At the beginning of May 2021, I took part in my first ultra-cycling race: the Race Around The Netherlands (RATN). It’s a race « a little more difficult » than the GravelMan: 1913km in a maximum of 9 days. As for this one, I will be doing several blog posts that will present to you how I prepared, how it went and what conclusions I drew from it. Again, it may be very long. I apologize but I am not forcing anyone to read me ^^. Also, what I’m saying here is by no means a manual to follow, it’s just my way of doing things. Depending on your cycling experience, you will be more or less prepared than me. You have to find your rhythm and your types of training.
The least we can say is that I had a
Heckled prepration
For those who don’t know, I ordered a gravel bike in October 2020. This one was supposed to arrive at the end of January 2021. So I could test it at my ease because the RATN takes place on April 30th. Except that mid-March, I learnt that the bike would probably not arrive before July 2021. This is why I participated in GravelMan with my Decathlon bike. I had considered at the time to do the same with the RATN, but the weight of the bike was starting to become a problem. 17kg on its own or without bags becomes tricky over 2000km. This is also why I decided to buy another bike, lighter and more aerodynamic.
Thanks to Clotilde, I had a great Peugeot road bike to loan out for as long as I wanted. So I was able to do my 2 ultra-cycling events of 2021 with this one. But, I had it in hand a month and a half before the RATN. Even though I rode everything I could with it, the timing was still not optimal. I had made a round trip to my grandmother’s to do 140 km during the day and see what it was like. I came back confident and relieved to find that my Craft bib shorts were a good fit for this bike. This is the shorts that are sold for ultra-cycling. But, I had tried it on my Decathlon bike and it sawed off my thighs. Simply because I have a much too upright position on this bike. On Jules, Clotilde’s bike, it is perfect. When I started riding more than 150km, I wondered whether I should wear bib shorts. I never felt the need until October 2020. That month, I planned to do two days at 240km then a last one at 150km. The goal was to test my physical resistance to these three days as well as to taste various foods (cereal bars and others). I came back from the first day with a slightly sore butt but that has passed. The second day had to be cut short because after 100km, I couldn’t take it anymore! Impossible to stay in the saddle! The 30km to reach the nearest railway station were a real ordeal and that’s when I decided to wear bib shorts.
For the RATN, there is no route to prepare, it is provided. There are checkpoint times in some places but no intermediate checkpoints with people. So I focused on finding accommodation and food. After some research I had found that there were several supermarket chains in the Netherlands. So I wasn’t too worried about whether I was going to find stores on a regular basis. In addition, after having looked at the route, I saw that we were passing through villages or towns on a regular basis, which made it possible to get supplies. I was wrong about the small villages and was going to find out about it very quickly.
In terms of accommodation, I found it easier to stay on a campsites, because the opening hours are wider than hotel receptions. I didn’t rule out doing one or two wild bivouacs either, even if it stressed me out a bit. It might have worked, if it hadn’t been really stressed. During my preparatory research, I took interest in the weather. From blog posts from other years, I knew that the entire north coast was probably going to be the one with the most headwinds. From the country’s weather statistics, I knew that potentially I would spend one day out of two under the rain. But that’s the game, no worries. I have good equipment and the rain doesn’t scare me. The wind on the other hand is more annoying. But I told myself that it will be all-good and to just concentrate on pushing on the pedals. I felt ready. I was far from suspecting that I was going to take a storm on my head!
On a physical level, I knew I could do the kilometers because I already do 200 km for the work on a loaded cargo bike every week. And I also do leisure rides so my legs where ready. The big question was to know if I could chain days at more than 200 km for 8 days. Impossible to prepare for that, we will not be racing before the race! While riding Jules, I also had some concerns about the position on the bike. It’s a road bike, I’m leaning forward a lot more than what I’m used to and my first trip with it was a bit chaotic. And I was also very afraid of having the « Shermer’s neck ». It’s when all the muscles in your neck give up on you. It is impossible to hold your head upright. So I picked up every advice I could on how to be positioned on the bike correctly. I also added aero bars to the bike to have several different positions. In theory, this would allow me to relieve my neck and arms. And it’s not going to go too badly, although I’ve been very careful.
My goals and my equipment
To have the title of finisher, you have to do the RATN in 9 days. I planned everything while aiming for 8 days to keep one day in case of problems. That’s 235km per day. I felt capable of it. The weather was what would prevent me from doing it. And Covid would change the situation a little just a few weeks before departure. There was no longer a mass departure, and we could leave a day earlier. So I had 10 days ahead of me instead of 9. It’s interesting to know, but I kept the 8-day goal. Also, instead of an 8am departure, I would leave at 6.30am.
I left with a handlebar bag that is used to contain all my electronics (external battery, headlights and GoPro), two 12.5L ortlieb rack packs for my clothes and camping equipment as well as an extra bag in the middle of the luggage rack for the mini-tent and two or three other things (rags, something to clean the transmission, etc.). I made it as light as possible, but there is no way I will spend days and days in wet or smelly clothes.
Read the next article : «The first days #RATN2021»