That was hard!

Yesterday I achieved my goal of completing an 80+ mile ride.
I averaged 17.7 mph, completing the course in 4 hours and 31 minutes.
Unfortunately I left late in the morning which meant I was riding during the hottest hours of the day.
I took two bottles with 750ml of fluid each, and 8 bars of Kellogs Nutrigrain (Apple flavour).
An alert on my GPS unit reminded me to eat one bar every 10 miles.

The first 30 miles were relatively easy, I even resisted the temptation of keeping up with a time trialist who overtook me at great speed: I was very aware I still had 50 miles to go.

The first challenge came at Dorking, where I incorporated the Box Hill climb into my journey. After 40 miles, the relatively easy climb was not as easy as I remembered it. Still, I managed to overtake two female riders at the very top: I could never be beaten by a woman! ;-)

At 50 miles the climbs of the North Downs became challenging and fast, and I managed to overtake every single rider I met, whether on the uphill, where I learnt to spin smaller gears faster, and in the downhill, where I managed to keep up with several cars and overtook a cyclist who, at 44.5 mph, ran out of gears.

I managed to regularly top up my hydration levels but ran out of water after 65 miles. I had to stop at a petrol station where I filled up both bottles with water, orange juice, and managed to down a Mars drink in one sip.

The last 15 miles from Windsor to Twyford were the hardest as my body was in need of fluids: I managed to drink up another two bottles in that last leg.

After reaching the 80 miles mark, I stopped the clock, but I still had another 5 miles to go, from Twyford to Wokingham.
I took those last 5 miles very gently and managed to get home safely.

Next time I am certainly going to leave early in the morning, maybe as early as 6 AM, so that I can travel when the weather is milder, and avoid major traffic delays.

Today I travelled to work by bike, and I managed to complete the journey in good time, which is an indication my recovery ability is strong.

I am now looking forward to my next training ride: next time I will try and avoid big towns and instead head into the countryside.