Bike Adventure - multi-stage mtb race.

4 days | 4 stages | 121 km | 3.800 m of ascent | 12 h 20 m in the saddle

Lots of rocks and routes, one fall, several bruises, incredible tiredness, but it’s all for this (a bit of sick) satisfaction that I get from the mtb racing.

Last 4 days I spent in the saddle pedaling through the Karkonosze mountains along with several hundred mountain biking enthusiasts during the Bike Adventure multi-stage race taking place each year in Poland.

I didn’t participate in any races for a while, so I had no opportunity to check my competition condition before the start. Shit happens, what can you do? Just hop on the bike and ride. It wasn’t my first multi-stage race, plus my coach told me to take it easy from the start. Yeah… didn’t really happen. I kept an eye on my HR form the first pedal stroke, it was very high but also very steady along with the breath, so I kept going. I knew I’m not prepared for anything else but the “system check”, but you cannot just switch off stubbornness and toughness.

Firsta stage route was pretty boring – a lot of climbing but very few technical parts, excluding one at the very end. Nice single-track felt like a sweet dessert at the end of the tasteless meal.

DAY 2

Second stage started pretty much with the same HR, so I needed to see how long “the engine” can go like that. It went… till the middle of the race. I was so invested into pushing through one of the technical climbs, that totally neglected the worst one waiting ahead. I bonked right before it started. Long, very steep and technical – three qualities, which put together couldn’t let me pull my big butt up. I knew I need to put my sh*t together and keep going on foot, taking it as easy as possible to catch some recovery on the way (idea sounds crazy, but it works). Fortunately, it wasn’t my first bonk in life, so I knew when to switch to the energy saving mode and stuff my face with some extra carbs. It worked, my heart rate went back up, but from this point I kept it below the threshold.

While finishing second stage my thought was: “F*ck it, I’m going mushroom picking tomorrow!”.

No mushrooms, just mountainbiking

I often get these thoughts, when tired, but I also know myself too well to let go and not feel disappointed. I gave myself some time for nagging, called my coach and asked him for advice. I needed Adam to tell me not to push, I basically called for permission to go easy on myself (how sick does it sound? ))). After I heard what I needed to hear, mushrooms disappeared from the horizon.

Third stage. I held myself at the very end of the peleton for a while, but at the first descent I overtook people, who were not supposed to be in front of me :D

This day was the hardest – several long uphills, including technical ones through mud, stones and routes. Same with the descents, along with the one that keeps blowing my mind and I keep getting off my bike at some point of it (it looks like a very wide wall down full of routes, some rocks, slippery mud with no particular line to choose, so I just keep guessing and calculating). By the end of the race my muscles started blocking on downhills, but I made it without any crashes and felt much better than expected.

Last but not least

Last day started with the rain and my level of tiredness was at the point, when I hated those who breathe too loud :D. I was imagining myself standing at the start line, all wet and cold, half dead and all for what? For a medal? F*ck… why am I doing it? Does anyone know?? But again, it was I, a person who never gives up, unless dead or in a coma, and doesn’t do things half-ass.

Last 29 km, last 900 m, last mud, last pain in the muscles (and in the ass). Easy, very easy, the body is tired, so is the brain. It gets stuck on the technical parts, so I go in ride-walk mode just to avoid mistakes that would lead to the injury. Route is extra wet and dirty from the downpour, mud is very greasy and slippery, but I manage. One place covered with routes, steep and very narrow gap between the tree and the rock, front wheel goes along the smooth surface, slippes and I fall. Hit my head, left (almost recovered) shoulder and quadriceps, get some extra bruises here and there, but my bike is ALL RIGHT!!! Everything’s working (more or less), so let’s finish this thing.

2 kilometres before the end my right contact lens decides to fall out and suddenly my astigmatic world becomes much less 3D :D so my obstacle riding falls down to the level of total rookie. But it doesn’t matter, I know I’m close to the finish line. I roll out of the forest into the cheering crowd with a huge satisfaction and feeling of pride. I finished it in one piece, 9th in my age category. I felt grateful to myself, my 2 coaches – Adam Ciemniak (endurance and strength) and Vojtěch Bláha (technique) and my wonderful bike Lollipop.

Wisest teacher and the strongest motivation

Each race is hard and exhausting, but it is also very satisfying to win with your own head, see how far you can push your body and find an ability to motivate yourself through the toughest times. It is exhilarating to see how borders move. Step by step, bit by bit you discover that you can do more. Of course, there is always a limit, but it is rare to be able to explore how far it goes. Every time I feel tired or afraid in daily life, I go back to those moments and remind myself who I am and how much I can do. Cycling is my wisest teacher and the strongest motivation for development.

?

#motivation #cycling #mtb #mtbrace #marketing #publicrelations