The hardest ride I ever did???
Hmm what about a 600K (375mi for you imperialists) brevet in N-France where I got partially swiped by a car , had to replace my bottom bracket as the pedals were bent on a Saturday evening where I had the good luck to find a bike shop where the mechanic was willing to help me out.. and still make it back in time before time ran out, viz. 40 hrs for all of the ride. I did that one alone w/o any help 90% of the time.
But that was a mentally hard ride.. physically hardest ride? Hmmm MtVentoux is supposedly the hardest climb I did due to the height & length of it, but I didn't feel it that way since it only required consistant peddling in the lowest gear.
Much harder are having to battle headwinds w/o any respite for hours on end.
In conclusion.. many rides are hard or can be hard for different reasons. Mentally challenging rides tend to be harder than physically challenging rides. The one I'm proudest of would be that almost-DNF-but still-persevered-600K ride or LEL (London-Edinburgh-London) that I rode in 1997.
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