The long way to Paris.

The only way back is forward.

varanik — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:18:08 +0000

This is the motto for most riders on the PBP. Only 4 days to go!
Exciting and scary at the same time
Will my knee give up? Will my achilles tendons hurt like crazy? I just want to finish it and find another fun thing to do otherwise I’ll have to wait another 5 years to give it another try.
Also I don’t want let down Eva and Tony (my support crew) who will most likely miss sleep and have to deal with a miserable (more than usually) tired, bear with a sore bum.

The weather is looking good, actually quite hot so if 4 years ago the drop outs were high because of the rain this year it will be because of the heat… so if you are riding the 1200Km remember to drink before you are thirsty and to eat before you are hungry!

I’ll be soon posting a pic of the “old faithful” (my 2006 aluminium Trek that crossed america with me) with a description of all the Gismos I have on them… after a careful selection.

5612

varanik — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:47:09 +0000

That’s my randonneur number at the 17th edition of the Paris Brest Paris.
It’s suddenly around the corner now but I have very positive news: first of all I’ve almost resolved all knee pain issues involving the Patella and the underlying cartilage by moving the saddle post up 1 cm. Seems incredible that such a little adjustment could make such a difference: but it does and the effects where immediate. I went for my usual 65Km training ride and came back with no pain whatsoever. It felt like a miracle. I also moved the saddle a little bit forward and went for another ride two days later: perfect.
I guess it is just down to too much pressure applied hundreds (thousands) of times on a knee that is too bent.

The second great news is that this is my record year with over 3000Km already ridden which means that I hope to get to PBP in great shape, lighter, stronger and trained. Mentally I couldn’t be happier

I just have to stay focused and keep riding 200KM a week and maybe go for a couple of 200Km rides.

The third great news is that I will have a support team of two to follow me at checkpoints during this adventure. Yes I know I should be doing it all by myself in true randonneuring style.. but I want to document the adventure, have videos and picture to remember the experience. So it will be slightly easier and yes I’ll have someone taking care, feedinge and supporting me morally but I will try to be way faster than the 90 hours I am allowed.

630 km Coast to Coast in Italy.

varanik — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:27:58 +0000

I needed one more qualifying ride to participate to this year’s PBP in Paris.
I chose to do it in Italy after spending 24h in the rain 4 years ago in Kent. This ride went from Nettuno (south of Rome near the famous Anzio – a fierce battle in WWII saw many American,English and German soldiers die there ).
We set off at 8.30. Stopped at the American Cemetery where a short ceremony celebrated the lives of those who died for our freedom (11.000 US soldiers are buried there).
The group of around 80 cyclists then set off towards the Appennine mountain range. We basically rode in a pack for the first 150km. No really tough climbs but a pace that really was a bit too fast for me considering that I hadn’t been on my bike for the last 4 weeks. Once the road started to gently climb the pack soon fractured in many smaller groups. The road SS82 after Sora was almost deserted and very scenic. We headed up Monte Slivano pass and towards the town of Campistrello (200Km into the ride) where I almost missed the control and the nice little buffet of sandwiches and delicious home made cakes. I stretched a lot, took my shoes off and enjoyed the warm sun and made friends with two guys that had travelled all the way down from Vicenza: Christian (il Rustego) and Roberto, an ophthalmologist. We continued climbing and after a nice descent we arrived in he city of Avezzano that lies in a spectacular valley. Then we started climbing again and reached the highest point of the ride, on the steep descent I hit 75kmh, and almost killed myself on a hairpin… The sensation of my back wheel in the air sent adrenaline pumping throughout my body
At this point the sun started to go down so I switched lenses on my new cycling glasses I bought in Berlin, attached the front light and put on my wind breaker. The road gradually flattened towards the sea but then the route made us turn left up and down some steep hills. Not what I needed as I was completely exhausted, out of water and really hungry. I had been on the bike 12 hours and I started developing a weird pain in my neck that radiated down to my left arm. There you go… I’m going to have a heart attack and die here. The pain kept coming and going but finally we reached Silvi Marina where I drank 1.5 l of water, eat 3 plates of very nice pasta (to the horror of the ladies who cooked it I added some crude olive oil), a sausage, and a selection of ALL the desserts. Then a coffee and a glass of wine. I smiled looking at the “flea” celebrate the Champions League victory, then put on my leggings arm warmers and started the second half of the ride that would lead me over the Appennines again and back to Nettuno.
This time I cheated together with quite a few people including Sabrina Bianchi (a RAAM finisher!) and headed towards Pescara along the coast instead of going over again the same hills I found at the end but their pace was too fast and I had no intention of pedalling hard.. it isn’t a race, it is a Randonnée.
After stopping for batteries and a free coffee offered by the owner of the Bar , the road started to climb again.
I really though I was going to be alone for the rest of the ride and through the night but then Roberto caught up with me and we continued together chatting about his desire of buying a Mac Book Pro and PBP strategies until we had to make a left turn into what is probably one of the toughest climbs I have ever experienced… 4km at 13%… I had to zig zag to make it to the top and stop twice… brutal.
We got to the top and we could see the light of the new day over the mountains around us. We stopped another couple of times to remove and add clothes and finally started the descent to Avezzano at around 6am.. I wish I had more clothes and long gloves: my teeth where chattering and my hands hurt like crazy and couldn’t wait for the descent to finish. We stopped at a bar had a very good Cappuccino but unfortunately it was too early for cornetti alla crema. We found other riders there… some asleep face down on tables. This is the toughest time of the day… you body tries to tell you to sleep and your eyes burn a little. We set off again and headed to the next climb but just before that I applied another copious layer of cream inside my shots and on my hands that were really hurting.
The last descent was very very scenic and never ending, too bad for the headwind that forced us to pedal against it.
It became brutal when we got 50km from the end, but roberto was in better shape than me and allowed me to draft (you save at least 30%) behind him. We made it back to Nettuno at 15.30.

