy after a day of waiting for me at rest stops during said centuries. :)

[gosmsgo]

I have only done a back to back century once but felt stronger on the second day then I did the first.

I have no idea why. I did not stretch or really do anything.

[supcom]

Eat a high carbohydrate meal after your first century so you have plenty of glucose to convert to glycogen. Drink plenty of water to be sure to rehydrate as much as possible.

If you're a bit stiff the next morning, start out a bit easy to let your muscles loosen up a bit before you go at normal pace.

Otherwise, there's no special thing to do. It certainly would help to not to try to set any personal records on your first century.

[Pedal Wench]

Thanks everyone!

I'm intentionally trying to do both of these on my own, so I'm not tempted (or forced) to try to ride at someone else's pace, and I have no intention on setting any personal bests on either. The weather's nice, I have lovely bikes to ride, and I just want to spend the entire day out there. On a century last weekend, I let everyone that I was riding with go ahead, and took it at my usual leisurely pace. Tortoise/hare scenerio, I caught up to everyone at mile 72, and pulled into the finish.

Any specific stretches y'all recommend? I imagine quads and calfs, but probably some good core stretches as well.

[Cave]

Stretches:
- Quads
- Hamstrings/calves (calfs? calves? dunno)
- ITB stretch (although it is a pretty useless stretch, massage is much better)
- Back, Neck
- triceps & upper back

I prefer riding gently for 1/2-hr or so and then stretching, rather than stretching first thing. Also I don't so much like stretching at the end of a long day but a massage is great if you can get one.

+1 high carb food, protein, avoid too much fat or alcohol.

My longest is 140km + 120km (with touring gear) which is quite a bit less than a imperial back-to-backs(100mi = 160km) but I found I went out too hard in the morning on the second day, also got behind on food and fluid and needed a decent break at Km 80 on the 2nd day (I usually sag b/w about 60-80km, worse than usual on that ride).

[Mr. Beanz]

If stretching isn't part of your normal routine, I'd pass on the advice. Do do something on a strenuous ride that isn't part of the norm. That would be like doing a double century on a new saddle. I don't stretch on a regular basis. I start slow and warm up into my rides. I tried stretching before ride as an experiment only to find it caused severe cramps in my calves.

[oboeguy]

Massage!!! As important as stretching, IMO.

[Six jours]

If stretching isn't part of your normal routine, I'd pass on the advice.

Agreed. I wouldn't really do anything out of the ordinary, as it's more likely to cause trouble than prevent it. IMO, the only genuinely useful preparation for back-to-back centuries is training for back-to-back centuries. At this late date, what you've got is what you've got and no amount of wand-waving is going to change it.

HTH! :lol:

[Pedal Wench]

Done! The second century was actually a breeze --- felt better the whole day than I did yesterday. Total mileage was 204 -- bonus miles! Thanks all for the advice.

[supcom]

Good job! Now you need to start working on doing a double in one day.

[Pedal Wench]

Good job! Now you need to start working on doing a double in one day.

I've done that -- actually 257 miles in one day. Aiming for 300 in a day next.

[dobovedo]

Did I read that correctly? You've done 257 in one day and were worried about back to back centuries? In any case, way to go!

Like others, I have found that day 2 is usually better than day 1 in any back-to-back undertaking. I think it's more mental than physical. There's something in the mind that clicks as soon as you cross the halfway point of any undertaking.

Unless, of course you start at the top of a mountain on and out-and-back ride. :p

[craigdurkee]

im doing 1020km this weekend (3days anyway)

you can check out the ride here

www.ridelikethewind07.com

enjoy

[Shifty]

relax in a hot bath after the first day. Keep the water as warm as you can stand, and chill there for an hour of so.

[Machka]

I like back-to-back centuries, especially if I've given myself permission to do just the centuries ... and not try to cram 101 other things into those two days too. The time between centuries can be very relaxing. :)

[Pedal Wench]

Did I read that correctly? You've done 257 in one day and were worried about back to back centuries? In any case, way to go!

Like others, I have found that day 2 is usually better than day 1 in any back-to-back undertaking. I think it's more mental than physical. There's something in the mind that clicks as soon as you cross the halfway point of any undertaking.

