Oasts and Coasts 300Km - English

Wind from the west all day

The plan was to ride as fast as possible the first 200k to train the distance for the Quebrantahuesos and then ride relaxed for 100k to train my body to ride when tired.

The HQ, 5:30am

Very soon I found myself at the front of the group of six that was leading the way. We rode at a very strong pace the first 60k and the first few hills; but then they decided to stop and sit for breakfast and, since that was not my plan, I left them and went on my own. 

Battle

Not very clever movement from the tactical point of view, I still had a couple of hills ahead and a strong head wind on the flat, but the plan was to get the workout and that's exactly what I got. By the time I got to Hythe (150K) I was really tired. The stop was in a cafe and sensible thing would have been to stop there for launch, but hey, a plan is a plan.

By Polkestone (183k) I was already trashed, the wind and the last two hills got all I had. Luckily for me we get to the sea. The weather was sunny, the views magnificent and there were lots of pedestrians, there was no point on trying to push it. Time to relax and enjoy.

I decided to stop at Sandwich. Found a sunny spot and sat to eat my pasta salad. That was 203K in 9 hours. Not very impressive but I was really happy with the effort I had made. While I was sitting there I saw passing the group of five I had started with, they were 15 mins behind me but since my plan was to stop for 30mins that meant I was now 15 behind them.

I saw this one in Sandwitch

30mins of stop + 1 hour of relaxed riding + turning left and now having tail wind made me feel like I was recovered so started to gradually push it a bit.

By the time I arrive Herne Bay the group that was ahead of me was leaving. It took me 5 mins to sort out the control, go to the toilet and have an orange juice so when I was back on the bike they were not that far ahead.

Info control. Whats the name of that church?

I surprised myself riding at a very decent pace. Being the road flat and having tail wind certainly helped but still  I was pushing the bike relatively strong.

Sooner than expected I saw a rider in front of me. It was one of the five. He told me he was really tired and he couldn't keep the pace of the others. I rode with him for 5 minutes but it was very clear he was too slow so I wave goodbye and started to push it again.

Around the 260 mark I got to another rider from the front group. He had a puncture and by the time I got to him he was ready to go. He was a very nice Scotsman and very soon we found ourselves involved in a conversation that went from cycling to nationalism covering children education and the loyalty of dogs on the way. I really enjoyed riding with him and what happens when you are enjoying a conversation while you ride is that kilometers go away without noticing and suddenly we were almost finished. 

We still allowed ourselves for a last effort climbing the hill that took us to the final control. Big chainring and 279w for 10mins was a great way of finishing a great day of riding.

A few numbers:

• Kilometers: 311.14
• Climbing: 2,645m
• Moving Avg speed: 24.5 km/h
• Max speed: 63.0 km/h
• Total Time: 14:21:51
• Moving time: 12:39:16
• Time stopped: 1:42:35
• Global avg speed: 21.66km/h
• Consumed calories: 7,536
• Avg Heart Rate: 116
• Max Heart Rate: 163
• Avg Cadence: 78
• Max Cadence: 240 (which obviously is an error)
• Max Power: 666
• Norm Power: 202
• My bike has 21,514.20 km
• Link to Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/51152562