The dreaded long ride

I am normally worked up about long rides, however this one was so much worse.  I think my main problem was that it was to be a 5 1/2 hour ride starting with a a ride up Mt Nebo!  It was getting to the point where I was seriously psyching myself out.

I don't excel at hills (a bit of an understatement!), so I was worried that I was going to blow myself up and not be able to complete the ride.  Also, I was worried about riding with Jacque and Faye (who ended up riding with the guys anyway) who are mountain goats reincarnated as human triathletes!  Also, as if I didn't have enough to worry about we were going to Strathpine friday night to organise bike fit ups and a minor fix on my bike, so I was worried about dinner and hydration and the time I was going to get to bed...  All this worry... breeds worry!

I was riding home from 4:30am to meet Jacque at The Gap Coffee Club just after 5am, so I was awake at 3:20am - 10mins before the alarm! I was very worked up and nervous as I got all of my bits and pieces organised, however I was out the door at 4:30am. 

I rode up the steep bit towards Mt Cootha and I met some cyclists coming down the front side and as they rode past me I said good morning to them and asked how they were going and one of them replied that he had done 1 Cootha lap and had 1 to go, so i said "nice", all the while thinking wow, that sounds great - here I am 30mins into a 5hr 30min ride! 

Met Jac on Waterworks Road and we headed up to Mt Nebo.  I made it very clear that I am riding it at my own pace and that's what I did.  I expected that Jacque would head up to Nebo and then come back down and meet me, however we ended up riding up the mountain together chatting.  Jacque let me ride at my own pace either behind me or beside me and we managed to catch up with each other and it was really lovely.  It was the first time that I have ridden up there and been in a position to talk (although at times it was a bit strained!).  Also, Nebo arrives really quickly when the ride is enjoyed with banter! 

We turned around at Nebo village and headed down the same direction, then over Settlement Road, out towards Samford where we refilled and then on to Dayboro and then we turned around for home.  The rest of the ride continued in the same relaxed fashion where we were able to talk and catch up.  It's amazing the topics you can cover in a sub 5 hour ride!

We ended up being back a bit earlier than what we had intended (I was timekeeper - I am a timekeeper failure!).  So we rode back down Samford Road to Jacque's place and then up to Waterworks Road to The Coffee Club at The Gap (Jac turned earlier and rode back home).  I arrived to the car that Craig had parked there at pretty much the exact time that Craig, Gerrad, Faye and Vanessa finished.  A quick (OK, shuffle) run off the bike for 10mins as I was out of fluids and the session was done. 

Oh, what a relief.  I spent the day sighing with relief... 

It's funny - the sessions that you dread sometimes end up being the most enjoyable.