Heading on a long road trip to race Marathons and Stage Races isn’t all isotonic drinks and energy gels. But it’s not all gelato and nusstorte either. At times your days seemed filled with nothing but bike racing. This is typically the scenario you find yourself in when completing a long stage race, such as the ABSA Cape Epic, or the Craft Bike TransAlp, and no doubt other week long Stage races of their ilk. You wake up, you eat, you pack your stuff, race your bike, eat, shower, nap, eat, go to bed. Repeat.
Far from a chore, it’s a great way to live. There is little thinking involved, just racing as hard as you can each day and recovering as best as possible afterwards.
The scenario changes a little when your events are predominantly Marathons. Most Marathons areb held on a Sunday, but some are on a Saturday. This alone can cause a shift in routine. Do you have 6, 7 or 8 days of recovery between events? WHat are the specific demands for the next races? With a longer gap between races, you may need to get some hard sessions in. Or perhaps your body and mind needs time out, and you’re best to sample the regional specialities.
Currently, I find myself in a more lengthy non-race period. Having decided I needed a break, I haven’t raced since a DNF in the Black Forest Ultra Marathon. But due to commitments in France, I won’t be racing again until the well regarded Salzkammergut Trophy on 16th July. That’s quite a break, when what your travel is based around is bike racing.
After a good nine days spent getting some big climbs and great singletrack in the legs around the Graubunden Region, I’m transferring myself to some work in the French Alps. And now it feels strange. The thought process was to back off and let myself recover from the close to 19 000m of climbing I just endured. Now that I’m here though, it’s hard to not pine for small mountain towns. It is as simple as knowing what to do when you’re there. Like in a Stage Race, you know what you need to do each day. When you’re in the mountains, it’s the same. You train, you eat well, you recover. Add in rest days as required, some postcards and occasionally a mountain walk or dip in a stream and you’re done.
Transit limbo is odd. My head is ready to race again, and I think the rest of me will be too in about a week. But instead I find myself looking at Information boards, and wondering whether I need to do a walking tour. Old towns are enjoyed, but I find myself cringing at the sounds of bickering retired Australian couples, and shying away from throngs of US student groups. The ideal of breaking up a long drive with some stops in well known locations is sound, but in practice I’m not cut out for it. After a while, a town is a town. Put me in a mountain range or valley system and I can start to spot the geological and cultural differences. Perhaps I don’t deal well with things on a large scale when abroad.
Whatever the case, I’m hoping for clear weather tomorrow for a ride near Luzern. If not, It’ll be time to jump in the car, chase the Euro Beat on the radio and head somewhere a bit smaller, a bit quieter. Somewhere without a tourist train in the old town. No kebab shops. Somewhere where everything closes through the middle of the day, business be damned.
Then onwards and upwards into the French Alps – transit complete!