In a new video on the Global Cycling Network, inspired by Mark Threlfall’s recent challenge in which he ran a half-marathon every day, host Hank agrees to bike 100km every single day for an entire week.
“I feel like this one’s going to hurt,” he says. “Sleep deprivation, hours on the bike, sore legs, sore muscles.” Hank will also still be doing everything else that he usually would in a working week, meaning squeezing those miles into his regular routine will be a physical and mental challenge in itself.
Hank starts the challenge strong, surpassing his goal and riding 130km in 5 hours 11 minutes on the first day, but the exhaustion catches up to him when he wakes up on Day 2, and his legs feel incredibly heavy as he starts his second 100km ride. “I’m hoping I’m going to manage it,” he says.
The aches and fatigue continue into the third day of the challenge, exacerbated by lack of recovery time. “I had a good breakfast, a good protein shake, but I’m still pretty sore,” he says. “So I hope I can suffer my way through what’s going to be another hard 100K.” He only completes 75km this time, but he decides that his extra distance traveled on Day 1 helps to balance that out.
As the challenge continues, Hank also finds himself struggling to fit in both his allocated miles and his work responsibilities, and has to embark on his fourth hilly ride after a full day of filming. For the last couple of days of the challenge, he takes his rides inside, clocking up miles on a stationary bike in his home during the evenings. And then, for his final ride, he has company—which makes all the difference when it comes to staying motivated.
“It’s been pretty brutal, I have found it pretty hard trying to stay on top of sleep,” he says. “Then I tried to stick on my nutrition, getting enough protein in to help recovery in the muscles… Now I’m done, I’m pretty happy it’s over. I haven’t done 28 hours on the bike around work in a long, long time. My legs can definitely feel it, and I can tell you, I’m pretty knackered. But I’ve enjoyed it.”
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