Unless, of course you start at the top of a mountain on and out-and-back ride. :p

On the single-day ride, I didn't have a chance to do anything to help out -- I just kept pedalling until the batteries in my lights ran out. Then I stopped:rolleyes:. I was looking for advice on what to eat or do in between the rides to make sure that Day 2 wasn't as painful as I was anticipating. I was amazed at how much stronger I felt on the second ride, especially since I realized it was my fourth that month. I took an extra dose of Recoverease, a good-sized serving of Endurox (chocolate), and then had a good dinner about an hour later. A good night sleep, and all was good!

[Brusheda]

I am doing back to back centuries in a couple weeks. Ride Without Limits for United Cerebral Palsy. This thread has been very encouraging. I'm hoping I feel as good the second day as you all say!

[craigdurkee]

OK time for a brief ride report

Day 1

After very little sleep, prob due to being scared and excited it was a 515 wake up call for 6 start at Bikeforce. Heidi dropped me off, but didnt want to stay as she was also worried about what we were taking on.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/n664169744_348107_2470.jpg

Got myself sorted and made sure the bike was good to go and water bottles etc were all full. Met up with the bikeforce guys whoa re always keen for an early morning ride. Also Dave, Roger and a few other forum guys turned up.

Couple of pics by the van and it was time to roll off.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/n664169744_348110_5252.jpg

We headed out through the local roads and outwards towards the Hume, picking up Vidman and lisa on route. The pace a nice easy one as we wanted to try and maintain a slow but steady ride as best as we could. One of the bike force guys had a flat and we carried on later to be caught by them as they said there farewells.

Hitting the Hume was a huge moral boost although the sign at this point still said around 840 km to sydney a sign that would plague us for the rest of the trip as the K's seemed to go down ever so slow 700, 600, 500 etc.

The weather I have to say was not kind,

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2064.jpg

Rain every day and alo tof it to boot, even had a massive problem with hail during day 1 as well which was really frustrating.

Todays goal was Albury Wadonga, where we had a warm sleep arranged at a guys house who had offered to help us, so it was important that we made it there at some point during the day.

The hours rolled on and on and the k's counted down and down so we were making good progress. Ross fell foul to a early puncture which was the first of many for him, if nothing else we learnt to fix flats pretty quick as if you stopped for to long you would start shivering.

I also broke a spoke on day not very happy back to the old 15000km shimano 500's

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2061.jpg

i had made it very clear in my mind that i needed to avoid the nasty problems with not eating and drinking enough on this ride and this happened from the start, there was always a drink and food waiting whenever we stopped Brett (ross's mate) was a total star, filling bottles, and generally making the stops a good place to be, encourageing us to go on and thats what we did.

We rolled on into the night and then around 930pm we were nearly at albury, a quick call to the accomodation and it was a decision to then pop the bikes in the van for the last 5k or so as to not arrive to late and waste valuable sleeping time trying to find the house.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF1992.jpg

The bikes were loaded but andy forgot to put his front wheel in resulting in it either being stolen or more than likely run over by a passing vehicle.

Paul who put us up along with his wife jane were faultless, each of us having our own double bed, warm bath or shower and even offered to cook us food, Paul himself a keen cyclist thought we were nuts, by this point i was starting to agree.

Day 2

Day 2 and the biggest planned day would see us attempting to get to Goulburn, we quickly realised that the hills, wind and lashing rain would do all it could to stop this and stop it it did.

Feeling good if not a little sore we changed the plan to suit the distances that we thought we might be able to do, this pissed me off slightly as i really wanted to hit the goal in 3 days, my calls to try and get to goulburn fell foul when my knee started to play up and also tiredness was getting worse.

Brett made sure that the breakfast that he served was ready and waiting at pre arranged stops along the way and I have to say a huge helping of pasta with baked beans tomato sauce and cheese was just what the dr ordered it gave us the ebergy needed to press on.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2118.jpg

By the end of day 2 we were at gundagai, a small town just off the hume famous for its dog on a tucker box statue, accomodation was easy to find and pretty nice there, each of us having a bed and watching a bit of tv before eating a nice chinese takeaway from a local place.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2109.jpg

Day 3

The biggy , we knew that this was gonna be a massive pain in our ass, the hills where HUGE, long and relentless in punishing the already sore knee and other body parts, todays goal Goulburn.

