Ok, wow, where do I start...
It was about 2.5-3 hours drive to the starting point so I had to try and sleep early (emphasis on "try"), wake up early and start driving by 2:30am on the Friday of February 14... therefore "abandoning" the wife and also starting out already lacking in sleep.
We have a short 5km flat start before the big climb. 60km uphill and about 1400m to the first checkpoint, then an equally long and fast downhill. After this, there are practically no flats; its hilly all the way. Weather was initially good at the beginning, with plenty of cloud cover to shield us from the sun, but later in the afternoon all that cover was gone and the heat from the road could probably cook an egg. This slowed us down significantly; I remember from a previous ride it only took 9.5 hours to reach the 160km mark but this time we took 11 hours to reach the second checkpoint.
After a bit of screwing around at the KFC checkpoint (we originally indended to just stop-and-go... but some people decided to add a snack, which became a snack-and-drink, which became a dinner meal...), we eventually made our way to the next 140km of the route. It should have been a pleasant ride since by this time the sun was going down and it would become pretty cool soon... but the 200-300km sections of the route we piss poor and riddled with potholes and other nasty nuggets - some would even be a hazard to a car. This meant slow and careful descending, which didn't prevent one of our group from hitting a hole and getting a puncture as a result.
We reached the halfway point somewhere around 3am (actually 2:39am, but after that some confusion and rerouting to get to a hotel) and got a short 3.5-hour sleep. It was a pretty cheap, budget hotel - no hot shower, no toilet paper, no toothpaste, nothing. At least the sleep was good and uninterrupted, albeit relatively short.
The route isn't a loop, so from here on we're just backtracking along the same way that we came. In daylight it was easier to make progress for the first 70km since we could see the road clearly and avoid all the nasty parts. Even had time to stop for pictures. After that, back to brutally hot sun. Not sure how accurate the Garmins are (someone said it doesn't measure actual temperature, but reads the heat that radiates off the ground?), but mine showed as high as 51°C after parking my bike out under the sun while having a drink for just a short while. The maddest thing is, the air is actually cool. Everytime I pass under the shade of a tree I can feel the cool breeze, and then once I leave its shadow it's burning hot again.
Less than 5 minutes after taking this picture, it was showing 51
We got back to the KFC at around 5:00pm. Someone had previously suggested that we book a hotel here to get a proper rest before doing the final 160km tomorrow, but I didn't like the idea. For one, I didn't plan my battery power strategy (e.g. power banks, lights, GPS, phone) for three days. Secondly, I wasn't keen on riding that last bit during the day, and under potentially more hot sun. Fortunately my group was with me on this and it turned out to be *mostly* a good idea. About 70km of heavy rolling hills in the dark, and in cool weather, was great. The 30km climb to the top was pretty brutal. I estimated an average 8% grade most of the way... which actually sounds pretty doable (it reminds me of Alpe du Zwift), but after over 500km and over 8000+m of climbing, there's a lot of fatigue in the legs.
But the climb wasn't the worst part. At the peak, it was pretty cold. PBP kind of cold, and I had not planned for it at all. I only had a rain jacket with me and that did nothing to stave off freezing hands and feet for the last descent to the finishing point. What's worse, apparently the cold air hitting my face somehow triggered my drowsiness and I had to stop for a power nap. After that I descended very, very slowly -- partly because it was still dark, but more importantly to avoid the cold air -- but all that braking landed me with a puncture on the front wheel. 20 mins of fixing later and it got a little bit warmer (well, 10°C vs 13°C didn't seem like much, but I could ride down faster and not squeeze the brakes every 2-3 seconds) so the descending after that was problem-free.
By the time I reached the bottom the morning sun was already out. Final roll to the end and I finished at about 8:22am. Got into the McDonalds to get my official timing at 8:24am for a total of 50h 24m.
Apparently Strava is having difficulties uploading my FIT file so, Garmin Connect will have to do for now...
I'm gonna echo one of my friends and say this is the last time I'm going to ever ride a Super
Randonnée. That was absolutely brutal, from the two extremes in temperatures, the nasty climbs, the sore bottom at the end.......... but eh, this is randonneuring. I'm
50% 75% 90% 99% sure I'll change my mind next year, if/when my Audax club organizes yet another one of these mad adventures!
And finally, my ride video:
https://tinyurl.com/trapmr2