Feb 11: Lazy Legs

Hamilton -> Binny Lake, Tarraleah

Distance cycled: 65.3 km
Ave: 14.1 km/h
Max speed: 73.5 km/h

Note: a lot of our max speed data is from Flis; even though my odo has more enthusiasm, it can’t compete with Flis’ enthusiasm to go downhill as fast as possible – my max speed today was only 70.7 km/h.

Despite that max speed, today felt slow. Maybe it was the climbing. Maybe it was the absence of coffee. Maybe it was the beer last night. There were no headwinds to complain about, and no mountain passes to climb. The legs (and bum) just didn’t want to work that hard.

So here are some strategies your legs may want to try should you find yourself in a similar situation:

– Do a grocery run (this does have the downside of making your bags heavier)

-Fill up the fuel bottle (also makes it heavier, oops)

– Go for a pee (always helps; don’t forget to immediately drink more water for optimal frequency)

– Stop when your cycling buddy goes to pee and drink water (helps to stagger your pee breaks with your buddy’s)

– Eat some snacks (particularly good to start this just as another reason to stop is coming to an end)

– Pick roadside fruit (ideally, a tree on an uphill section with fruit hanging slightly over the road’s shoulder; this is totally viable regardless of when you last snacked)

– Have lunch (often need to wait until at least 11:30 for this to feel legit; we had one of F’s favourite cheese of the trip so far (a tie with Bream Creek’s brie): a soft and creamy blue cheddar)

– Stop for more snacks (carrying food on the inside is much easier; Poppy seed brittle and mandarin is not a flavour of chocolate I would’ve expected to be good until we sampled it at the market)

– Pull over and read signs at local points of interest (prioritize the ones where you can see the sign board from the road, and never stop on a downhill. There’s serious hydro happening here)

– Reapply sunscreen (this one is also a good stop lengthener if it looks like your buddy might be getting ready to cycle again)

– Filter water (oops making the kit heavier again)

– Check your tire pressure (when it’s <40 psi instead of 60-70 psi, you can blame your previous speed on that if you’re prepared to make any changes afterwards)

– Map checks (this one can be hard to justify when you’re on the only main route and it doesn’t have any turn offs, but it can be important to check where the camping spots in striking distance are, and the elevation profile to get there – so long as you’re prepared to know there’s an epic and immediate uphill on the other side of the upcoming epic downhill)

We employed all these strategies today, and still made it to a delightful lakeside free campsite where we rewarded ourselves for our cunning with a swim and an SFG dinner.