#21 - What a ride it’s been - About the past four days
I’ve been pretty silent on the blog for the past week. And there’s a good reason for it. On Saturday, I decided to go on a long ride again. I wanted to do a solo ride around 100 km. The one I did at the Belgian HPV event was a group ride. Since riding in a group is a little easier - Following someone helps motivate, you don’t catch as much wind and the social aspect helps with passing the time - I wanted to see if I could do that solo too. And it worked. It worked so well that I turned that one ride in a series of rides.
The past four days on a map
That first ride took me in to the Netherlands. Living close to the border, That’s often the place to go for their amazing cycling paths. Wide, smooth paths that are often separated from the road by at least some grass, but often even a row of trees.
I visited some places I knew, just to give myself a target while peddling the kilometers away. The route took me through large woodlands, I passed a twin span of horses pulling a carriage with a group of people and I was lucky to arrive at the Brasschaat airfield at just the right time. I happened to be there just when they were pulling an old-timer plane to its parking spot. You just can’t plan for that on a 96 km ride.
On sunday, still not planning the four day ride, I just went for a short peddle around my hometown. I wanted to check how my body would react to ride two days in a row. Just under 24 km, to listen to my body and look for some beautiful spots I hadn’t been to in a while. I wasn’t focussed on performance at all, so the stats weren’t all that impressive. But It went smoothly. No pains at all, and I sat very comfortable on the trike. My bottom still hurts every time I ride it, but that’s just a small price to pay. And hopefully something that will be cured with the Ventisit inlay I recently purchased.
Along the canals
On monday, I decided to do a ride I wanted to do for a while now. The conditions were not perfect. A lot of wind, and a little rain, made sure I could finally test the rain suit I purchased. The ride starts at a canal near to me, following it all the way to one end, where it merges with a larger canal. Then I followed that to a third canal, that eventually ends up at a crossing where I could return home following the first canal again. I mentioned the paths along the canals as one of my favorite spots to ride before. Especially along the smaller canals, those paths feel really cosy. They used to be walked on by horses pulling the ships on the water. Over time, sections got paved or at least turned in to cycling paths. Along the larger Albert Canal, the banks are much wider, since the canal is much more modern. That makes for even more space for wider paths. It also meant navigating some industrial activity, which wasn’t always great. That resulted in some roadblocks and rough patches due to spillage or broken concrete from heavy machinery. Still, I really enjoyed the ride, and my body took the 122 km like a champ. I was tired, but my body could clearly take the challenge.
At the bottom of the final climb to Scherpenheuvel
On thuesday, I decided to revisit a place I went on the electric diamond frame earlier this year. The basilica of Scherpenheuvel is build on top of the hill that gives the place its name. It is a well known pilgrimage in Belgium. The route I took, gave me just under 280 vertical meters to beat. Passing both the abbey’s of Tongerlo and Averbode, there was plenty to see along the road. The last one offering a short climb along its outside walls to prepare for what’s to come. I made the climb to Scherpenheuvel on the old railway track. This took me away from traffic, through the fields on the hillside. It also makes for the heaviest end of the climb, turning on to the road around the basilica. Climbing to Scherpenheuvel also means you get the reward of racing down again. It’s a reward that always ends to soon of course.
On the way back home, I started to feel the past few days had actually had their toll on my body. Nothing bad, just the exhaustion kicking in. But what a ride it has been. I have done 359 km in total, in just four days. It seems I can take more then I ever thought possible already.
And all this had some unexpected results. As in I just wasn’t prepared for them. I’m at my lowest weight since January, BY FAR. And at the same time, my blood sugar hasn’t been this low since I started to work out either. To a point where I feel I have to monitor more closely to see what’s going on during my workouts. That means I went from being advised to start working out, or pay a visit to hospital in January, to having to monitor my values to avoid getting issues at the lower end of the scale…
Rest assured. I’m not taking any risks on that end of my story. I’m in constant contact with all the professionals who support me. And I follow their advice as strict as possible. My body keeps giving me updates as well. I’m starting to feel like we make for one hell of a team.
