New distance pb :)

140 km today! In two parts; one, looping around some of the mountains and back for 125 km (plus a bit at the start to get onto my plotted course), and then 15 to get home from Munich itself. Town was, eh, busy, shall we say.

So, got out the door around 10ish, aiming to do this route. Took a train south for about 1.5 hours, trying to get as close as possible to the mountains. Rolling out, everything was going well, nice pace, hammering away well. Not noticing any inclines I was on til I couldn't turn the pedals any more and had to drop down to the small ring :D

The first 45 km passed well. The countryside around Munich is gorgeous, very quiet, lots of rolling terrain. Cows with cowbells. Very few cars for the most part, which is also nice. There was nothing particularly challenging about the cycle, mostly just a long steady drag up. Apart from a few sharper sections.

The last climb I did was pretty short, but also fairly steep. I've always wanted to do a hairpinned climb, they just look so cool and there's so much up crammed into a really short space. I was so wrong. It's so tough, rounding corners and seeing another three rows of up... Nah, who am I kidding. It was fantastic. The sense of satisfaction when you see that crest, knowing there's a 5% down gradient on the other side. Feeling the burn in your legs as they want to cramp up and leave, telling them to shut up. Must get to some longer climbs, once the legs forgive me for today.

The descents were fantastic, hairpins galore. Drivers were normally pretty courteous on these, allowing me to use the full lane to get around. If I had been stuck to the side of the road, things would have been a lot more difficult.

All was going well for the first 90 km. I covered these, which was most of the climbing, in under 3.5 hours. Then, I met the man with the hammer. He has a big hammer, and is not afraid to use it. Repeatedly. The legs let me know they had enough and were calling it day. Still 35 more km to go until the train station to get home... Oh well, more shut up legs, stick it into the small ring, and crawl. Took me almost two hours to cover that last 35 km. I dunno how many times I stopped. Twice to stretch out cramps, once to get some anti-bonk juice, also known as cola-orange mix and some jelly babies. The sugar really pulled me through the last few km.

Once I got to the train station, I hopped on a train back to Munich. Slept for a while, then off in the city center. Maybe not the best idea for the day that was in it :D The place was packed, so I decided to cycle the 15 km back home. The atmosphere in town was amazing, Germany really celebrates when they win! Crowds for miles. Weaving through them on the bike was fun :D

Miraculously, the rest on the train seemed to do the trick, the 15 km home passed without incident. Also, I have discovered the greatest recovery food; steak sandwich, chips and milk. Nom. Now, to find the best place to break this record...