During the Covid-19 pandemic we were only allowed to practice sports outside in small groups. This is when some of my friends and I started cycling regularly together.
We decided to set ourselves a goal which we could work to. This goal became a 200 kilometer ride since we had never done such a long ride before.
Although it was a tough ride it also was an adventure so we decided to plan another 200 km in 2022. And now it's becoming a yearly tradition because we just finished our 200+ kilometer ride yesterday.

Preparations

In the last months we've been preparing ourselves for the ride. Every week we extended our weekly training rounds with a couple of kilometers building is up to over 100 in the last few weeks.
A couple of weeks ago I did a final test with an 137 kilometer ride. Still far from 200+, but we've done it before.

We created a route in Komoot. The idea was to go all the way to the north in the Netherlands along the coast and cycle back through the dunes.
Luckily the wind came from the north/east, so we had a headwind the first 100 kilometers and a tailwind on the way back.

The last part to the north was pretty tough. There was quite a bit of wind and the area was completely open, so we had no shelter at all. We were quite happy we could turn around to head back home.
It was quite warm with 27 degrees Celsius, so halfway we had to refill our bottles and apply some more sunscreen.
The way back through the dunes was beautiful. I've cycled a lot in the dunes, but never in this part of the Netherlands.
You have such a wide view which is very unique in this crowded country.

It's a lot up and down through the dunes, but the tailwind helped a lot. Some cycling paths are asphalted, some paved and a few are gravel.

We finally made it home after 220 kilometers. The last 20 kilometers I'm always struggling. Fatigue, sore muscles, and pain in the shoulders take their toll. But we made it again.

I treated myself with a well deserved beer in the backyard:

Stats

And here are the stats. 220 kilometer in just under 8 hours of cycling.
And now my body needs some days of rest 😃

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FriendlyMoose

Creating blogs about photography, cycling, gardening, craft beer and more...

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Every week I create a post with an overview of all the photography contests on Hive. You can find the weekly overview post by checking the #photocontests tag.
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Check out the posts with the #pobphotocontest tag.

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