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Yesterday, I decided to ride to work using BestMate's route.  Essentially, this involves riding to the CBD, getting onto the Bicentennial Bikeway, joining the Western Motorway bikeway, then hitting the back streets near BestMate's place to get to work.  I put the laptop into a backpack, threw in my bike lock and a few other representative odds and sods (to simulate weight) and off I went.

Somewhere around the 10Km mark, I realised I didn't have the legs for a long ride.  For those who know the route, that means I was halfway to the CBD when I realised I was in trouble.  For reasons unknown to me, I chose Bitchy Hill instead of Stop Sign Road in the back of Herston.  This, when I knew my legs weren't up to the ride.  In my mind, I justified it by saying to myself that Bitchy Hill might be tough, but at least I didn't have to stop in the middle of it and start again.  You know that feeling you get, when you're halfway up a tough hill, and you try to change to an easier gear, only to find there is no easier gear?  That feeling of crushing defeat, combined with angst that you might lose all momentum and fall off the bike, combined with "oh crap!", and a bit of "I'd really rather not get off and walk"?  That's how I felt riding up Bitchy Hill.  I fought all temptations to walk the hill, and eventually made it to the top, huffing and puffing.

As I rode the corresponding descent, my head was filled with a glorious sense of achievement, probably endorphin-related euphoria, and I forgot all about the trauma of Bitchy Hill.  I rode on to the CBD, feeling very chuffed at having conquered Bitchy Hill.

My joy was short-lived, however.  I made it onto the Bicentennial Bikeway, and rode for only a few Km when I started to get cramps in my feet.  My feet.  This has never happened before!  I pulled over into a water stop area (thankyou, BCC, for installing these - it's long overdue), refilled my water bottles, forced about a million gallons of water down my throat, and rubbed my feet until the cramps went away.  Urgh, it was bad.  In hindsight, I should've gone to the shops at Toowong (only a small detour) and bought some Powerade.

Finally, I set off again, but by then I knew it was just a matter of one foot after the other, making myself pedal until I got to BestMate's place.  When I arrived, I was absolutely wasted.  I told BestMate there was no way I could push on to get to work, and stopped for a rest at his place.  To his credit, he humoured me (knowing full well that I would eventually get back on the bike and finish what I started), and fed me some very nice eggs on toast with orange juice.  What a guy!!!

After sitting around for about an hour, I decided to give it a shot.  I left my backpack etc at his place, and rode "light".  It's actually a pretty quick and easy ride, but I struggled.  Every little climb felt like Mt Everest.  Also, I took a wrong turn that took me up a turd of a climb (though not as bad as Bitchy Hill).  I eventually arrived, and met BestMate at the local McDonald's for a coffee.  Total ride distance was 44Km.

This route turns out around 6Km longer than the SE Freeway route, but I felt infinitely safer doing it.  The paths are much better, and the ride involves only one or two main roads.  All in all, I think this will be the preferred way to get to work.

Lessons learned from Sunday's ride:

• I need to eat better when I'm commuting.  That means instead of Weetbix and fruit, I should eat a tin of baked beans and some toast.
• I need to drink much more than I did.  In this summer heat, I should take some Gatorade with me, or stop somewhere and buy some Gatorade or Powerade (Gatorade is good to stave off dehydration, but once dehydrated, Powerade works better for me).
• I need to make sure I'm gone by 0530.  At 0515, I should make a go/no-go decision about whether to commute that day.
• The laptop and other bits and pieces weren't as heavy/burdensome as I thought they'd be.
• Though the route is longer, the Western Motorway route is safer overall.

I think that commuting both ways, to start with, will be unrealistic.  It's one thing to do a 44Km ride.  It's another to do a 44Km ride, work all day, then do another 44Km ride in the dark.  So I'll be working my commutes around BestMate's and MaxBabe's schedules, so that if I'm feeling tired, one or the other of them can give me a lift home.

So all in all, I'm making progress.  Now I'm just waiting for my backpack to arrive from Wiggle, then there's no excuses!!!