The hills started right form the get go and never stopped, made even worse by the wind that was now a full on huge head wind, making even 20km an hour down hills hard to achieve.

The other guys wanted to draft the van , i didnt feel very safe about this and really didnt want to , a few heated words by all of us and i decided that I really wasnt going to a) not do it on my own and b) do something that i didnt feel comfy in so seeing as i was already falling back a few k's per hour at this point i picked up some tubes and a pump and did the next 80-100k or so pretty muchon my own and i have to say its a great way to do it ipodon shouting the songs out with no one to laugh I love it.

Not long after that andy had an off, so they passed me in the van dropped ross off around 30k shy off yass took andy to dr's and me and ross rode on, again i got dropped by ross and proceeded the last 30 or so k into yass alone. The knee just wasnt going to ease off, so started sropping a few pain killers every hour to keep it at bay.

Had some lunch in yass and then started to ride off again, rode about another 40k and then when i was around 30k from goulburn the knee was in to much pain and was worried about compremising the rest of the ride, so jumped in the van for the last 30k.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2098.jpg

Accomodation in goulburn was crap if im honest, but we were all so tired it did not matter, a domino's pizza and a safeway stop filled the rest of the night before a 9pm bedtime.

day 4

The last day, started off again the knee was hurting big time and with yet another 200 or so k things were looking bleak, from the outset i was having trouble keeping up, eventually the gap had got bigger then around 130k from sydney I rode off again on my own but this time in front, mentally that felt better for some reason, Now I could see light at the end of the tunnell, the hills got smaller the weather slightly better and the signs got better telling me city was getting closer and closer yipeeeeee.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2105.jpg

140, 120, 100 then i goto 50km and a sign that said welcome to sydney almost made it, regular contact with brett told me that everything was cool, then a cycle path detour around the liverpool area of the freeway split us up again, and then a flat for me my second of the trip. The detour eventually brought us all back together near liverpool, with 40km to go i could smell the finish.

Fixed the flat regrouped and then it was plain sailing into the city, down came a shower or 2 but it didnt matter we had beat the hume and all the **** it threw at us, I panicked a bit going through the city and wanted the guys to be carefull as a stack there would be diasterous, but we cariied on flying through traffic non the less.

We caught a glimpse of the famous landmarks, got off our bikes took a few snaps the journey was over.

It was hard, frustrating, taxing, challenging, fun, laughter and tears but we all made it dispite everything the weather could throw at us.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/craigjdurkee/DSCF2214.jpg

Thanks to everyone who supported us an donated money and kind words, we will have a total for you guys hopefully next week. 99.9% of the money will be going to the charity as it was agreed that the costs for van food etc would be split by the 3 riders, its such a great cause and hope to be able to do something like this for the kids again

[dizzy101]

Great write-up! That's some serious distance, holy moly.

[Sixty Fiver]

im doing 1020km this weekend (3days anyway)

you can check out the ride here

www.ridelikethewind07.com

enjoy

I was thinking of riding 1100 km in 7 days (7 back to back centuries) but hell... doing it in 3 would give me more time to play.

[craigdurkee]

thanks guys for your nice comments hope all your back to back centuries go well

[Pedal Wench]

Congrats!!! Great write-up and photos too!

[Brusheda]

Here is my Ride Without Limits Tampa ride report from last weekend.
Day one: Started out pretty cold, buy everyone was eager to get started. The week before the big ride, I was told that there were some rolling hills and the first day, that was supposed to be 100 miles had been lengthened to 111 miles. The only training on hills I have is on bridges. It turned out that there were lot of big, steep hills. Some of the hills, I had to literally pray my way up. I wouldn't have made it without God's help. The route ended up being a very challenging 114 miles. Day Two: There were a few hills at the beginning, but thankfully the rest of the route was pretty flat. My knees were a little sore from the day before, buy I felt pretty good. However, my right knee started to hurt after about 25 miles. I left the rest stop at mile 30 hoping that some stretching would help. I soon found out that no amount of stretching was going to help. I spent the next 20 miles pedaling with one leg, because my right knee hurt too bad. By the time I reached the halfway point rest stop at mile 50, I knew I was done.
So, in all I did 164 miles. I really wish I could have done the entire 214 miles, but my sprained knee wouldn't allow it. I did pretty good though. I was the 13th person to finish the first day and a lot of the more experienced riders didn't even complete the entire distance.

