Imminent Balkan Adventure (& Happy Birthday to Me!)

So, today’s my birthday.  Another year older, but any the wiser?  Certainly the last year has been an absolutely fascinating experience.  A summary of the year will follow at some point…



Happy birthday to me! A biscuit-like cake, made by my girls :-) 10 out of 10 for effort, 2 out of 10 for height!

My dearest Sarah, seeing me getting stressed and frustrated at work, a million miles away from these experiences, my dearest, has booked me a flight to Dubrovnik for my birthday.

The plan is to ditch my disposable cardboard bike box, at Dubrovnik airport, ride into Montenegro, around Kotor bay to Tivat, stay the night in a swanky (but cheap) four star hotel, then ride to Žabljak, deep within in Montenegro’s mountainous Durmitor National Park.  Another night’s stay in a luxurious (but cheap – see the theme?) four star hotel, then off to Mostar, in Bosnia, negotiating the tricky border crossings - there are very few for international travellers, far more for smugglers over gravel roads, so I’m told!

After a day of rest and visiting Mostar’s iconic medieval architecture (tips please!), I’ll be returning to Croatia to ride to Knin where I’ll meet my good friend Dario, from where we’ll ride together over Velebit to Senj, and finally to Zadar, along the coastal road, from where I’ll fly back to the UK.



The iconic medieval bridge of Mostar, destroyed during but restored after the war

I’m really looking forward to:

·         The adventure of new roads (hopefully all smooth and puncture-free), beautiful scenery (expect photos of mountains, sea, rivers and lakes), new countries and things to see

·         Meeting-up with friends along the route - I'm planning to use Garmin LiveTrack for people to be able to see in real time where I am

·         The weather: 25(ish) degrees Celsius and sunny (did you know that Mr Celsius, a Swede, originally had 0 degrees as boiling and 100 degrees as freezing?) 

·         Not working - anyone else want to join me in this sentiment??



Good Croatian friends

Wonderful country, wonderful people



Knin Castle - a great day out for the family

Velebit - beautiful mountains with a view of the blue Adriatic sea

I’m not looking forward to:

·         The Bike-Separation Anxiety, when the box disappears into the depths of an airport's gaping maw

·         Packs of wild dogs - pepper spray isn't legal in the UK, so I'll try to source some abroad...

·         Missing my family

·         Returning to the contrasting UK’s sucky weather and darkening days, with all the consequences of needing to train on the turbo, spiked tyres for ice, multiple layers to stave off the cold (and getting that "Michelin Man" look).

Time to pull out your best sprint - just hope it's not uphill

Believe it or not, the UK's roads really suck bad

 

 

 

 

As seems usual, nowadays, I’m also feeling somewhat apprehensive over the sheer amount of climbing needed over the first few days.  Feeling anxious seems weird when I think about this year’s distances and amount of climbing…

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes, birthday greetings and cards!



Game of Pain. Hill Climbs - Polar Opposite to Ultra Cycling

Hill Climbs - what are they?  Very, very short, individual time trials, uphill.  Hill Climb season starts at the end of August and lasts through to the National Hill Climb championships, at the end of October.  Usually steep hills are picked as the torture devices.  Horrendous, horrifically painful anaerobic efforts lasting between 90 seconds to 5 minutes, for the fastest riders.

My hurty face, hurty legs, hurty everything.

Today, I rode out to watch the Walbury Hill Climb, to cheer on a couple of guys I'd met at last year's hill climbs, just as a spectator simply because of the time needed to recover from this year's three consecutive ultra events, going on holiday with the family, with not enough time to train, not to mention getting a bit fat, piling on 7kg since Hard Cro!  Last year I managed 6th at 4 mins 35s, only 36s behind the winner, Tejvan Pettinger!  I console myself with the fact that Tejvan is a former National Champion and weighed about 15kg less than me, not to mention an excellent cyclist, prolific hill climb winner, holding the Walbury record at just under 3 mins 56.  Excuses excuses...

Tejvan, today, looking smooth

But just not powerful enough?

Today's weather was a moody grey, with a strong south-westerly wind which would provide a head or crosswind for the Hill Climbers, cloudy and threatening rain.  Indeed, it had rained heavily overnight and the road was still damp in places.  Over a hundred riders were participating in this event, well-organised again, with a smattering of enthusiastic spectators lining the road.  I was glad to be spectating rather than self-administering torture today!

Cheesy grins all round!

I was watching for Angus Fisk (Oxford University CC) and James Scrivener (Reading CC), both of whom put in great performances. Angus came 5th @ 4:25, looking like he was about to die before the top of the hill but beating his previous time by almost 2 seconds, despite going too hard at the start and this being his first hill climb of the season, and James @ 5:03, who looked very cool and reckoned there was still a bit more in the tank.


Up up up!

Almost there...

 

James Scrivener looking very cool

Too hard at the start!

It hurts!

Weaving across the road a bit!



 

I understand that Tejvan is carrying an injury, so isn't on top form - for now.  Even so, he managed an excellent 4:07, third place, behind the impressive winner Isaac Mundy @ 4:03, averaging 512W!  I look forward to seeing what happens at the National Hill Climb championships, especially with the top three.  Well done to everyone who took part and gave it "some beans"!  Photos of other riders will follow in another post.

It never stops hurting - you just go faster!



Isaac Mundy powering his way to victory