I run on carbs, so my diet is very different to yours. But plenty of people do ride low carb, even keto. It's a conscious lifestyle decision for them though, and others only have carbs at all towards the end of a long ride. It takes time, effort and commitment to adapt to that, and it's not for everyone.
Your typical daily diet as described in the question is comparable to what low-carbing friends would eat. Unless you've put a significant source of carbs on them, the steak and chicken will have very little carbs; the biggest source is likely to be the chickpeas. You probably exhausted your glycogen reserves on the longer ride, and maybe would have done whatever your diet. Your strong thirst is compatible with burning fat, which takes water.
You don't have to overcompensate for your suffering this time, by going to a carb rich diet, if you don't want to. Simply adding a carb-based snack (e.g. a banana) half way through may be all you need. Another thing that may help is a source of protein during the ride. Certainly I ache less after a fasted ride by starting a protein drink after about an hour, and that was more noticeable when I first started fasted training (a similar distance to your rides, and quite possibly with a similar level of carbs in my system).
Some riding through winter would be helpful unless it's actually unsafe due to ground conditions etc. Many people routinely ride through severe winters