mental health spring track spin

after a terrible night of sleep i figured that cancelling all my commitments and going for a bike spin was needed. i desperately needed some time alone and that felt like time i was dedicating to myself as opposed to work, militancy and others. as it is customary for me, my plan for a chill bike spin quickly transformed in a challenging adventure. drawing lines on maps and establishing ambitious goals is very easy. of course, after having insomnia and being really struggling with accumulated fatigue, why not go on a 100km+ ride with 1000m+ of ascent? and to add to the challenge, why not go with the track bike? there is for me this precarious balance between finding something exciting to do that motivates me to go out of the door and overdoing it.

fortunately i was able to hear my body and cut the ride a bit shorter, i stopped before the big climb to the lake and considered my energy levels. thankfully i decided that it was better to go for plan b. i'm glad i did because even cutting the ride shorter by about 35km was already pushing it, the last kms were hard, i was completely depleted. the sun, the time of the day, the lack of sleep, the accumulated fatigue, the track bike's lack of gear and comfort... all played a role. and apart from all this i'm also always wondering if i should be eating more during my rides. this time i brought with me energy puree from baouw which states that you should have 1 per hour for long efforts which was what i did, but i think i did hit the wall on the last 10 to 15 km. next time i will try nibbling more often.

since plan a was a more ambitious and long one that included a stop at the lake, i did pack many things i didn't actually use. i could have rode with less bags if i didn't bring a towel, an extra t-shirt, a powerbank, a windbreaker, a headlamp...

distance: 65 km
duration: 2:44:10
avg speed: 24km/h
max speed: 41km/h
climb: 923m