96 miles!!!

Today I finally managed my 100 miles! (Well, 96 but it's close enough so I'm counting it!)

I did the same route as the last few weeks but went out a little bit further this time, ending up in Exmouth. I've never been there before so didn't realise how hilly it was from Exeter! I feel that I have truly experienced an "undulating" stretch of road now.

This week was obviously difficult as it was a massive ride but it was nowhere near as hard as last week. Having heard how much I struggled, 2 of my friends had offered to meet me for 20 miles or so in the middle of the ride which was a great boost to know I'd have people to ride with. However, they proved unreliable and dropped out at the last minute.

I woke up so determined to do the 100 that even going on my own didn't bother me. I woke up (for some crazy reason) at around 5.30am and so snoozed for a bit and then had my breakfast and got everything ready and was out of the house by 7am.

I stopped once at 25 miles for about 5 minutes for an energy gel, again at 56 for a nice pot of tea by the canal and again at 75 for another gel (yum yum) so with stops it took me around 7 1/2 hours to do 96 miles - which is more than enough time to make it to the ferry (hurray!) on day 1 so I'm not worrying about that anymore.(It is worth noting that I had a good 5-10 stops of about 30 seconds or so to remove flies from my eyes - yuk! Note to self - definitely need to start wearing my glasses!)

It is also worth noting that I really enjoyed today's ride. Even though it was difficult, it wasn't the struggle I was expecting and I don't feel completely wrecked after it now (although my legs are sorer than they have been after any of the other rides). It has definitely done a lot to boost my confidence, especially after last week's disaster ride.

I feel physically and mentally prepared now for Paris - and perhaps best of all, I am so excited to get going!