The ride officially commenced at 06.30. There were 13 starters ( M/F 11/2) one retired after 30km (he had not recovered from a foot injury as much as he had wanted too) 3 riders zoomed off and a group of 9 formed after 60km that stayed together for the rest of the ride. There was a minor accident between two riders (not me) at the start and I got away at 6.42. The first 140km mostly on lightly trafficked roads featured panoramic vistas that I find most enjoyable. The route was very undulating with two very notable climbs. The 4km climb up from the Murrumbidgee River being one and Reardons Hill on the Hume Hwy while shorter and not so steep was notable for the heat off of the concrete road. This was my most challenging ride, and will file under what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I look forward to the increased strength. The temperatures were very high and remaining hydrated was a constant challenge for me. I think the heat dropped my electrolyte levels and I wasn't able to catch up. I struggled with cramping of the quads for 100km and eventually devised a strategy of high cadence pedalling to overcome. I worked out that if I kept the cadence at around 106 I could keep the cramping under control, the penalty is that I had an elevated HR so I had to workout a pace to keep cadence up and the HR down as low as possible. When I couldn't keep the cadence up on a climb I worked out that I could pedal through it. This was quite a learning experience. Gunning to Gundarroo and Gundarroo the Nanima Rd turn off were a bit of a chore mostly due to the heat and the traffic. This data set is flawed the section between Yass and Gunning is not reported. The Garmin was almost useless a route guide it must have been as hot as I was. There is approximately 2 hours of data missing but the distance is correct. There is several 100's of metres of climbing and descending missing, the moving time was approx 9 hrs and the avg spd was about 23 kph.