I did the 600K this weekend. Weather forecasts predicted a very wet ride, so I packed extra gloves and socks, in addition to an extra change of clothes for the overnight.
It started pretty cool in the morning before heading right into some rolling hills of the rural countryside until near the coastline, where there was a bit of constant head wind all the way up north. At least it was mostly flat along this route. Late morning and afternoon was pretty hot and this killed my appetite and ability to take in sold foods so I resorted to liquids as well as some "light" solids (mashed potatoes at KFC, instant cup noodles at petrol stations, etc). It rained later that evening which made progress a lot bearable, and then at the 320km checkpoint there was constant streaks of lightning in the sky which made me decide to find a budget hotel and spend a couple of hours to shower and rest.
Woke up and left the hotel at 2am, very nice and empty streets which was a nice contrast to the usual busy traffic of town. Unfortunately the lockdowns in my country are, although loosened but still very much in place, so there was practically nothing between midnight to 6am in the morning. So I had 4 hours of riding until I could finally find a small local place for breakfast. After that, it was back into hilly roads heading south back to the starting point, and back in hot sun again. What's worse, my feet were beginning to hurt pretty badly, probably due to a poor fit with my new shoes. I did ride with these shoes for the last few months, but apparently issues really start to show up only after 200-300km. Both toes were hurting as well as my right ankle. Too bad Garmin services are down at the moment, I would have loved to see what my left-right power ratio was like during this time.
The skies darkened during the last 20km, and then last 6km was a heavy downpour. Ended the ride cold and completely drenched. I started on Saturday morning at 5:04am and finished on Sunday 6:05pm, so effectively 37h 01m elapsed time. Not great, but apparently I was among the earliest to finish. There was another small group who finished at 5am, and then the next ones came at around 3pm. After that they may have been one or two more riders before me, but the bulk of the group arrived after me.
Starting point at 5:04am.
Not bad for a budget hotel. Nice bed, and warm shower!! Only thing missing was toothbrush and toothpaste, which I had to get from a nearby store.
Sunday morning view. Another 200+ kms to go.
Hot weather! And I had to go sock-less due to pain in both toes.
Finally done and dusted!
