First day in the saddle

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Blog for Friday the 22^ndAugust

That was a serious day of riding. It had everything, super strong winds, heavy rain, bright sunshine, painful legs, and exhausted mind. But although a lot of the day was spent in serious hurt, I still enjoyed the experience (however, I wouldn’t recommend 125 kms on the first day to anyone else).

The morning was filled with a tinge of sadness, having to depart and therefore say goodbye to the Esinurm’s who for the last week and a half have been absolutely brilliant. They’ve taken me places that I wouldn’t have seen on my own, paid for meals at restaurants, taken me riding through the beautiful forests surrounding there house (with their two lovely kids) and put me up for free. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the extended family in Estonia so willing to be hospitable. There is a special mention to Derek and Karoli, Krisi, Priit and Anna as well.

So, I left home yesterday at about 1030 I think, after another big breakfast supplied by Helen, all ready to devour the 122kms that lay in front of me on my way to Parnu (the beach town of Estonia). The morning started off on a pretty good note, it did take me a while to get comfortable on the road though with trucks whizzing past every 10 seconds. The morning section brought winds, as the fields to the left and right of the road provided no shelter they, they were allowed to have a free run at disrupting my progress. So it was pretty slow going, but I persisted. At about 20 kms I suddenly got a euphoric feeling that I was actually partaking in something adventurous and I now had story that I could tell for the rest of my life. I can tell you, that feeling did not last long. As that feeling went, in came the rain. Funnily enough though, with the downpour of rain, the wind ceased. So I was actually riding at a quicjker rate because of it. You have to look for the positives on this kind of trip.

So the first 40km went by in a blur, and I foolishly allowed myself to get lulled into a false sense of security. “I’ve already done a third of this and I’m not even tired.” Ah, youthful optimism. As I got closer to the 60 km mark (at a seriously decreasing pace) I realised very quickly that this was going to be no Sunday ride. I was in dire need of a rest and something to eat, so I sat down and polished off my can of baked beans (they’ve got nothing on Australian ones) and had a solid break of about half an hour. I felt suitably refreshed and was ready to go again until I mounted my bike, the legs wouldn’t want to propel me, but after a little time they started to warm up again and we were back making good progress. The next 30 km were reasonably straightforward once more, a little more rain, a little more wind, a little more sunshine. The legs were still hurting but, it was a pain that was manageable and that came and went, I put it to one side and powered on. When I hit the 100 km mark, that’s when I really started to struggle. It wasn’t that I was cramping or anything like that, my legs were just aching (that’s the best way to describe it). No position, either standing or sitting would alleviate the pain. There was no point in stopping (although I really did feel like it) as the ground I was looking to camp on was soaked. So once again, I carried on. By this time, stops had become far more frequent, maybe one stop every two km if I was feeling good. You can understand how the last 20 km took an interminably long time. I was going at snails pace, I had hit the wall so to speak.

Reaching the outskirts of Parnu, did give me an extra kick though as I found the ride into the city centre was not so difficult. After many hours of riding I had arrived at my first destination in pretty good time (maybe not what I was anticipating though). Arriving at 730 I was able enjoy the last hour of the sun on the water. While sitting down and resting my weary legs though, I did happen to fall asleep on numerous occasions, luckily no one took a shining to my bike. The legs at this point were spent, and the last thing I wanted to do was to track down a camping ground, but I had no choice. Staying in Konse Camping ground was a good choice. The shower that I had has very rarely been matched in terms of relief and contentment.

Sleep did not come so easily, my legs still feeling the ill effects of such a big day in the saddle but I am glad that my waterproofing that has been honed at St Philips stood up to the barrage of rain that came my way all throughout the day (which meant a warm and comfortable sleep when it did come).

So today, I’m going to have a bit more of an easy day. I’ll have a look at what Parnu has to offer, relax a little before I get back in the saddle. I’m looking at maybe riding 70-90 km today (instead of the monstrous 120km). I am glad that I did start with such a big day though, as it now gives me a gauge as to what I can feasibly do without killing myself, and as I get fitter, things will only get easier.

So, that was my first day in the saddle. Not all that eventful really, it thankfully all went pretty smoothly. I’ll keep you posted on my progress over the next few days.

Cheers,

Tikka

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