Nearly pushing myself too far

Earlier this week I teamed up with one other person from work for a lap of Richmond Park. Afterwards I continued by myself to see how far I could comfortably cover in one session.

This week I almost pushed too far.

I didn't cycle as far round Richmond park as the previous two visits - no sub-laps or detours.

I was with another hybrid-biker so I wasn't pushing too hard to beat any personal records. I'd been lax about cycling for about ten days and didn't feel up to previous levels of power or energy.

After we parted ways I took a meandering route to Richmond, then up past Isleworth to Ealing Hospital. 33-34km into the ride, cycling along Windmill Lane I felt myself flagging a bit.

I wasn't in the mood for the easy U-turn and short route home along the A4. I really don't like covering the same stretch of road twice in one trip - there's so much of London I haven't seen yet, so why cover the same ground more than I need to?

Reaching Ealing Hospital I regained some of my energy, although I wasn't feeling as spritely as I did 15km earlier.

I hadn't been a complete idiot. I'd eaten before leaving work, and I had some fruit with me. From Ealing Hospital there are a number of routes I can take home that are moderately short and anything I do between Ealing Hospital and Ealing Common gets me closer to home, not further.

I also had the option of stopping for a break. Being me, I didn't want that. I wanted to know how far I could manage in one session. No breaks.

Stopping long enough to get the fruit, I slowed my pace and ate and cycled as I headed through Ealing. I don't know if it was psychological, or if my body absorbed the fruit super fast, but I felt much better by the time I reached Ealing Common.

I elected not to take the shortest route home and added another 2-3km onto my route.

Distances Travelled

• Work → Richmond Park → Home - 45.48km

The Begging Slot

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