It gets complicated, Sunday May 2
To say the day started well is an understatement! I slept four hours and dozed for two. I put everything away in the rain. The saddle kept moving and I had a persistent headwind. It would accompany me to Groningen (70 km). If you think that’s a lot of kilometers with a headwind, this was only the beginning!
But, I would discover something really nice that day : the dotwatchers. A dotwatcher is someone who follows the riders using the tracker. I have already done this on several races and it gives the impression of experiencing a bit of the adventure. Well, this time, the roles were reversed: I’m the one who is dotwatched. At the top of a small climb and before a left turn (this memory is very vivid in my mind), there is a car parked. As I approach, a man comes out and calls me by my name. Strange! I don’t know anyone in this part of the country. We chat in English and Dutch and I understand that he is a dotwatcher! Whaaaa, the guy left his house in this weather just to see me pass?! I cannot believe it. We chat for 5 minutes and it lifts my morale! I left with a smile on my face. I would be treated to my second dotwatcher at the entrance to Groningen. It was a lady who applauded me with a smile as I passed by. Thank you Madam !
Well, it all lifts my spirits but I still have my saddle problem. And on a Sunday, what’s going to be open? The answer to this question would be provided by another RATN rider. I’m busy staring at the saddle as it passes me and then stops. I explain my problem to him and he suggests that I look for a fietscafé, it is more likely to be open on a Sunday than a store. And he will be right. I find the Spaak Café. The mechanic present on the spot is neither more nor less than a Transcontinetal Race finisher… He will tighten my saddle and adjust it properly, offer me a coffee and an energy bar. Another morale boost. Added to that, a client told me that up to Eemshaven, or 45km, I will have a tailwind guaranteed! Cool. After a stop at the Burger King, my first hot meal since leaving home, I feel way better and the morale is perfect.
I really felt the wind on my back! It’s not difficult, I didn’t see that I was riding 45 km to go to the Google Data Center. On the other hand, once the left turn has been made, I really can feel the wind! And yet, it is not « strong » (says the customer at the cafe). It is already at 15-20 km / h… But, there is nothing to protect me.
When I analyzed the route, I saw that I was not passing far (2km) from the northern most point of the country. So I had decided to take a detour. It was probably unnecessary, but it made me happy and gave me a goal that day.
This little detour will make Henry Arts, another rider, smile. He caught up to me a bit before I turned to the right. He must have told himself that I was not clear about doing this. He speaks a little French so we are not doing too badly. On the other hand, this is the first time that I will pay attention to our accents. We pronounce the same words but in a way so different that the person in front of you does not understand them… It’s funny but it does not help the discussion. It is around 4:30 p.m. and he tells me that he still wants to do 120 km. There, it’s me who takes him for a nut. I checked his tracker around 8 p.m. and sure enough he had almost done it! But, he would give up the next day.
I also decided to take a hotel for that evening because the wet tent did not tempt me at all. I found one in Uithuizen. I got there around 6 p.m. Luckily, there was even a shelter in the yard to store the bike and dry the tent. I’m not the only one doing this, there are two cycle tourists doing the same thing. The hotelier explained to me that the day before there was a rider who insisted on taking the bike to his room because it was very expensive. Well, I am reassured by the inner courtyard and the shelter so the bike will sleep there ^^ Where I will have no luck is to see that all the supermarkets are already closed. I found a pizza and pasta that will serve as an evening meal and breakfast. Back at the hotel, I turned on the TV to see the weather forecast and there I swallow my saliva. It doesn’t really announce downpours, but a wind that will get stronger day by day. Ha. I’ll have to push on those pedals!
Quiet in the hotel room, I also began to tell myself that I was not ready. My beautiful schedule has been shattered and will be even more changed in the days that follow. But, I feel good. I have no pain anywhere and the bike works well. So I decided that I will go to the end, no matter what!
I will have done 147.64 km in 9:21 am that Sunday. I would like to do two more days with at least 200km tomorrow and the day after tomorrow but the wind would not let me.
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Fuck the win wind !, Monday May 3
I woke up in good shape. There is no denying it, but seven and a half hours of sleep in a bed, it does you good. It’s already raining so I put on my kway pants and overshoes directly. It will rain for 30 km and I have a little wind. It’s boring but ok. The mood is good and I cross pretty landscapes. In Zutkamp, I find a Spar and there I’m doing my second breakfast, the rest of the pizza is already a distant memory. Hop, three raisin cakes and a latte in the throat! It only 8:35 am when I devour this second breakfast. I also take the opportunity to store food because there won’t be much stores for a long time.
