As I mentioned previously, there's another location I usually visit come Christmas time on my bike which is almost 100km from door to door.
Emboldened by my previous 70k effort I thought I'd just go for it and set off a couple of weeks after (this last Saturday the 28th).
This one didn't end so well! The weather was lovely, almost 20 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately there was a 15km/h easterly wind, which did help to keep me cool but was in my face for the entire journey (it wasn't a round trip, so I didn't get the payback of riding with the wind in the second half). I was also slightly more heavily laden with overnight luggage and a larger amount of water. Thank goodness for the more aerodynamic recumbent profile.
I was slower than I expected but felt ok until I hit the last 30k, where pains in my hip and knee started to manifest. I plodded on to the destination after a brief stop to extend the boom another two centimetres. When I arrived I genuinely had trouble standing up. My thighs and glutes had basically melted.
I think it was a decent effort distance wise, but I really need to up my game to do the same route in winter with luggage. I'm also going to investigate the local Specialized store to see if they can do a bike fit, as I suspect that my asymmetric pains (left knee, right hip) may be due to different leg length or flexibility.
It's rather humiliating having to leave a bike and limp home on public transport. Thankfully my old mum didn't mind locking it in her garage until I man up and return to collect it.
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