220km, 13h45m time, 350m alt gain, good conditions
This mornings section of riding was some of the best I have had on a road bike. Crisp sunrise, smooth roads, unbelievable scenery and very little traffic on my river run route.
It was so good that I struggled to stop myself for a proper breakfast which should have happened around 8:30, but by 10am I started getting bad stomach cramps as I didn’t really get dinner the night before – the mornings 95km had caught up with me. I found a decent shop and bought an oversupply of ham, cheese, yoghurt, bananas etc and ate it all hoping this would silence the wrenches in my gut. 45min down the road and not so much. So a change in plan, I spotted a shaded grass area next a petrol station, took out 2 buscopan from bag, took them with a small swing of water and stretched out for a 30min power nap. Woke up and the cramps were gone, thank goodness. Manage your body better Jody! Too much fun and you go into risk zone, and this race will punish you there.
The rest of the afternoon I managed my speed and food / beverage intake allot more carefully. A lidl on the route have a chance for some nice rice cakes and healthy juice which was a welcome change.
I was hoping to reach the Slovenian border at the 240km mark today but two issues cropped up that put the brakes on – an extended lightening thunder storm had me holed up for a while, and a really painful left quad muscle from I suspect pushing too big a gear in my haste this morning.
So I opted to stop just short of the border at 220km in Varazdin (an incredibly beautiful city – I am absolutely blown away be Croatia) and go at early doors. Also hoping some anti inflams will help the ailing drumstick 😉.
Falling short of Km targets can really get you down – it’s hard work to reinforce that you are still riding and in one piece. A plan is just a plan, and the fact that each day you moving closer to Brest is achievement in itself !
Tomorrow in and out of Slovenia, heads hits pillow in Austria. What the hell 😂😎