Just like the race itself, my preparation for RATN 2022 has little to do with the one of 2021.
If you remember what I talked about, I hadn’t received my new Genesis bike and had set off on the Dutch roads with an old Peugeot bike that had been kindly lent to me. Announced in January 2021, the Genesis did not arrive until August 2021. So I had plenty of time to get to know it before the start in April 2022. We got to know each other throughout lonf or small rides and during mini trips of 2-3 days. Which also gave me plenty of time to discover how to use all my Ena Bags bags and fill them according to my needs. I quickly added two water bottle holders to the front fork so I could carry more drinks.
Another big change was at work. From four days on the bike, I went to two days on the bike and two days in the office. This means that I went from riding 200km per week for work to 100km. So I had to compensate outside of work to keep my legs moving. This is why I have increased the number of rides. Either solo or in groups and with, at least, 100km. It was hard enough to force myself to go outside regardless of the weather, but my experience of 2021 pushed me to go outside even if the weather was bad. All this training paid off, because the day before RATN 2022, I had as many km in my legs as in 2021! Of course, that didn’t mean that I was going to be able to do days of more than 200km, but it was a good start.
In order to lighten me, I decided to stay only in a hotel. Going to the campsite takes too long and I don’t rest that well. Nothing beats a good bed indoors, even if it’s only for a few hours. We had the right to book hotels in advance, but it’s a risky bet. What happens if I don’t arrive at the booked hotel for various reasons? I still had bookes the first two evenings then evenings 5 and 6 because they fell on public holidays. I had some concerns about the north coast since that is where I had suffered the most in 2021. However, I had already drawn up a list of hotels and Trekkershutten so I wouldn’t have to search on the day itself. During the race, I also discovered the disadvantage of booking from day to day: in Holwerd, the hotel I was aiming for was full and so I had to travel 20 km more to get one. Finishing at sunset with the sheep was something! In Eersel, it came down to the last three rooms… When I saw how I was moving, I booked my hotels for days 3 and 4 and on day 5, I booked the one for day 7.
In 2021, I painfully discovered that there was not a bakery in every village I passed through. So I had written down three supermarkets per day where I wanted to stop. I also made sure to have food with me for the evening meal but also for breakfast. Another discovery of 2021: everything closes early. Impossible to find a snack or a pizzeria open at 10 p.m.! This meant that my evening meals were very thin and that I started with an empty stomach. In 2022, I always had enough to make my first breakfast at 5 a.m. then I refueled around 10 a.m.
Another big change: no COVID restrictions at the start! So I was entitled to the « full experience » the day before the start. There was the bike check where I was warmly welcomed, the evening meal chatting with new friends and the night in the hostel. I was also able to do the first shopping in Amerogen and I didn’t have to carry it on the train at all..
Speaking of the train, it was out of the question to repeat 100km ride the day before departure. That was a very stupid idea! I went from Brussels to Utrecht by train with Delphine then we finished by bike because the 3 hours of travel had already bored us.
For the mental part, which collapsed in Vlissigen in 2021, I had prepared substantial Spotify playlists in all styles. I had also read a few articles to learn how to manage moments of doubt, but nothing more. I left confident, wanting to beat my 2021 time. I felt I had better preparation and I felt that all my chances were on my side. The only uncertainty: the weather! But, you will read in my articles that this was not a problem at all..
