For the first time since the start of this adventure, I can finally have breakfast at the hotel. But the night was too short. Delphine and I stuffed ourselves into a gargantuan breakfast and then went to the store to stock up on as much food as possible. From my point of view, having enough food means fewer stops and not having to worry about when the next store will be. But it does make the bike heavier. Some might say I’ve already got too much on the bike, but those extra few kilos of food are felt quite heavily on this eighth day. So I’m going to have to eat them to lighten up. I’m motivating myself as best I can!

We’ve got the weather on our side. The wind is minimal and it’s sunny. But not to the point of thinking I’m hot and riding in short sleeves.

Each at our own pace, Delphine and I set off towards the Maas valley. There are one or two areas of roadworks, but nothing dramatic. The sky clouds over a little and on the descent to Valkenburg, I have to take shelter for 5 minutes as heavy drops are falling. Then the sky clears and there’s not a cloud on the horizon. I arrive in town and see that there are still as many tourists as in 2021. So I don’t dawdle into it and tackle the first climb. I end up pushing the bike. I have a quick bite to eat at the top and then I go. I struggle up one or two climbs, but this passage through Limburg is just as difficult as in 2021. It’s even more difficult because I’m more tired. Delphine catches up with me at the start of the Camerig and I tell her how hard it is. We’re going to find an open restaurant and take a big break before starting the evening. It’s just after 8pm and we’ve already covered 140km. There’s still 12km of climbing to go before the highest pont of the race, and then I know I’ll manage the rest of the climbs to Heerlen. A small « RATN cyclists courage » sign on the side of the road gives us a boost. We arrive at the three borders point at around 10pm.

And so begins our night on the bike. Since it’s getting dark, we’ve decided to stay together. We’re even surprised to see Géraldine waiting for us on the side of the road. She joins us and we ride together. We don’t chat too much, concentrating on the road and the obstacles. I remember two things from that night:

– The completely drunk guy walking on the bike path near the military base, talking to himself loudly.

– The village we crossed while there was a party going on. Having so much noise and so many people all at once felt weird.

Just before this village, I’d told the girls I needed to close my eyes for 15 minutes, and I’d done so at a bus stop. Delphine had suggested we find a hotel anyway, but I told her I was afraid it would encourage a long stop and I really didn’t want to miss the cut-off time. I prefer to stop for 15/20 minutes when I feel it’s not going well, and move on the rest of the time. Rather than having to chase time at the end.

By 2:45am, it’s complicated for everyone. And there’s a fresh breeze. We decide to take shelter behind a wall in the Pey cemetery and sleep for 30 minutes. Géraldine has her bivy, so she lends us her survival blanket, which is a great discovery for me! This thing really does keep you warm! The half-hour nap turns into an hour and we’re woken up by the church bells. We’ll be ready to set off again around 4am. Géraldine will start off alone, as she needs to ride at her own pace to warm up. The sun comes out around 6 a.m. and it feels great! Delphine and I decide to go our own pace, even though we’ll never be far from each other. We need to stop, but not at the same time. In fact, we’re going to pass each other several times as we take our breaks.

At one point, I almost miss a curve because I closed my eyes while riding. I decide to sleep for 30 minutes. Géraldine passes me again when I open my eyes. I’ll meet her again at the finish line.

Once I’ve had my big nap, I feel great. It’s getting warmer and the sky is blue. I calculate and recalculate in my head, but I think I’m on schedule. My legs are on fire. I allow myself one last McDonald’s and then vamos! Well, the headwind to finish is a real pain in the ass, but knowing that I’m there gives me wings.

In 2021, I was involuntarily joined by the friend of a rider who lives near the Proloog, and we finished together. In 2022, I’ll be overtaken by Gemma, who took part in 2021. She’ll recognize me and two of us will finish together. She’ll let me enter the Proloog on my own, and I enjoy the applause of the participants at the café. I did it, damn it! Géraldine is already there and Delphine must be 30 to 60 minutes behind. Her tracker’s stopped working again, but I think she must be right in front of Els or with her.

In the meantime, I take off my shoes and jacket. Time for an aperitif! Here, in the sunshine, I feel good. I’m chatting with the others.

I’ve completed the last 390 kilometers in 30 hours 43 minutes of riding, with a 7.5-hour break.

Werner arrives after me, but before the girls, and he reassures us that there are together.

And here they are! Yes, Els and Delphine also finish on time! It’s euphoria all round!

We go and get a pizza while we wait for my brother to arrive, and then it’s back home. Tired but happy.

Proud of me

I think it goes without saying that I’m super proud of myself! I’ve achieved my goal for my RATN 2022 and that’s immensely great!

The bike ran perfectly, no mechanical problems. No new adjustments to be made.

My strategy of staying in hotels paid off, even if I didn’t get all the ones I wanted and had to improvise. The comfort of a bed and shower every night, combined with the fact that I didn’t have to carry all my camping gear, was really great.

Although I read back in my notes that I had some pain, I don’t remember any of it, nor do I remember any difficulty in recovering. I therefore consider that physically it was also.

At the end of this RATN, the organizer announced that every other year, there would be a Gravel version (short and long). I don’t fancy doing a road RATN again, but why not a short Gravel version? I’ll have to see how I can fit it into my calendar.

Although lightened of camping gear, my saddlebag was full. For the simple reason that I didn’t know about compression bags at the time. With them, I save even more space!

In the end, I had +/- 1 hour of insomnia on half the nights. Proof for me that I was more stressed than I thought. But it was frustrating because I needed that hour of sleep.

I hope these blog posts have helped you. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you may have.