As if climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest wasn't enough for a Wollongong cyclist, he thought he'd do it again - this time double the distance.
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Ryan Petrie conquered the double Everest with his final total of 17,709 metres of climbing over 570 kilometres by going up and down Mount Keira about 49 times.
The 28-year-old tiler started just after 7am on Sunday and finished about 8.30pm on Monday.
Only five other Australians have completed the impressive feat, and yet, Petrie wasn't quick to shout his effort from the rooftops when recovering on Tuesday.
"There's not much to it to be honest. I did the single one in February, and I just wasn't really satisfied," he said.
"I knew I wanted to do the double because not many people have done it and no one's done it on Keira before."
A support crew set up a station at the top of Mount Keira where tubs of plain pasta, brown rice and banana awaited Petrie when he needed to refuel.
"I started getting reflux from all the sugar from the gels and stuff, that was pretty tough," he listed as one of the few challenges he encountered along the way.
"To be honest, I never really struggle mentally with that stuff, it's super weird. I think that's why I'm so attracted to ultra events ... it's kind of like therapy to me," Petrie said.
"There wasn't like a hard stage, I would probably just say the lap before the sunrise on the Monday morning."
Petrie never advertised he was completing the personal challenge, however, word caught on and 20 cyclists, 10 cars and even a couple on a Vespa joined him throughout his mammoth ride for some laps.
"There would have been over 10 people I've never met before ... who came up in their lunch breaks just to yell out their car and cheer me on then go home, which was super sweet," he said.
"It's pretty cool that people got around it because it's not something I would ask for but I appreciated it, even the smallest brief visit was really important."
And how are Petrie's legs holding up today? Surprisingly good.
"I got out of the car last night and I actually fell out because my legs just crumbled," he said.
"I woke up this morning at like six ... I got up and felt quite good. My legs actually feel better than after a big weekend, so I'm pretty happy about that.
"I'm hoping it doesn't hit me tomorrow instead."
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
