L2A Day 3 - Mind Vs Body

As I lay in bed writing this, not able to move any part of my body without wanting to shout "Ow", I've been able to reflect on what an achievement it was on Day 3 to make it from Bruges to Breda. Especially considering all of the injuries which I now seem to be carrying.

Pain from the start

The journey yesterday started from Bruges at 07:30 and immediately I was in agony. For some reason my left knee was screaming in pain and it meant getting out of the cobbled streets was excruciating. Coupled with not really being able to sit down, the first couple of Kms were very hard going.
When I managed to get some pain relief into me, the morning stroll to the passenger ferry at Breskens was superb. Some beautiful scenery flew by as we bumbled along at 16mph in the sunshine and before we knew it, we were 40km in and the passenger ferry was on us.

Once we got off the ferry we were held up by one of the group having a pretty nasty looking crash which required an ambulance, but I'm happy to say that he was released from hospital later in the day.

The stint from Vlissingen to lunch was initially very picturesque as we rode on the vast expanses of cycle highway but pain relief started wearing off and the last 20km before lunch was a slog.

The afternoon became a real war of attrition between body and mind. My knee, ankle, groin, neck and feet were all telling me to pack it up and go home. My mind was doing its best to tell them all to shut up and keep the pedals turning. I will admit to punching the air in celebration when I finally made it to Breda. However, 90 further miles now separates me from completing this challenge and I am absolutely dreading getting back on the bike today.

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