[psycho-ist]

My wife and I also completed the "Ride Without Limits". It was a total of 216 miles (honestly, I wasn't thrilled with the bonus miles) probably the most difficult thing I've ever attempted. I really have to hand the praise to my wife. I was ready to cry uncle a few times, and she kept me rolling.

[zonatandem]

Done many back-to-back centuries in my younger days.
Agree, the second century day always felt easier.
Have also done 325 miles in 3 days with 22,000 ft of climbing and temp at finish line at 103 degrees . . .
on a tandem. Stoker swore she did not want to repleat that ride, so we didn't. The next year on that event . . . it snowed!
Double centuries are more with occupying the mind than anything else, but perfectly do-able. My goal was to achieve the 200 miles in 12 hours even; finally managed to do that when I was in my late fifties.
Growin' old is not for sissies!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

[Toddorado]

On the single-day ride, I didn't have a chance to do anything to help out -- I just kept pedalling until the batteries in my lights ran out.

From Forrest Gump:

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now."

[psycho-ist]

From Forrest Gump:

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now."

Very funny stuff! Honestly, I thought my weekend ride was big deal. After reading tho posts in this section, it was a short little cruise. Congratulations, you people don't fool around.

[zonatandem]

"You people don't fool around" . . . wanna bet?!

[riverscuomo]

Hi Guys, new to the forum. I rode with Craig and another guy on the epic adventure. Here is my ride report.

Ride Like the Wind Report

Here we go. What an adventure I can’t even begin to put into words. There is so much to tell but I want to keep this sort for legibility and ease.

1st Day Melbourne to Albury/Wodonga – 330km

After buying food, packing the van with all equipment and making sure everything was prepared I got into bed at 9pm Friday night. Great sleep. Up at 4.45am and off at 5am for the 30 minute drive to his city apartment to pick him.

We arrived at Bikeforce close to 5.45am. Plenty of time to get our bikes out of the van, Bikeforce had serviced mine the couple of days before and it was sitting there patiently waiting for a great ride over the next 3 days.

Roger appeared to take some photos, making a great effort along with Percrime, Vidman, Lisa PDL and a few other forum faces to get up so early and support the ride. A team of around 10 Bike Force guys joined us for the start.

The initial conditions were fantastic except for misty rain and we felt a slight tailwind pushing us along at a good speed. We didn’t want to use up too much fuel from our tanks as we had a long way to go. HQ said rain was expected for the next 4 days and it dampened my spirits immensely. Said goodbye to the Bike Force guys about 50km out and not long after we reached the Hume Highway.

The rain started soon after that. The walkie talkies were playing up so Brett got into the rhythm of driving 10km and stopping, and we would constantly leap frog each other all the way to Sydney. Reached Wandong and took the Hume Highway on ramp.

Stopping for lunch we pulled over and we had the sandwiches we prepared earlier. Craig is allergic to butter and unfortunately all of the sandwiches had butter so he got some nuts/sultanas and other goodies to help him along the way.

The afternoon saw us hit some very foul weather. A thunderstorm and all its trappings hit us including heavy rain, hail and strong cross winds that seemed to be swirling around us. Mother nature was not on our side, something that would repeat itself over the entire 4 days.

I had too many punctures today which was surprising considering I had the Stelvio Plus tyres on. The Hume highway Victorian surface was very rough. It wreaked havoc with my tyres. I put a Michelin Pro Race on but that was ruined after a large bolt went through the rear tyre.

The day seemed to drag on. The difference between riding 200 and 300km is huge as the body seems to want to collapse and the mind wants nothing more than to get off the bike. I felt strong mentally and went through ups and downs. Another puncture after nightfall with about 35km to go and I was over it for the day. 270km and counting.

Throughout the day Brett had his phone in the front compartment and late afternoon announced that he had misplaced it. He thought he may have left it on the roof or something as when we tried to call it was switched off. The first loss of the day.

9.30pm came around and we wanted to make sure we had a good sleep. I wanted to get to the accommodation as soon as possible and navigating in the dark was very hard not knowing where we were going.

