Woke up with the alarm – that’s definitely one of the best things about having a room – not being woken by the other campers!! Only problem this morning was that the hotel breakfast and laundry areas were not yet open (I needed to pay for my laundry) So I had myself a couple of protein shakes and a bowl of TdA porridge – then I was basically ready to go. There were a lot of people up and ready to leave early in anticipation of such a long day – a load had left just at sunrise (not that you could really tell through the clouds!) I then tried again at the hotel to pay for my laundry but as I am waiting I am getting worried that the group would leave without me! So in the end after waiting and waiting at Reception finally some girls arrive and I left them with some money to pay my bill – I hope it was enough!! As it turned out I was OK timewise – everyone was still standing around! I wanted to make sure I was the last person to clock out – finally we all agreed to go and I did clock out last. We got to the road and almost immediately it started to rain – it was a very flat road with swirling cross winds. Paul, Adam, Jorg, Scott, Dennis and myself all riding fairly well in the group. They slowly started to speed it up and Scott says he will help me as much as I need! He took the front and brought the speed down to 33kmph and just sat there – he did the best, mammoth pull for about 20/30 km keeping the speed at exactly 33 kmph. It was just what I needed – the perfect warm up. Got my legs going and I felt really good – I just sat right behind him!! Thanks Scott!! We got very wet but then the sun did come out for a while – and we caught up with the group in front which had just joined up with another group – so for a while we were riding with a large group of about 30 riders – it was really nice – just sat there and chatted to Bastiaan, Liam and the Brams for a while! Then I moved to the back of the group trying to get some info. I know the racers have been missing lunch recently but today is a long day to miss out on lunch entirely so I was trying to find out their thoughts and intentions!! Jorg and Scott both said they would be stopping but Dennis said it depended on Paul and Adam – Adam said not really and Paul was not too sure! We were with such a massive group I was worried that I would get caught in a long line at lunch. So I announced that I wanted my lunch and so was going to go on to get ahead of the queue. I moved forward and went off from the front, planning to have a quick lunch and still be able to catch up with those others not stopping! Only trouble was they followed!! Ended up with myself and Dennis off the front together and quickly chased down by Paul, Adam and Jorg. “So what are we doing Guys – are we having lunch or not? Why don’t we all decide to stop and eat lunch? If one of us isn’t going to then we will all skip….” I was back and forth trying to get them to decide! In the end I had enough and sped off at the front – just hoping that if I stopped they would as well! I felt pretty good so took off down the road – I thought lunch was at 75 km when it was actually at 80 km so I had left the main group a little too early. But it really didn’t matter! At lunch the group kind of half stopped – Paul was hovering over his bike – finally Adam and I put our bikes down followed by Dennis and Jorg – reluctantly Paul did as well! Though he continued to hover near it, making sure nobody left! I had a very quick bathroom break and made myself a tuna sandwich and filled my water bottles – then I also went back and stood next to my bike to eat my sandwich! Finally Paul hops on his bike and sets off immediately followed by Adam! He should just let him go as we all know Paul will leave and then ride slowly for a while if noone follows straight away – he’s done it plenty of times before! But Adam went after him which meant we all had to! Scott arrived at this time which was a shame as it would have been nice to ride with him as well – but I think he had already decided to ride in the big group for the rest of the day!
So there were just the 5 of us. The pace picked up after lunch though generally I would try to bring it down a little on my turns at the front – the wind was still swirling in our faces making it hard going. Then at about 100 km it started to rain – and I mean REALLY started to rain. There we are with over 100 km still to ride and the rain is so hard it is hurting my hands as it falls! I am also freezing cold and really shivering in the rain!
