Ok, I just arrived in Bacalar, Mexico. I rode 120 km or 75 miles. At the beginning of the day, after I had a large breakfast and two cups of coffee, I was really hauling. By the end of the day, I was struggling/dragging/going slowly--but I made it nonetheless. I even turned down a ride offer at about 3:30pm, I am so proud of myself^^. I left at about 11:30am or 12pm, and I arrived at 6:15pm, after dark. I am expecting Bacalar to be awesome, like paradise. It is on a large, fresh-water lake, and there is swimming. I am sure there is lots of wildlife.
Perhaps I will get up early and go swimming, and then head out on bike. Or I will stay in Bacalar all day, enjoy it, and leave the next day. My hotel, or "pousada", room is only 200 pesos or $18/night. And it is fairly nice--large bed, bathroom with shower, first floor near the entrance--I can easily roll my bike in and out. That price, combined with what Bacalar has to offer, makes staying the day more attractive.
To recap today: I got up around 9:30am and packed my bags. Then I had breakfast at the Pheasant and the Deer hotel's restaurant. I ate the last of my turkey and cheese sandwiches and then I ordered lots of food to power me through the day: "lime soup" which contains chicken, tortilla chips, diced tomatoes, tasty broth, and a slice of lime; fresh fruit covered with yogurt and granola; a large orange juice; water; and two cups of coffee. After I finished breakfast, I loaded my bags onto my bike. The hotel staff joked with me that I would get to Bacalar (112km) in 1 hour. I bid them farewell and headed first to the bike shop to see if they had a bar-end cap. As it is a road-bike part, naturally they did not have it. So I hit the road towards Bacalar, snapping a shot of the hotel on the way out.
I turned on my music, including some new tracks and some "Power of Positive Thinking" tracks my Norman Peale. Again, the first part of the day, I was really high-tailing it. I stopped several times throughout the day: to refill my water bottle; to buy pineapple juice and coconut water; to eat a chicken "salbute"--a fried tortilla type thing with chicken, tomato and avocado on top--and limeade in the town of limes--"Limones"; to check out the town of Buenavista and its lake view and access (took picture); a couple other times to rest and drink water.
Going through my head throughout the day: the first part of the day I was focusing on the horizon, the furthest point on the road I could see, which basically focuses me and motivates me to reach that point. This focus, combined with being well rested and the coffee, resulted in high power output and fast progress. Later in the day, pain in my back, between my shoulder blades, and in my hands and wrists began to dominate my experience, and the fatigue in my legs and body overall. This I suppose can be expected towards the second of consecutive 100km+ days, both against the wind. Nevertheless, I would like to find a way to eliminate the pain between my shoulder blades and in my hands and wrists. I have been thinking of installing the trekking bars I have in my luggage or getting a different drop bar that is more anatomical, perhaps flares out a bit at the bottom, and perhaps is a bit wider at the top. If I go with the confort bars, I will also have to order a different set of brake levers and shifters. The comfort bars will be better for rougher terrain, with more gravel, stones, dirt and/or bumps. I can probably expect more of that further South into Central America. At this point, I am only considering changing bars; I am hoping that just rest and practice will lessen or eliminate the pain. The fatigue can be addressed with increased rest, enhanced nutrition, practice, and evening out my exertion throughout the day.
The next leg of my trip will likely put me in Belize. Chetumal, still in Mexico and a bit out of the way, is only an hour and a half down the road and may or may not be worth the time. I will have to look at the map to determine where in Belize I will stop next.
At the moment everything is going well. I am feeling good. And I will celebrate my birthday in Belize, it appears. Perhaps I will make it to one of those awesome islands off of Belize's coast.