#redroute

[happyharcoreeddie]

pictures from REDROUTE comics magazine . need to find out if there’s already scans of this online somewhere, maybe archive.org but here are some pictures from it i enjoyed and i think are worth looking into, if there’s not any scans i’ll go to the library and scan this issue i have . 🧌

[assumingsilence]

#breconbeacons #snow #wales #walk #carregcennan #redroute #photography #phonephotography #cloudscape #tree #shade #sunlight #nofilter (at Wales)

[daveshocko]

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6am full term #dailygrind #london #eastlondon #tfl #londonbus #redroute #hackney #springtime #red #redbus #pavement #footpath #streetfurniture #building #churchspire #whiteline #roadside #road

[stravaleagues-blog]

Ride the MTB trail centres in 2017. Become the King! #trailcentre #mtbtrail #mtbtrails #redroute #weekendwarrior

[kittythesm]

What a whirlwind! We closed s year ago today! #hopscotchla #redroute #bloodroute #corazon 💗 (at Boyle Heights, Los Angeles)

[pedalslip-blog]

A hard lesson to learn.

On Sunday, I decided to make the most of the weather and get a second ride in of the week. For someone like me this is quite a big deal - I very rarely have enough time to squeeze in a long ride once a week, never mind two.

Making the most of my forest pass, I headed out to Dalby to tackle the red route. I’d completed the first 13km of it the week before, with my brother. It seemed manageable and not too technical so I was totally up for tackling the whole 21km trail.

The 21km trail actually turned out to be 21 miles.

33km.

Expecting to tackle 10km less, I made the decision to set out with plenty of water, but no food. I figured I’d get through the 21km in around the 2:45 - 3:00 hour mark and therefore wouldn’t need to take any fuel with me: I should be back by lunchtime.

As you’ve probably guessed, after around 25km I needed some energy. My legs were burning on every climb and, whilst I was still hydrated plenty, I just didn’t have the energy to keep climbing on the bike. 

Around the 30km mark I started to feel dizzy and light-headed. I needed to pee, because of all the water I’d taken, but standing up was exhausting.

By 33km, with one last climb before hitting the big down to the carpark, I took the exit track out of the red trail and back to the flat before slowly peddling back to the car, feeling shaky and thoroughly worn out.

The red route beat me.

Although, what really beat me was a poor preparation and checking before setting out. For someone who is looking to tackle some enduro races in due course, this was a steep learning curve. 

I sit here, two days later, with legs still sore and tight with DOMS with a new-found respect for the self-sufficiency of enduro mountain bikers and a promise to myself to always take out fuel.