It is 9am on the 14th of April. 170km have been covered in two days. Day 3 should have been a breeze, only 51km but something happened. My upper thighs stopped cooperating. Below is a transcript of the conversation my brain was having with different parts of my body as the pain set in.
Brain to Body: OK guys we are on a roll, 170km down 630 km to go. Today should be fairly easy only 51km!.
Upper thigh muscles to brain: We have decided to "chill out " today. 170km in two days is over our limit and we have no intention on going any further. Here is where we stop playing ball, capiche, comprendez??? At this point, there is a burning searing sensation in my upperthighs and they feel like two sacks of potatoes.
Brain: Guys keep going, I'll send you some endorphins
Upper thighs to brain: Keep your endorphins, they stopped working yesterday. What we need is a hot bath, deep tissue massage and copious amounts of sugar. Until we get all three we aint playing ball.
The next 50km were hell. My upperthighs screamed with pain at each hill and there were many. Each revolution of the pedals was a battle between my brain and my upper thigh muscles.
Then I began to have down hill visions. It was no longer possible to differentiate visually between uphill and downhill sections of the path. My brain was trying to fool my upper thigh muscles into action. At 4pm, after 5 hours of cycling, my upperthighs finally began to cooperate BUT a new set of rules were to be followed.
Rule 1: walk on all steep uphill stoney paths.
Rule 2: do not over exert the muscles (burning sensations = over exertion)
With the new rules, I made it to Santo Domingo de Calzada, a beautiful medival town and I was staying at the best place in town; Parador del Santo Domingo.
Lesson to me. Know your body's limits. The journey is much more fun (and less painful) at a slower pace.
This little motto could apply "life in general".
