Cycling Big Distances

I don’t know what it is about cycling big distances, but I love it.⁣⁣

My heart and soul just loves riding a bike for a long time and covering ground. It doesn’t bother me if it’s made easier from flat roads, tail winds or perfect weather conditions – my heart still sings. ⁣⁣

I suppose I get a buzz out of it – 70miles (110kms) is great, but 100 miles (160kms) is better.⁣⁣

I’d love to be fast, I’d love to be good off road, but I seem to have a natural pull to distance. I found the same with running – I get more fulfillment and enjoyment from slow, long runs than quicker ones.⁣⁣

When we were looking at the route between Vang Vieng and Vientiane I noticed the route was pretty flat. I said to Stew we could try and do it in a day. The total distance was 100miles. He rationalised that there was no need for us to push so hard – and to be fair, he was right.⁣⁣

We got on the road pretty late the next morning, 10:00am and set off to do whatever distances we fancied then the next day we’d cover whatever was left to Vientiane.⁣⁣

We rode an easy 60 miles and decided we might as well just keep going – just a bit further.⁣⁣

With no destination in mind we were crushing miles and steaming on riding 20mph (30kmh) without any troubles. I laughed out loud at us riding with such gusto without an agenda. Before we knew it we’d cycled 75 miles and there were only 20 left to Vientiane.⁣⁣

We looked at guesthouses nearby, but it seemed pointless to pay to sleep 20 miles away, so we loaded up on some quick calories – I went for the chocolate soy milk, which gives me A LOT of energy quickly and we pressed on.

We cycled into the darkness and made it to Vientiane within the day despite our late start and Stew’s initial feelings against a long day.⁣⁣

I got a real sense of achievement – I loved it and I love that I can still get a kick out of cycling.⁣

🚀 What gives you a boost?⁣