...and it was the most brutal ride ever. I know I said that after the last one, but it just keeps getting worse. I'm trying not to make it sound like an excuse, but I think I know how important proper nutrition is before you do something like that. I've only been eating for two to three days now, and I think that plus all the bed rest did me in.

The ride started out okay. I was a bit late because I tried shaving my legs. Big debate whether you shave or not. I thought I'd give it a shot. I don't know if I like it so much. They're pretty raw and cut up. Anyway, I spent the first 40k catching other riders. I caught quite a few, which was nice as always. I keep saying it's not a race, but... :)

By the 30k mark my back was starting to give me some noticible pain. By the break at 50k I thought I was done. I took a 45 minute break, which definitely helped. I ate a sausage and some ice cream to try and help with the energy supplies. I don't think it was enough. 1500 calories is good, but I burned over 3000 on the ride. I want to get much closer to matching what I expend with what I eat.

When I hit 70k I thought that was it. I was in as much pain as I was in the last time I retired. The last time was the first ride I had done all year, and after 65k I couldn't pedal anymore. My quads were full of lactic acid, my back killed, and my feet were even hurting more than I could take. I pulled over under a tree and took a break. Nearly napped too. I waited 15 minutes for the next group of riders to come down, and I followed them the rest of the way.

The group of riders were really nice to ride with. We never went too fast, never went too slow. It was semi-social, but most of us kept to ourselves. Our pace was much lower, and that was fine for me. I just wanted to make it back in one piece. We did. It was really hard, but we made it.

Mostly because of this, I think I'm going to increase my calorie intake substantially. I'm going to go from 1700-2000 to 2200-2400, and I'm going to be strict about doing an hour of cardio five times a week, plus the weekly long distance. If eating less than I usually do made that much of a difference, then maybe eating more will help just as much. I think my calorie deficit has been too big anyway, so I should be able to keep losing weight even though I'll be eating so much.

Now that I've figured out how to live on 1700-2000, it will be very easy to add more. Instead of going back to eating more garbage, I'm going to try and introduce some actual good foods into my diet. I'll be able to eat proper meals, and a lot more often. This is a good thing. After two or three weeks I'll see what kind of progress I've made.

Final stats:
Distance: 103.33 km
Time: 4:39
Actual time: 6:03
Average speed: 22.2 km/h
Max speed: 62.4 km/h
Average HR: 141
Peak HR: 183
Time in zone 3: 2:38
Total ascent: 1685 ft

My heart rate was much higher than it was before I left. It's definitely not in as good shape as it was before. I'm sure that had a lot to do with why I built up so much lactic acid so easily. All in all it was a very rough ride, and I'm a little apprehensive about the 122k ride next week. I'm sure with proper nutrition things will be much better...