Suffering is bandied about a lot in cycling. It is a badge of honour that riders will wear when they are seen to be able to accommodate higher loads of it. Some people seem to be able to take pain like they are eating an apple in a deck chair, whilst others put their hand up and say 'enough' at the slightest difficulty.

Getting out and going long, and riding an epic with mates is one of the most enjoyable and memorable parts of cycling. Yeah, good hit outs of a morning, or on the weekend can be great fun, but the big, hard, long days in the saddle, those are the ones we sit and dream about.  

Jason English is the current, and multiple, world and Australian, 24 hour mountain biking world champion. 7 time world champ as a matter of fact. 7 times CONSECUTIVE. He is almost unbeatable in an ultra distance race.

After logging on to Strava, and seeing a mate, Mark Zanker, had just uploaded a HUGE ride, I asked him what he did the ride for. 'Just because' was his answer! What a perfect response.

We got to Salt Creek some time after midnight, I really have no idea of exactly when it was. A quick water in and water out stop, and we looked down the road for a spot to sleep. The winner was literally a ditch, filled with native grass, in the open

1am rolled around, and it was back on the road. Man I felt awful. Tired, cold, and back on the hypnotic misery of the flat, dark and straight highway. I started to get small thoughts, doubting that I would make it. 

Families.... Always getting in the way of stuff.... (Love you darling if you are reading this). So what else to do? I was scratching around thinking of something, and came up with the idea to ride from Melbourne to Adelaide, non-stop. That'd be massive, I'd only need to buy a few parts and supplies, and a flight to Melbourne. Easy enough to organise. 

Riding with a fixed gear on the road gives you a feeling like no other. You feel intimately connected with the terrain you are riding on.

For ages I resisted, I refused to shave my legs. I would actively make fun of any of my friends who did do it, I just thought it was dumb. 

Then over time, that opinion softened somewhat, then a lot, and now I have silky smooth legs all of the time.

Hell I shaved in the shower earlier today so I would have smooth legs on my non-cycling related work conference in the tropics.

I ride my bike a lot. Not 'pro-level-a-lot', but 300 kilometres a week. I think is a fair bit for a bloke with a full-time job, and a family with 2 small kids under 5.

It takes a shed-tonne of planning, and a solid association with the discipline fairy to make that volume work.