Unfortunately for me, I’m going to have insomnia for an hour and cut my night in half. I totally didn’t plan this the day before departure, but I guess there’s more stress than I thought. In the end, I will sleep 5-6 hours and being half asleep for 2 hours. All while being dry in a bed. Which is better than the pre-departure night of 2021…
We have to get to the star line by 7:30 a.m. The first ones will be up at 6 a.m. and we can hear the rustle of people getting ready throughout the hostel. We can feel the excitement and stress building up ! I’m going to force myself to eat something because otherwise I won’t get off to a good start. But, I don’t push myself too much because I will almost puke from the stress. Once at Proloog, the departure café, we receive a bag with food. It’s very nice, but I don’t have any more space on the bike… Well, I’ll put everything on my saddle bag. I haven’t left yet and it’s already a mess on my bike… I’m staying true to my reputation.
We are all gathered for a few pictures and the women will meet for the 100% female group photo. Michael will then make his speech and announce the departure. But suddenly, I’m in front of all the riders! Um, I don’t want that ! Phew, the madmen are going to go off at full speed and I will quickly be drowned in the crowd. I was still tweeting a selfie while the others were running…
There’s no denying that starting at 150 is something different than starting solo! But the trap is wanting to stay with the others and therefore riding faster than my pace. It’s the best way to put me directly in the red. There is a first small climb so the group is quickly fragmented and the gaps widen. I will follow a participant who has a good pace, but while remaining around twenty meters behind him. I see someone doing the same to me.
A guy will pass me while telleming me he has something in common with me. I tell him I don’t understand, he explains to me that he is the last of 2020. This makes me smile.
In terms of friends, I will see Géraldine at the start and once around km 100 then not at all before the fourth day. She’s moving fast and far ! I will catch up with Delphine before turning towards Flevoland and we will do around fifteen kilometers together before getting lost until the evening of the second day.
The weather is spoiling us! We have a north wind all week and the temperatures are increasing. This wind means that it is from the front for the first 45 kilometers but after that it will be from ¾ to the back or completely backwind. With the excitement of leaving, I don’t really feel the headwind.
From memory, I thought that once we turned right, towards Flevoland, I was going to follow water and eat midges. Well no, first there are 15 km of forest which do not awaken the slightest memory in me. As the days go by, I will discover that there are quite a few places that seem unknown to me. It’s good, it allows me to rediscover the Netherlands.
I have my first raised bridge just at the entrance of Eirburg, where I have planned a break at the gas pump. I just did 80km without stopping. It’s a record. I meet Els at the gas pump. She leaves before me. I would see her again later in the day. After this little well-deserved break, here I am on my way to Hoge Veluwe Park. There are around forty kilometers before the entrance to this natural park. When I see the line of people at the entrance, I am very happy to have bought my ticket in advance.
I fell in love with this park in 2021. It has varied and very sandy landscapes. On the playground side, same problem as in 2021, I can’t find the route that the GPS tells me to take. Another participant is also searching. So, I head in the general direction through the forest and suddenly I find a path. I will take my second break of the day in the middle of the fir trees. I see a cyclist arriving. It’s Els! I thought she was ahead of me. We will finish crossing the park together and I will be very happy. At the exit, my GPS track is not good. I had to modify something when cutting it because I don’t have the same thing as Els at all. After checking the tracking, she is right. I decide to follow her. But she rides faster than me so I fall behind. And I have no network to load the trace of the organizer. I decide to climb Postbank and I tell myself that at the top it will be better. It works ! But as a result, I have a track of almost 500km. So much for seeing the remaining kilometers of the day diminish on the screen.
After a final break 20km from my goal for the day, I tell myself it’s time to eat. As a result of worrying about GPS issues, I just spent 1h30 without eating or drinking anything and I can feel it. I’ll empty my bag while sitting in a bus stop and it feels good. But I need a real meal to end the day.
The start of the race was at 8 a.m. When I ride in “ultra mode”, I like to leave at 6 a.m. and stop between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Leaving at 8 a.m. therefore already delays me by 2 hours. This is why I am closing this first day with “only” 209km on the clock. I find myself a durum before jumping into bed.
