Reader, welcome to this second blog post which explain my preparation for the North Cape 4000, an ultra cycling adventure that will take me from Turin to the North Cape in July and August 2023.
The physical part
I left you at the end of the previous blog post after the first six weeks of training. The end of 2022 as well as the beginning of 2023 have not been very good to me. I don’t know how was the weather in your place, but with us, in January, there was almost nothing but wind and rain. Nothing really motivating to go out.
Also, I slightly sprained my ankle in February which bothered me for 3 weeks. No way I could continue fitness exercises at home under these conditions. Once the ankle was better, I started walking because I was tired of fitness. Each time, I did 45 min sessions with a pace of 11 min/km. I did not go back to the swimming pool, because the route and the opening hours created too many constraints. Add to all this a cold in January and a cold in April which put me out for 10 days each time.
What I did though, was rollerblade! I have already covered 234 km since the start of the sessions in December! At the end of April, I even got new rollers which make my practice easier because the bearings are new, the wheels are bigger… So I can push even harder on them to go even faster! Since March, we do always at least 5 km (in less than 45 min). We even pushed it to 18 km in one go! And we did several sessions of more than an hour, but at a slower pace.
Did it work, you ask me? Well yes ! How do I know? Quite simply because during the BRM 200 on March 4, I had no problem climbing 7% hills. And I even climbed a 14% hill, with a little break in it, but I rode it on the bike! On the other hand, I did not finish this BRM nor the one of March 5 because the mind had a hard time. I was too cold on the 4th and not enough motivation on the 5th. Instead of doing 2*200km, I only did 63 and 112km. I must admit that the stress of work really got into my head in March and April, so it was hard to concentrate on long rides. Moreover, for rest purposes, I did not do the BRM of Jette on April 22 nor my two days in the Ardennes just after. I admit I was annoyed to have to cancel this bike weekend, but I needed to do nothing and catch up on sleep.
Going to the start and coming back
A part of the challenge of the NC4K is to go the start and coming back from the end of the world. Luckily, there are only two high speed trains to take to get to Turin. But you have to disassemble the bike. Luckily, I have time to check in Turin that everything is going well before taking the start. Mid-April, I got my tickets for the outward journey, it’s already in my pocket!
For the return, I decided not to take the plane. Quite simply because I don’t want my bike to be lost or damaged. You will tell me that there are plenty of cyclists who travel without worry, but I am too paranoid about it. I keep my eyes on my bike as much as possible. I will therefore have a 5.5-days journey to return by taking several buses, several trains and a ferry. Apart from the ferry, nothing is booked yet. There are only three a week so I don’t have much choice, I will take it on August 19 in the evening. Which leaves me from the 15/08 to the 19/08 to drive through Norway and sightsee in Oslo.
On May 1, we received the pre-traxs and, surprise! 4474 km long ! OH YEAH !!!! It’s impressive, but at the same time, if I leave myself 100 km for the last day, I have to do 4374 km in 24 days, or 182 km per day. I think it’s manageable. On the other hand, the ferry to go from Denmark to Norway during the race is already very full so the organizer has provided us with several options. I’ll keep them in mind, but I like the initial ferry. There are 11 hours of crossing and overnight so it is « free » rest. But, as of this writing, there are no free cabins until August 1st. Perfect, that coincides with my timing! The situation remains to be monitored, but I am confident.
So we received the track and I started to look where we are going to go. In addition to the daily mileage, my race strategy is to sleep in a bivouac for two nights then one night in a hotel. My instinct was to start looking for campsites on the road but it’s not how to do it. Am I going to pull over while everything is going weel and it’s still daylight on the pretext of being at a campsite? No, better to continue and bivouac. But you have to learn that! I have a week of training in the Vosges at the end of May for this.
I also thought about the clothes to bring, because it will be necessary to manage a heat wave in Italy and spring temperatures in Norway. I am going with a system of layers which I will modulate according to the weather but which can also be used at night or as clothing on the outward and return journeys. I have to test if everything I want to take fits in the saddlebags. This will also be tested at the end of May.
Bike mechanic ?
On a long trip, I believe you need two mechanical skills:
– know how to repair a puncture
– know how to take care of your chain (fix a quick link or place it on a particular speed to cycle a single speed)
Simply because those are the two ways you can get to a bike shop that can fix a bigger problem. Except for a big crash of course!
My Genesis did 7700 km before I changed the brake pads, so I have some leeway to do my training in the Vosges/Alsace (860 km) + the NC4K. Having received the bike during the parts shortage in 2021, my dealer advised me to swap the chain every 2000 km (max) to wore out the cassette less quickly. That’s what I did. On May 9, I have an appointment to change the pads and see what else to do as maintenance: check the spokes? Check the bearings? Check if there is play in the parts? We will see together where there is as major maintenance to do before my departure. So far I have only checked the transmission and brakes. I don’t think it’s a luxury to do a bit more before such a long adventure. I will only take with me enough to repair a puncture and a quick link + chain drift. No more needed