We decided after speaking with Andy and Craig that getting in the van would be the best idea. Andy was not happy at all with this, but I managed to persuade him. In the rush he ended up leaving his wheel leaning against the driver side door. We had music on in the van, and had no idea that he left it there until 5 minutes later when Andy yelled out “Ross do you have my wheel”. I advised I didn’t put it in the van. A quick turnaround as soon as we saw a u turn exit and all we found when we arrived back at the scene was a tyre. It appeared to have no truck tyre damage. The second loss of the ride.

Arriving at Paul and Jane’s house was incredible. He quickly showed us where the showers were. Andy and I drove to get some food, I devoured a chicken roll and Andy ate a quarter chicken and chips. Andy and Craig stayed up talking and mingling but I wanted an early night so I hit the sack early.

Craig followed soon after and I had one of the best sleeps of my life. Alarm was set for 5.30am but I kept hitting snooze and I’m sure none of the guys were complaining with that.

2nd Day – Albury/Wodonga to Gundagai 210km

Riding off on Sunday morning at 7am and the rain was already starting to fall in misty increments. Not looking good for the day. We weren’t making good speed for the first 2 and a bit hours, having to slow down to wait for Craig who seemed to be struggling. He didnt eat a proper meal the night before meant we decided to stop for some breakfast just passed Bowna.
Brett cooked some tuna and pasta with baked beans which was amazing and much needed. He tended to undercook the pasta which gave us longer lasting energy.

Throughout the ride the hardest thing was getting back on the bike after a stop. My arse was sore as soon as I got back on, but with decent quality knicks (De Marchi) the soreness wasn’t too painful. Just uncomfortable on the sitting bones.

I struggled with the cold, wearing 2 pairs of gloves and my wet weather gear the whole day.

With the headwind so strong I mentioned to Andy that we weren’t going to make it to Goulburn by nightfall and he agreed. We brought this up with Craig but he wasn’t having a bar of it, fair enough because he wanted to make sure that we got there in 3 days.

We ended up pulling over about 11am and having a big discussion on the side of the road. Andy and I explained that at our current average speed and not including stops there was no chance we were going to make it. Taking into account the hills between Yass and Goulburn we knew it was impossible in the conditions. We worked it out in the end, and we kept riding with the view of seeing how we were feeling and what time it was by the time we reached Gundagai.

Poor bunch riding skills and a lack of confidence meant that we were never going to make it past Gundagai that day or more than 200km More punctures, a broken spoke to follow and Craig decided that he would sit the last 10 to 15km out due to the broken spoke. Brett and Craig drove ahead to sort out the accommodation and Andy and I stopped on the bridge into Gundagai to take some pictures and arrived around 6.30pm.
Well deserved and we checked into a hotel and got some chinese food and a burger and we hit the sack very early, asleep by 8.30/9pm.

3rd Day – Gundagai to Goulburn 205km

What an eventful day, with more arguments, a bit of sun and the most ridiculous hills I’ve ridden during my time. They never stopped once on the 210km stretch and we knew as soon as we started riding that it was going to be the hardest day.

I was feeling good and we immediately started some bunch riding again, but we couldn’t manage to keep a steady pace. Andy and I did our turns as soon as Craig got to the front he was erratic and sprinted off. Andy and I looked at each other and had so many WTF moments.

Stopped for some breakfast early morning and Brett was sensational again with his food preparation. Feeling good at this stage, and we were making good progress. Andy and I were riding to conserve energy so we managed to stick together for quite a while.

We made sure we kept Craig in view at all times, and Brett at this stage was stopping behind him to make sure everything was ok. We had Craig’s phone in the van and could call that if we needed to.
The headwind was shocking today, no rain until we were 50km from Goulburn but I was happy with that. Headwind and a rainy day would have made tough going.

Our average speed dropped again and Andy and I were doubtful that we’d even make Goulburn by nightfall at the pace we were going. We became frustrated with the group riding and working so hard without everyone helping, so we decided to draft the van.

This was harder than expected with 3 people and Craig didn’t feel comfortable which is fair enough. We stopped for a heated discussion at the side of the road. Trying to stay calm was difficult under the circumstances. After yesterday’s efforts, we didn’t want this to blow out to 5 days.

