My first 250 mile ride

 I have completed a few 200-mile rides and some long-distance challenges in the past, including last years 180mile Everest; hence my long term aim is LEL (London Edinburgh London: 1500km) and PBP (Paris Brest Paris: 1200km). Thus this year, I needed to steadily increase my distance; 250 was the aim for this ride with a 400mile aim by the end of the year to be completed within 24hrs.

Samuel had wanted to do 200 for a while; this was a perfect opportunity to have some company for part of the day. To further make the challenge an enjoyable process, we entered the Lincoln sportive; we cycled 50 miles to the Newark showground, then cycled the 100mile sportive at 17mph called Beyond Lincolnshire, which I thought was a fitting title to summarise the day. After the sportive, I then cycled a 100mile warm down to get back home and find a few hills around Bakewell and Chatsworth; the route was incredibly flat, thus to make the stats look more than just a 250mile flat route, a few hills were required.

Flat rides present their own challenges, 1 being you constantly pedal, 2 you are in the same riding position all day, and the third and most challenging one, particularly pertinent around Lincoln, are headwinds. Headwinds are mentally tough as you can be average 22mph. Then you turn a corner and hit an imaginary brick wall of wind which makes double-digit speeds a challenge that eats into your energy reserves and muscular endurance through long term low cadence grinds.

The finish line of the sportive: 150miles in and 100 miles remaining

This was my best day for nutrition; I usually really struggle to eat on the bike, which is obviously the main limitation for endurance sports, but I was ravenous all day; I had two McDonalds (breakfast and dinner) and a multitude of waffles, sweets, crisps. By incorporating a sportive within the challenge, it helped ensure I ate at every food station. I also had free lifts throughout the day; I'd often hop on the back of a fast group of riders and have sections of riding at 22mph with little effort due to the drafting effect. This was especially important during the headwinds;  I would look around with great focus for the biggest group or rider to tuck behind when the wind was present.

All in all, it was a great day; up until 200 miles, I completed it with ease. 200-250miles was where the challenge began, it was cold, dark, and energy reserves were diminishing. The solo effort of the final section made the challenge a tough mental battle to get through, but in the end, I did it and can confidently say I still have more miles in my legs for another day. 

To note, it was also a lot of fellow friends and Belper harriers first 100-mile sportive; I'm proud to have been part of inspiring and setting up the cycling subdivision for our running club. To see runners turned cyclist enjoy another aspect to the outdoors and pursue a notable achievement of a century is remarkable progress within one year of training! Hopefully, it is the start of club bike packing trips and longer rides together.