This was going to be a long race, last year I finished in 2:29, even with some bike problems, so I was a bit more confident this time. My bike was better then last year. The difference was that last year I had done all my bike training on my MTB, whereas this year, I had only been using my road bike for the last months, well I would just have to see how it would go.
There was 2 distances 55k and 90k, I went for the 55k. I am not a biker (yet) so that was fare enough for me.

The race starts with a police escort the 2,5k out of the city to where the timing will start. By escort I mean there was one police car leading us on the way in a slow manner. We where just over 100 riders, and I learned last year that it is not good to be too fare back when the race starts. This year I had placed myself right at the front, it is also a good place to keep out of trouble. We get to where timing starts and I made a hard acceleration and crossed the line first :) I was in front :) (for now) The first part is a bit downhill so we are cruising along pretty nicely. There are some more “pretenders” in the front with me, that is the ones who have new bikes and new clothes and look so fast, me old clothes and a VERY old bike. The first 2k or so is on paved road, and it is pretty easy going, then the first stretch of gravel road starts, at this point I sprint from 8-10 people down to get to the lead. I just wanted to have a clear road in front of me, and this way I can set the pace. Well that did not workout quit that way, because coming up fast from behind, I had pulled some of the “big boys” with me, and when I settled into my pace, they did not, they just short pass me. Doh…what had I done. I tried to keep up with them but, I could feel the pace was to high at this point, so I did not want to hang on to them (not want to = not being able too). Then came the first small downhill section, and everybody (still being fresh) just powered down it, I fell back a bit because my back break is not the best, so I do most of my breaking with my front break !! That is not really something you want to do. Going down the hill the first person lost his drinking bottle. It had happen to me too last year after 20k, so this time I had 2 bottles on my bike. And just when feel happy that it was not my bottle that went…..do I need to say more…...bye, bye water. At this point I was just happy that I had put the extra bottle holder from my road bike on.
After navigating the first downhill part and some high-speed corners, the pace dropped and every body got back together. Which was ok in my book. Then onto a paved road again, this section was about 8k long. Here I had some Gel, as I knew after this section, it would be a long time before I would get another chance. After my Gel I had 1 go at splitting the pack, but as nobody really wanted to help, it did not really do anything, except making my legs tired (great move…NOT). I then decided to hang back a bit. Of course while I was in the middle of the pack, a group of 3 just rode away. Well it was some of the 90k people so it was ok, and nobody tried to get them back. Just before the paved road ended I went back to the front. We where now on a gravel road (still a good road) but after 0.5k we would turn off it and take a very small back road. You can drive it in a normal car (slowly), but it had been raining a lot lately and there are a lot of big potholes so a 4x4 is the normal choice on this “road”. My plan had the whole time been, to be in front when we start this section as the first hill would be coming up right away, and this would break up the pack. And it did, it was short, but gaps where made. I wanted to stay in front because the longest hill of the section was coming up after 1k and that would be a killer. I manage to stay among the first 3 the whole time up to the hill, and I was ready for it, or so I thought ! I had been here training a couple of times and knew the hill pretty good, how hard I could ride it, how long it was and so on. Only problem was that I had been alone, so when 3 people went by at the beginning of the hill, I was forced a bit wide, into the really lose stuff, and here it was almost impossible to find any grip. I was mad with myself, “stay on the harder ground”, that was all I had to do, I knew it, so why had I not done it! The moment I got on a harder surface I had no problems driving by some of the guy who had just passed me. Now there where only 2 guys in front of me, they only had 15 meters or so, but I was fighting hard to close the gap, I got up to them but I could feel that my legs had been in “the red zone” too long. They needed a rest, but they where not getting what they wanted because we had opened a gap to the pack. Actually the pack did not exist anymore, it had blown to piece on the last climb, and now there where only small groups of riders fighting to group up again. Up in front we where going fast, (ok not me, I had trouble just hanging on) So it was the 2 other guys that did all the work. Then we got join by 2 other guys who had fought there way back. I was still at the back of the group, and I was fighting, not just to hang on, but just following the guy in front of. At this point we where on a harder clay ground, and they where a lot of big potholes and deep tire tracks, all full of water. So navigating here while being on the wheel was not easy, so I fell a bit back so it would be easier to go around the holes. At some point I could not keep my bike straight and had to go in a pothole, it was not to bad for me, as I had almost passed it. “Arrrrrrrrr” is what I heard then, a guy who ad come up behind got sprayed big times, this guy actually went on to win the race, but I had just covered him in mud. Ups ! I do not know if it was because he had just got sprayed, or he felt things where moving a bit slow, but he went straight up to the front. This was just too much for me, there was no way I would be able to survive that pace, so I dropped of the back we still had over 30k to go, so I tried to find a good pace where I could recover a bit. I needed that, my leg was so happy that I was giving them a break, a couple of guys went by me, and there was nothing I could do about it, my legs where in recovery mode, and they wanted to stay there! :(
Finally I manage to get a bit more speed out of my legs and catch up to the last guy who had passed me. I was faster on the uphill sections and he was a lot faster then me on the downhill section as I still took it easy going down.