Craig suggested we should settle it in a fistfight with the last man standing winning, but I said that was a ridiculous idea and we had to sort it out like adults. He eventually said he would take food, puncture repair kit and for the remaining 200km and I said this would be stupid as he had no back up if something untoward happened.

He rode off and allowed us a few minutes to discuss what plan we were going to take. We decided against riding off on our own because Craig couldn’t have made it solo. We all had to stick by the support car and we needed to finish the ride together. We couldn’t have forgiven ourselves if something untoward happened.

We kept going and Andy and I drafted each other back to Craig’s position. About 15 minutes later I heard an “oh ****” and screech and turned around to see Andy doing 4 somersaults on the ground. I slammed on the brakes and Brett came up close behind afterwards.

Andy was on the ground and not moving, initially I was **** scared and thought the ride would be over. I went over and he asked me to take his foot out of the pedal, and I saw a nasty cut on his eye amongst grazing on his face.

I didn’t see a D shackle on the road (a metal piece shaped like a U), it was the same colour as the road but it happened to fit perfectly in between Andy’s fork and wheel.

His story. I was drafting ross at 2nd wheel 15k's out from Yass and the Hume is littered with heaps of crap. Ross didnt see the D shackle(a metal piece shaped like a U) on the road, unfortunately enough my front tyre sat nicely in between.

It sat on the tyre and rotated up with the tyre into the small gap between my fork. It therefore got jammed in between my fork and tyre and my front wheel stopped rotating instantaneously.

Flew off the bike face planted into the ground, momentum dragged me forward on my face and shoulder, rolled over and got dragged on my arse.. thus the rash on my behind. Cracked helmet, 5 inch diameter hole in my knicks, cracked rim, cracked fork, untrue rear wheel plus flat and a badly scuffed saddle.

We got into the van, and they dropped me off at Craig’s position a few km down the road. They took Andy to the yass hospital and he was stitched up. The last 40km into Yass was very hard and seemed never ending. The signs advising how long we had to go were just not soon enough. I wanted to keep my own pace and we knew we were stopping at Yass so I kept looking back to make sure Craig was in sight and rode alone into Yass.

Craig’s knee was playing up at this stage so he kept taking painkillers to allow him to complete the ride. We still had the Yass to Goulburn section to go which we had heard so much about. We had a quick lunch and made sure Andy was ok at the Yass hospital and proceeded on our way.

I had my ipod on and knew instantly that this next section was going to be done on my own. Singing out the songs is a great way to pass time, and the next 40km seemed to go very well. I kept looking back to make sure Craig was ok.

Quick call to Brett to see how their progress was going and they were heading out (with Brett driving Andy back to us). I am sure we can forgive him for driving that 40km under the circumstances. I ascended so many large hills that they all seemed like a blur. I couldn’t go faster than 16kmh but that was ok, my rhythm was good and it was just about getting it done.

I wanted the van to come as soon as possible as i was getting very cold the higher I got. I was trying to keep as warm as I could but could feel rain coming. I’m just glad it didn’t completely piss down.

My legs never felt like they were going to give up and I think the great food and proper eating really made a huge difference. I’m convinced I put on more weight over the trip!

The van passed me and I pulled over soon after, relieved myself (which was getting harder as the days went on, especially number 2’s). Craig decided to sit the next 50km out as his knee was playing up, so Andy and I got behind the van and drafted feeling comfortable and safe even after Andy’s accident. This helped in getting us to Goulburn by about 7pm. Again, another 100km on top of this would have killed us.

Andy and I had a little sprint into Goulburn, call it the competitive nature but it was fun.

After we got to the hotel room and got the stuff out of the van, I smelt a rancid smell. It was Craig’s shoes. He told me he didn’t wear socks as its Australia. Great, asked him to leave them outside to air out overnight but when we got in the van the next morning they were in there and the rancid smell was still there.

A great dominos pizza topped off the night, and we hit the sack early again. Glad tomorrow was the last day.

4th Day Goulburn to Sydney. 220km

Heading off early from Goulburn, we knew that the end was nearly here. Both of my knees were starting to play up by mid morning and Andy helped to draft me to make sure I got there in the end. The hills were relentless till about 25 km out of Goulburn.

