Finally!!!

Woke up this morning at 4:30, had a bath and left the house at 5:30 to attempt an Imperial Century, 160kms, for the second time. Last attempt was in January when I had some knee problems and so I only made 105kms back then.

So, headed out on the Pacific Highway towards Bulahdelah on the road that I now know pretty well. I did pretty well in the beginning and at 40kms my average speed was 24.9kph. This may be slow for other cyclists, but pretty good for me as I don't even do my 23km morning commute at that speed. But it didn't last :) I hit the 80km halfway-mark just after 9:30, so even by then my average had dropped to 20kph. This is still okay and I'd be happy if I can always average 20kph, as long as it includes rest stops as today did.

On the way back I made a mistake!!! I bought this Dexler Hydro Pack that you fit on your back like a backpack which holds 3L of water and, which I discovered today, keeps it pretty cold as well. But first let me backtrack some more.

According to Google it was 29°C in Newcastle with 62% humidity at 15:30 when I got home this afternoon, so I imagine it was even hotter in the middle of the day. I don't actually know what 62% humidity means, but I do know that I couldn't sleep because of the humidity last night!! Seriously, it's the worst that I've had it at night here yet!

Anyhow, so on the way back at Karuah, 110kms into the trip, I bought a bag of ice and topped up this hydro pack. I had also drank (drunk?) 2 650ml bottles of Gatorade by then, but didn't buy another one at Karuah. So, a few kilometers later I take a sip from the hydro pack and nothing comes out??? What the... Worst place and worst time of the day it could happen and I, of course, assumed the worse that the hydro pack had gotten a hole in it or something. hehe, nope... It was just working too well and kept the ice frozen in that midday heat. Put the inside waterbag of the pack on the back of my bike and stood around for a while, but hardly anything defrost. Put it down on the tar and waited, but it still went pretty slow. Fortunately I never got bored, because I just kept myself occupied by dancing with the friggen red/black or whatever ants they were.
Finally got some water from the ice, but basically I was stuffed from that point on until I got to the next stop 20kms later. I got a few sips of water every few minutes, but never enough to kill my thirst. Anyhow, bought 2L of water at the next stop and all was good.

As I mentioned earlier, I got home at 15:30, so it took me a full 10 hours to ride 161.8Kms. I know speed is not my thing, but I'm just happy to have broken the 100 miles!! Yeeha!

When I passed my street the first time, I had 153kms on the clock so I had to do another loop to make it past 160. At one point a Ute came riding past from the back at the same time as a couple walked past with their kid in a pram and I thought "I wonder if these mere mortals realise that there's a superhero in their midst?" Stupid, I know, but if you told me 2 years ago that I'd be cycling 160kms in one day (and a hot summer's day at that), I would have laughed at you!!! No I'm not a hero, but I'm quite proud of this achievement. Some of the other guys in the BNA forums ride 300km+ Audax rides, so for them this is nothing - but for me, this is huge.

While my knees seem to be okay, my butt took a lot of strain again and I'm not happy with that. Will have to make a plan there.

Anyway, tonight I sleep.