The next 10k was pretty much just up and down, trying to avoid the potholes, stones and mud.
Finally this section ended, and we where back on a “normal” gravel road. We now join 2 other riders who had stoped at the water station to watch mud out of there gears. So we where a 4 man group, and it was moving ! Again I had trouble hanging on, but I knew I had to, if I could only hang on for 5-6k because then the longest climb of the day would come, and even though I had trouble with the pace, I knew that it would change ones we reached the climb. About 2k before the climb we court another rider, and the pace slowed down just a little, which I found good. I had been hanging on as the slowest rider in the group for a long time, but I know (well I hoped) my time would come now. The climb has 4 parts, each is luckily shorter then the one before, HOWEVER ! It would get steeper and steeper. Just before we hit the climb I move over to the other side of the track and moved up.
They where redoing the first part of the road, so it was nice and hard, but very bumpy. I was almost next to the leader, when I had to move down to my smallest ring in the front, and at the worse possibly time, the chain went off :( zyxtdfdjsg The chain had gone on inside, I tried to change it to a bigger ring and it went back on the middle ring. It was back on, but it was now stuck on the middle ring, as I had to push very hard just to keep some forward motion. I tried going on the smallest ring in the back, and that helped. Reluctantly the chian moved to where it was suppose to be. Within a split second I went from a gear I could hardly push to my smallest one. Oh the relive :-) AT this point everybody had passed me again, but they where almost standing still and I had no problem going by them again. I reached the leader, and he looked at me and said “now we are in the mountains” I just said “oh yes” and then I dropped him :) I was the biggest guy in the group, maybe there was one my size, but I just rode away from them. I have no idea how I do it, I don’t think I am going that fast, but they probably thought otherwise :) The longest climb was over but there was only a short break before the next. This turned out to be very hard simply because the surface was so lose. I was having problems; even in my lowest gear it was very slow going. I did make it over, but with very tired legs now, the next part was not so bad, it was steep, but the surface was so much harder, so it went by in no time. Last climb, it was very short but steep ! But also here was the surface good, I was actually able to stand up, just to use the muscles a bit different, I was half way up when I had to sit down, I quickly change down the 3-4 gears to my lowest; Nooooooo, I had changed to fast, the chain had not stopped on the biggest ring. I had to jump of the bike, it was no problem moving in back, but it was costing time, because this part was so steep I had to walk up to the top before I could get back on the bike. Well I was still in front, and with a long downhill I knew they would probably catch up. But as long as we would be together at the bottom, that would be fine. I still wanted to whole back a bit, as bad as my back break had been at the beginning of the race it was probably not better now. The first part was not that bad it still went down but corners where very gentle, and I was able to take them pretty fast.
Then I probably got a bit to confident, I was going power-break-look-power-break.
Then a right turn came up………that was not so gentle, when I saw it I knew it would be a close call. But there was noting I could do, with most of breaking going into the front wheel, I was not able to turn. As I hit the loser gravel on the outside of the bend, while I was still trying to turn, the inadvertently happen. The front wheel went under me. I did not really notice it happen, it went by so fast. One second I was on the bike, the next I was on the ground in front of my bike. I was just lying there waiting for the pain to hit me. But it never came ! Hmm that was wired. I started getting up when the guy behind came, he most have gotten a chock see me lie there, he braked hard, and as we have just learned, then it is not easy to turn ! Somehow he managed to stay on his bike and not hit me, luckily. I quickly convinced him I was ok, and off he was. I got back on my bike and went after him; well not very fast it has to be said. The rest of the group started going by me, I could keep up on the straight sections, but in the turns I lost a lot of time. I was now around 30 seconds behind the group, the good thing was that there were no more hills and just 4-5k before we would get to a small city and paved roads. I was going pretty fast I thought, I was not cashing them, but I was not losing to them either. I now had a chance to look at myself, and feel if everything was still there. I was bleeding from one of my fingers, and had lost some skin on my hands but nothing major. I could feel that my shoulder had taken a hit, but that also did not seam so bad. So on to the finish, just 5k more, with most of them on paved roads, there was no way I was not going to finish this. The last bit of off road biking was one of hardest, there was so much mud, and still a little chocked, I did not want to fall in, so I just to it easy.
Oh yes, the final bit, just 3k on a paved road to the finish.
Finally the finish line, I can not believe it when I see the time 2:14. How did that happen ????
It is over and I can finally take a look at my arm. When I take my shirt off, it at first dose not look very good, there are some blood on my elbow which is quit swollen, and also on my shoulder. But ones the blood gets cleaned off a bit, you can see that it is not so bad. Thank god I had on long pants and 2 long sleeved shirts, else it could very well have been very, very bad. I have a red mark on my forehead from the helmet, and a lot of small scrapes everywhere. I don’t think I want to race that bike anymore !!


Don’t crash !!!!
Save energy on the first paved section, get a metal bottle holder, so I don’t lose a bottle.
Do more off road downhill section in training.

Got the blood cleaned off. Then went into the Blue Lagoon, a thermal lake. Great way to warm up an exhausted body.
Got home and had 1 ½ Subway, plus candy and 7-up, and just relaxed.



Not being able to go downhill without crashing !!!!


Long and hard, but need a better bike before I do it again.