The rain hit early morning and it was freezing cold. As we descended the next few hours but early morning we ate breakfast in the van with the heater on full and decided to wait a little for the rain to pass. Out in the elements again and we just kept pedalling. Stopping every now and then for energy bars and fresh water, we were making good time. Andy and I kept waiting for Craig but we didn’t have a problem with this, we just wanted to keep warm.

Andy and I couldn’t see Craig so we decided to stop and take a service station exit which was less than 2 minutes and up down the ramp. We stopped and filled water and made a quick call to Melanie from Starlight to let us know we wouldn’t be able to make the hospital visit on Tuesday morning.

We headed off again, and Brett passed us and said there was no sign of Craig. We kept riding, and Brett went further back to look for him. An hour later he came back and said he is about 15km up the road. I have no idea how that happened, Andy and I thought Brett might have driven him past us as a joke.

Craig seemed to be doing alot better than the last 2 days which was good. We did our best to catch up, but my knee was playing up so decided to take it easy. The Hume started to head downhill and we upped the average speed to around 35 to 40km per hour which was easy with the tailwind that was now behind us.

Stopped for another lunch later in the day and relieved ourselves. We sat it out a bit longer, but Craig rode off feeling good now. There was about 100km to go to Sydney, we were feeling good. About 2pm and we knew we were going to make good time.

Kept going, then we got a call from Brett saying the shoulder of the hume was out for about 2km so we would have to take the cycle detour. We spoke to Craig and he said that he had a flat and to keep following the signs. He said we’d think we were lost but just keep riding. We couldn’t see a sign for about 5 to 6 km so we called him and he said kept going. We stopped about 2km later on a **** road out the back skirts of Sydney and stopped at a Servo.

We called Brett and Craig for their location and realised we had ridden an extra 15km (there and back to where they were).

Andy and I were frustrated by the directions at this point, and found Craig and Brett having a rest in a supermarket/shop car park. We got back on the Hume, and continued along until we found a major route into the city, passing through Newtown. I was so happy it was nearly over. Both knees were in severe pain by this stage, but it was nearly over and I wasn’t going to let it stop me from finishing the ride. Nearly 900km and it was a fantastic feeling.

A huge shower drenched us about 25km from the city. I knew from here on in it was only a bit more than a commute and we picked up the speed. One final regroup and we decided which route we would take into the city centre (with Brett having to split up and stay behind while we weaved through traffic).

Andy and I were flying through traffic. Sprinting off at every lights, really moving. Craig asked us a few times to slow down and be cautious but I was well and truly sick of him by this stage. It was mostly downhill to the opera house. Up George street and asked for directions to the opera house. A couple of people didn’t know (looked like Sydney siders) but we eventually got there.

Craig was stoked when we arrived at Sydney and the first thing he said was “Oh mate, the women in Sydney are freaking fantastic let me tell you”. Ok. I was just looking forward to having a warm shower and seeing my girlfriend who I was meeting up at the Gold Coast.

No hugs, we were all exhausted and I had to be at the airport by 8.30pm (flight to the gold coast was at 9pm). Craig took a train to meet Heidi and Andy, Brett and I booked into the Sir Stanford hotel about a 2 minute walk from Circular Quay. An amazing hotel. I wish I could have stayed and enjoyed the bed but I was dying to get to Queensland.

A tough few days, but I was so happy to have arrived safe and sound.

What an adventure!

Summary

Despite differing personalities we got there in the end. Would I do it again? Yes, with better preparation, more lead time. The majority of the ride (maps/stops/estimated times) was organised in the last week and there could have been months of planning involved.

This would have shown that we needed to do the longest ride on the first day, because our average speed dropped so much as the days went on.
Do I think it could be done in 3 days? Yes, definitely with favourable weather, and better bunch riding skills and organisation.

Brett’s phone was found in Sydney by Rohan (Craig’s girlfriend Heidi, her best friend’s boyfriend). It was posted back to Brett by Rohan but had a picture of Heidi in bed on it and all messages were deleted. When Brett asked Craig about it afterwards, he said that it got left in his luggage and it must have been Heidi and her friend fooling around with the photo. Why didn’t he call and return it? Doesn’t know. Weird, at least we got it back. Wheel would be somewhere on the side of the road!