How to conclude my #RATN2021 ?

I am writing these lines as we are 44 days away from RATN 2022. Yes, you are reading correctly, I have re-registered! No, I’m not a masochist, I just want to do better now that I finally got my Genesis bike. But that will be for other blog posts ^^

Inevitably, my body is used to getting up early so on Tuesday May 11, 2021, I woke up at the same time as the other days, i.e. 6 a.m. When I open my eyes, I am disoriented. It takes me 5 seconds to recognize the bedroom ceiling. I roll over to the alarm clock and sigh seeing the time. Come on brain, go back to sleep! Of course, I’m not going to make it. So I start checking all my Twitter notifications and the RATN Facebook group. I’m also starting to think about the shopping I’m going to do since the fridge is empty. I told myself that it would be nice to eat a little healthier even if I didn’t overdo it on fast food and other fatty meals. But since Sunday afternoon, my stomach grumbles and I start to have diarrhoea.

I’m going to stock up on food because my stomach is rumbling. The scale tells me that I have lost 4 kilos. Either I didn’t eat enough during RATN or I really burned a lot of calories. I choose to eat when I’m hungry. Tuesday and Wednesday, I will eat a lot: 4 meals a day and biscuits and other sweets in between. This craving will only last two days and will be replaced by naps. It’s like my body is dealing with one problem at a time. On Thursday and Friday, I’m going to do 10 hours nights and a 2.5 hours nap each day. On Saturday, I’m back at work with a day of 53km with two hours of light rain.

I will have a disturbing alert on Tuesday. After 2 hours sitting at the computer, my neck felt weak. I’m freaking out right away because I’m thinking of “Shermer’s Neck”. It is a physical condition where the neck muscles can no longer hold it. It has to do with having been in the forward leaning position on the bike for a very long time. I decide to go lie down and hold my head. I will only get up to get food and go to the bathroom. It won’t happen again over the week so I tell myself that it’s fine.

I hesitate to do a recovery ride on Tuesday but finally I give up because of my neck. On the other hand, on Wednesday I have to go for a covid test so I go up very slowly towards the Heysel. The legs are good and the rest of the body is fine too. Cool, I didn’t know what to expect.

The results of this first RATN are therefore positive: I didn’t come home completely broken and the bike was fine either. What more ? Finish on time, yes I know but at least I’ve done it ! We are only 47% to have finished… And I can tell you that the weather was not easy. But it helps build character. Apart from my mental breakdown on the Delta bridge and then the crying on the way to Vlissingen, the brain held up well. Although it would be nice if I improved that part.

In terms of equipment, I did not need the special camping plug and the two pants. But I used up everything else I brought. Obviously, the camping equipment started to be too much when I stayed at the hotels. But it still served again on the penultimate night. My hotel search was completely unprepared so I just used Google Maps day to day to do it. Apart from Medemblik and Vlissigen, each time I found something straight away.

In terms of budget, staying at the hotel increased the budget. In total I spent :