You no doubt learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes and I can say that that rings true for me and my performance at Perth. Though, reflecting now on the ride I don't think I could have done any better than I did (dnf at control in Walpole at 555km) for reasons known only to my gastrointestinal tract and I find that I did learn a lot more about the long ride than I lost in not completing it. Don't get me wrong, I am disappointed, just not gutted.
Happily I was able to borrow a bike to ride the 200 into Perth after resting for a day and that was nice, despite an aggressive Magpie and a more aggressive brown snake so I racked up a brevet for the trip and about 770 km all up. I have practised travelling with bike and gear and most importantly seen the advanced stages of fatigue that happen on a big ride. Survivied the advanced stages of fatigue in fact. The biggest surprise was how quickly that feeling passes.
Typing on the iPad does not make for a flowing narrative so I will elaborate further upon my experiences when sitting at a proper keyboard.