Paris here we come!

Up and down Wales

varanik — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:13:35 +0000

Another brevet completed!

A 400Km return trip from Chepstow to New Quay, Wales.
After watching the Royal Wedding (Kate’s looked stunning) I set off to Bristol were I stayed in a Travelodge just across from the Severn Bridge. £49 pounds for one night.
Horrendous quality. Stay away. But, on the bright side, the bed was clean and the shower was warm
Woke up at 5am drove to Chepstow where around 100 riders had gathered to conquer the penultimate “brevet” necessary to conquer the chance to be Paris Brest Paris. A very windy day with chilly winds coming from the north. I had never ridden in Wales so I was looking forward to exploring this part of the world.

We all set off at 6am and once the sun was up the day got much warmer and I could remove the several layers of clothing I had put on.

Beautiful sceneries and quiet roads made the ride very enjoyable. It was actually fun for the first 200km. Then we reached New Quay and the 235km mark. I stopped for an Apple Pie and Custard (I had stopped several times for food and a little rest ) but then was confronted with a brutal vertical climb out of the city and at the 300km mark at around 9am we had to go up a 10 mile climb.
As night descended all the clothes I removed had to go back on. This is were you experience several stages of mental crises. WTF am I doing here, I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m cold, my hand my ass, my neck my legs HURT. But the quickest way back to your car is by bicycle so you keep going.

I trick my body to push further by breaking down the ride in sections and whatever the distance the last 50 are always the toughest. At 2am I was still pedalling in solitude and complete darkness as the temperature dropped to 2 degrees celsius. I could see the lights reflected in the sky in the distance so I knew the end was near.

The cherry on the cake was another tough and long climb followed by a not welcomed downhill to Chepstow were I managed to add 3km to the entire route by getting lost.

Finished a 3.20 am and tried to drive back home… soon I gave up on the idea and stopped for a nap at a gas station. Got home at 6am, 3kg lighter than when I left

Quote of the day.

varanik — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:47:29 +0000

Bournville (Birmingham) cycling lane.

varanik — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:41:26 +0000

At 15 Mt the shortest in the world

Mutual

varanik — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:01:04 +0000

from

http://xkcd.com

Liberty Vintage Motorcycles

varanik — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:36:05 +0000

Totally agree.

Live with no regrets and love with no excuses

varanik — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:44:30 +0000

Heart skipped a beat…. (but it was a mistake).

varanik — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:40:10 +0000