Double Century
Journey of Discovery
Summary
The idea first came to me when I saw that a friend of mine was cycling huge distances in a day, of up to 200+ miles! I was inspired and in awe, wondering how he was possibly able to do that, and how does he keep on going? “The things he must see”, I thought - madness! I have ridden centuries in the past and found them challenging, but I never thought I would be able to ride a double century; I couldn’t help but wonder if I would be able to achieve this. I played around with a couple of routes on Garmin, connecting up the places I could visit, and decided, if I was going to do the 200, it would be for a purpose and to see somewhere different that I’ve never been before. I also wanted to find something fairly flat for my first time, as I didn’t know how my body was going to react to such a huge distance. I decided to first head over to the Humber Bridge as it would be fun to ride over and then from here, I was to ride to Spurn Head – a National Nature Reserve (somewhere I’d never been before and thought it looked like a great place to explore). Following this, it would then be over to York, as I know the roads are great for riding. Before the ride, I was in good shape and feeling fit and ready for it - I know my body pretty well, especially for fuelling, etc. I checked the weather before setting the date; it was important to have a fairly nice day as I was going to be on my bike for at least 14 hours. Once everything was confirmed, the adventure awaited me and I told myself that all I had to do was keep on pedalling!
- If I'm honest, the whole day seems like a bit of a blur, but here are some key parts that I remember:
About the day
It was 3 am when my alarm went off so I could be out of the house by 4 am! Luckily, I prepared the day before, packing my bike bag to avoid a mad panic the next morning. Setting off so early was very surreal; with not a car or person in sight, it was like riding through little ghost towns. I loved it! All I could hear was the birds singing and the sound of my wheels gliding along the tarmac while the wind whistled past my ears. “Easy does it”, I kept telling myself, as I knew I had a big day ahead of me, remembering to drink regularly and eat something every hour.
On my way out towards the outskirts of Leeds, it was really easy going, gliding on the quiet lanes and trying not to apply too much pressure on my pedals. I could feel the excitement brewing within me, the closer I got towards the Humber Bridge. I knew I was getting closer as I began to pass through towns I had never heard of before like Howden, South Cave, Brough, and North Ferriby to name a few. It was approaching 9 am and I was almost in Hull and at the bridge! People were just starting their days whilst I had been riding for almost 5 hours - this really boosted my morale. “Stay on the walkway please” I heard, as working men approached me upon my arrival. Over the bridge I went…”Man this is weird”, I thought. Luckily, there was no wind, otherwise it would have been a different kettle of fish whilst crossing the bridge. I stopped for a quick photo before heading back and making my way to Spurn Point. Navigating my way through Hull wasn’t the easiest and I didn’t like it if I am honest. I found it to be quite run down and very busy but, I guess that’s the joy of exploring on two wheels; you see the true bones of a place.
After leaving Hull, the roads became a lot quieter and far less populated. It wasn’t until I turned off of Hull road and approached a little down of ‘Paull’ when I started to relax a bit more and truly enjoy my surroundings. The whole journey between Paull to Spurn Head was extremely quiet and very flat! It felt as if I was floating along the tarmac as I cruised along the vast and open roads. I couldn’t quite believe how peaceful it was - ‘Where are all the people?’, I thought, realising that all I had seen for miles was the odd lonesome house dotted alongside the road. Truly bizarre! It reminded me of being back in New Zealand. This went on for almost 2 hours of riding until I eventually arrived at Spurn Head, bringing me to 110 miles! Time for a sandwich and to try and regain some strength for my ride back. I was almost half way through the ride and starting to feel it. “Okay, I’ll have to slow down and eat a bit more if I want to complete this”, I thought to myself, whilst unclipping my shoes and sitting down to take in views of the sea.
From Spurn Head, I followed back along the road before turning right and into a place called ‘Thorngumbald’; this gave me a laugh, as did the many other small towns with similarly humorous names.
The roads weren’t anything interesting as I made my way to Beverley and along to Market Weighton, where I stopped for my first coffee and a steak bake. I was 150 miles in and still had 70 miles to go; the true magnitude of the challenge had started to set in as I sat down in an alleyway, people passing me by. I kept on telling myself, “I can do this…I just need to take more regular breaks”. I was relying heavily on my mental strength at this point, as my body was slowly going into shut down.
The next few hours were all a blur. All I kept thinking was that I needed to get to York, and then Tadcaster and then I’ve cracked it. I could easily ride back after that and I didn’t want to give up. However, things became very interesting after York. It felt like I was having one of those dreams where you are trying to move forward, but you can’t as your legs feel like led. I had run out of energy and really started to Bonk! This tested me to my limit. I was constantly looking down at my Garmin, which seemed to make the miles tick by much more slowly! I was in pure survival mode as I arrived just outside of Leeds, hitting the 200-mile point. I was so exhausted and feeling almost defeated, I just wanted to call it a day and call for a lift home but, the war wasn’t over…I was not going to give up and I had to make it home. I’m not sure what happened after this, but I remember grunting and making some strange, pained noises as I struggled up even the smallest hills - it was awful! What would usually be quite easy, seemed like a 20% climb. It was sheer perseverance and determination that kept me going and I told myself, “it’s not about how fast I am going, I just need to complete it now after being on the bike for almost 16 hours”.
Those last few downhill miles to my home felt very strange. I finally turned the corner into my road and stopped my Garmin. 220 miles!...I couldn’t believe it as I hit the “Save” button. “Okay what just happened?”, I thought. Words cannot even begin to explain what I was feeling in that moment. I unclipped and just sat there for a while, feeling a bit sick. But I had done it.
Final thoughts
It’s challenges like these that make you understand yourself and your body. Discovering how far you can push yourself and digging deeper than you could’ve imagined. I think life should be full of challenges like these - it’s what makes it interesting and exciting. After I completed my ride, I said I would never do that again, but after a couple of days rest, reflection on the day and realising all that I had achieved, I’m thinking I probably will - after all...I can’t resist!