I went through a national park, the Lauwersmeer, but it was a different style than the Veluwe. Greener and more humid. Morale is really excellent for most of the morning. The landscape changed and I started to have large green expanses and the sea on my right. I also had my first herd of sheep right in the middle of the road. We are in the part of the country where the paths cross their territory so there are barriers to open or gates to go over.
Let’s be honest, I had trouble moving forward. I turn on the music, focus on it, and pedal, pedal, and pedal. I will even end up going to the drop bars. Me, the girl who had never touched a road bike a month and half ago, I am on the drops bars! A little bit of rage and the combination of the right song that comes at the wrong time makes me cry a few tears. No, I’m not going to be fooled by the wind! I knew it was going to be complicated. It’s just a lot more than I thought. On the other hand, I didn’t know that you could hate something so much. Especially something that you can’t touch and that you can’t do anything about. But that’s part of the game. I had looked at the weather statistics and knew it could happen. That’s life.
I’ve got to do 125km to Harligen with this headwind, a headwind that made me grumble. But at least I’m on the bike and moving forward. Harligen means I’m turning south so the wind will no longer be 100% in front of me. Yay! I will eat Kibbeling and a milkshake there. It feels good. I will also meet several riders including one who goes wild camping every night regardless of the weather. Brave guy! As I leave the city via an endless climb, I am overtaken by Guy. He will explain to me that he fell in Bourtange and that he has just spent the morning in the hospital. His knee still hurts but he wants to continue. He will be forced to quit 24 hours later because the pain is unbearable. He told me that the weather forecast announces an even stronger wind for tomorrow when we already have a wind moving at 25km / h …
I will continue for another fifty kilometers before giving up. No luck, the first campsite I find has no reception. It’s a big campsite linked to a marina so once the reception is closed, you cannot have a place. I find one very far from the itinerary but it will do. The owner asks me if my tent is holding up because “it will blow”. It blew so much that around midnight that I took refuge in the toilets because I was afraid that everything would fly away. I didn’t sleep that badly between the toilet and the shower, but I woke up a lot.
Funny anecdote of the evening: when I start to speak to him in Dutch, the owner asks me, in perfect French, if I come from Wallonia ???? No, from Brussels and what, I have such a bad accent ???
Considering the weather, I tell myself that I will move more slowly than expected. I plan to do 150km instead of 200 the next day. I will be far from that …
The statics of the day: 177.06 km in 11:01
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The most brutal day of all, Tuesday May 4th
After a night that was not restful at all, I set off in the rain and in an already very strong headwind. The weather forecast announces gusts of wind of up to 40km / h… My route turns, so I don’t always have it facing me. And when I have it from the back, it feels like I’m on fire ! At one point, I pass near a construction site and there is a marked street that flies in the wind. Who knows how, 30cm get stuck in the cassette. 5 minutes of quibbling to remove it. I am on roads without bike path and I start to meet motorists. Not practical when you see the offsets that some gusts make me do. I arrive in Lemmer and, miracle, an Aldi open at 7:30 am !!! I even find biscuits that I haven’t eaten in years! Ok the 10 pack may be overkill but it’s soo tasty ! However, there is no bakery so I’m eating 250gr of brownie and chocolate milk as a breakfast.
I’m starting to tell myself that to be efficient, you have to stay in a hotel to dry your clothes and sleep well. Camping was a good idea but not for my first ultra cycling race.
Me, new bike philosopher
At noon, I realized that doing the 150km planned is a lot. I move forward but really not quickly and sometimes I push the bike because it doesn’t make a difference. I meditate over my Kibbelings in Urk and I tell myself that I will continue for 4 hours and see where I am. But after Urk, it gets really hellish. I will not hold that long. I scream in the face of this wind which is pushing me down on this endless dike! Music doesn’t help. I look at where the nearest hotel is: in Lelystad, 7km. It will takes me a good hour to get there. Despite my super layers of clothes, I still took a lot of water and everythings broken. I throw myself on the heater and in a hot tub. I’ll fall asleep with the evening menu in hand and wake up in the middle of the night to finish all the biscuits I have and then fall back to sleep as fast as I woke up. I slept twelve and a half hours.
I had done 81.29 km in 7:07, it is clearly not enough to finish on time but I could not do one kilometer more.
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