Adam appeared to be suffering a little now and so I did try to take advantage by trying to speed up a little at the front when he dropped behind – that always hurts if you are feeling tired. Dennis was doing the same to me as I was just behind him – Horst joined us at about this stage which was good as when he took the front it gave me a little bit of a rest! So at least I knew that after my turn it would be fast for the next go then slow down a little – it all counts!! But it was fine – I didn’t feel I was in any trouble – my heart rate was fine and my legs felt good – just still shivering in the rain – and then the wind would whip round right into our faces! The speed at this point dropped to about 22 kmph. At our earlier speeds I thought at least we should be finished in about 6 hours – at this rate now I was thinking it might take 81/2 /9 hours!!
We still had 80 km to go. We battled through about 30/40 km of really nasty weather. It finally started to clear up and the wind turned to the side allowing us to pick up our speed again which was good! I was really trying to be sensible about snacking on my bike as well – I had stocked up with a protein gel for 60 km out and a Red Bull to keep me going with 30 km to go!! The road was not too bad – bumpy tarmac but no potholes – the scenery the same as before so a boring ride in that sense! We did see some horses running alongside the road as well as a donkey! No people, no trucks – just us and the road! Just riding hard! I am feeling a lot more confident now – I am still with the group and happy with the speed. When I take the front I am able to go at a good speed – its just Paul who still picks it up there! Suddenly after my turn I drop back and Adam has gone – Paul tells me he has a flat. He had seemed tired earlier as well. All this time I had been chatting away – probably much to the annoyance of the others as I wasn’t getting much response (Paul had done this to me in the past and it can be really annoying I know!!). They all seemed pretty miserable though Dennis and I did have a few giggles along the way! I was actually quite enjoying myself! Anyway as we are getting closer and closer I am expecting Dennis to go at any minute and am wondering if and when Paul is going to. At 197 km I am really wondering what is going to happen. At 200 km Horst says “Thanks” and rolls off the back – he is not bothered about a win as he isn’t racing! Dennis has got a huge attack so I am just waiting for it – we are still doing our 1 km turns at the front. At 5 km to go Dennis attacked and I immediately went with him – in fact I had ended up pulling most of that last section – at a steady speed – just waiting for them to come past me so I could follow. Eventually Dennis pulls up next to me and we see the flag ahead “ Is that the Flag?” I say “Looks like it” replies Dennis. “OK” I say “Then lets go!!” So we both changed gears – you could hear the “clonk, clonk” of our bikes and then accelerated!! Dennis didn’t quite have it and I hear him shout out “Oh, nooo…” and I sprint the last 100 m to win by about 20 m or so!! And I am happy!! My first day back racing and I won – it was a great feeling!! I felt pretty damn good! Nice to have another mando win – everyone wanted it – it definitely wasn’t a gift and so I felt pleased!!
About 5 – 10 km before the end it had started raining again and was getting steadily harder again. We finished at the border and so Sharita was there with the truck with our passports. We were soaked and getting wetter by the minute. We left Botswana behind us and crossed the border into Namibia. Camp was about another km down the road – in fact down a big muddy mess of a track – there is mud everywhere in camp and everything is wet! But there were some cheap rooms available and I was happy to grab one. Although I was really tired I didn’t feel too bad - I actually had enough energy to sort myself out before going off to the restaurant – I was starving!! It is amazing that we can now actually ride so hard on relatively little food (Ok – I know we eventually make it up) – just a few protein shakes, some porridge and a tuna sandwich would not have seen me through a day like this in the past!! But now I needed food! One chicken sandwich, hot dog, pork schnitzel and fries plus another protein shake later and I feel better. After a lie down I will have the TdA dinner and then to bed for a good night’s sleep!!
I am still feeling good! For the first time since being sick I have enjoyed the whole day’s riding. And I am looking forward to the next two days (both about 100 miles) – although I intend to take them easy – not to race – I want to recover properly. Today’s win means a lot to me – but in the next section I am really going to try my hardest to win every day. I know I cannot improve my standings overall – but I would really like to win another section – the final section. In fact it would be great if Scott wins a few days as well (for his rhinos) – but I would really like to do well. Might seem a bit cheeky but that’s my plan! I am going to use the next couple of days to recover and the enjoy our rest day at Windhoek.
No comments:
Post a Comment