What gets you up to ride your bike early mornings?

Just over a year ago, I moved to Australia.

I was able to enjoy the last two weeks of summer and then winter hit Melbourne. Having lived in Minnesota (where you still could be looking for your car under the snow in May) I should have felt relief.

-20 degrees Celsius with metres high snow was traded for drizzly, rainy, dark 5 degrees. I came to think that the sun doesnt exist in the Southern hemisphere.

I had absolutely no motivation to get up in the morning to go riding. But in Minnesota, I had no problem riding in -20 degrees with two other brave souls. What has happened?

Now, looking back, it is clear like a crystal ball: Routine.

After four months of getting up at 4:45am in the morning, I even wake up at that time on my rest days. I established myself a ceremony that would definitely get me up.
Those are my highlights in the morning:

1. Everything is ready to go the night before so I don’t have any stress in the morning. The only task for me is to wake up and to look forward to the ride.

2. Cold-brew coffee. The best! The evening prior I mix water and coffee powder in a French press and let it sit overnight. In the morning, I only have to filter the powder and I got some delicious cold-brew coffee. And man, that caffeine hits quickly!

3. Music. I put ear plugs in and listen to upbeat songs. Currently (don’t laugh), it is: Flo Rida- Wild Things, Die Antwoord - I fink u freeky and Lady Gaga – Born this way. (If you feel sorry for my music choice, feel free to make suggestions :) )

 4. But most importantly: my riding group. Every day, I am so excited to see my cycling group. By riding with the same people, you get to know each other very well. Who is grumpy in the morning and you shouldn’t talk to? Who could you engage immediately into a conversation? Who won or lost at the race yesterday? Riding in a group is like reading the newspaper; you got to do it every day to be fully up-to-date on all the happenings. Thanks THB guys for making me look forward to our training rides every morning!

 What gets you up in the morning?

My (mental) preparation for the Three Peaks Challenge– Melbourne to Mt Buller (260km/5000m elevation, 161mi/16400ft elevation)

When you are planning on doing something longer and harder than you have done before, the extra weight of five kilos on top of your neck will be your key asset. (Your head)

Having decided three weeks out to ride the Three Peaks Challenge, one of the hardest one day challenges in Australia (235km/4000m elevation), I needed a long tough ride beforehand. I wanted to see how my legs feel towards the end of a long ride but more importantly I needed that kind of ride as mental preparation. Getting my head ready for whatever lies beyond the failure of my legs. There is a “going into the red” for going anaerobic, I call it “going mental” for going beyond your perceived body’s ability.

I heard on Thursday that a mate, Damian, is planning on riding the next day from Melbourne out to Mt Buller. 260km (161mi). 5000m (16400ft) of elevation. 40km (25mi)  of gravel in unknown condition.  35 degrees (95F) temps.

That was exactly what I was looking for! It had the length, the pain and the uncertainty to make it very challenging.

For those kinds of rides, key is to be able to motivate myself on the toughest parts. Naturally climbs and in this case the gravel section would be something that would drain my mental energy. So for the short time I had to prepare for this ride (12 hours), I learned all about elevation gain, gradient, length of climb that could give me the ability to measure my progress while climbing. Plus, the more numbers you have to play around with, the more you can make all kind of (un)necessary calculations to keep your head busy.

The gravel section seemed to become my lowest mental point. With a limited pool of mountain bike skills, I had a very tough time to navigate through a very rocky terrain, no matter if uphill or downhill. 

We just didn’t make any progress. That put me off. 

In those situations, I try to either sing to myself or compare my current misery with an even worse situation from the past.  Keeping perspective is key and not letting emotions take over.

After the gravel section, the toughest part was actually just starting. Mount Terrible*. A 10 odd km (6mi) climb all exposed to sun and heat.  It was north of 35 degrees (95F). We were already dehydrated from the lack of water supply in the last 120km. We were 11 hours into the ride. I dealt with very painful hot feet. So in short: A great time to pull the plug, especially considering that our next stop, Jamieson, has a nice coffee shop to cool down, relax, refill and eat properly. Why would you want to leave?

As this the most dangerous time to waste time stopping, I was in “adventure racing” mode. Quickly refill on water and food and get out of there in the quickest time possible. 

But when I strapped my helmet back on after all necessary refillings, I realized that Damian hasn’t even touched his food. 

“Are you alright?”

“No, my head is still spinning, my heart racing. I am severely dehydrated. No way, I am getting out of here until I feel better.”

Wow. I was flabbergasted. I knew we were both dehydrated but I didn’t see that coming. 

He must have been seriously dehydrated.

After an hour of recovery and rehydration in Jamieson, we decided the ride is over and we would ride to Mansfield. I left Jamieson still with the belief that I could get Damian safely to Mansfield and then push on. 

But as soon as we got on the bike, all the adrenalin and excitement vanished. Seeing my ride mate in such a terrible condition plus the length of the stop put me mentally into a different state of mind.

Should I really ride on alone into the night?

Although it was only right to join him to get him safely to Mansfield, disappointment and a huge sense of failure set in. I couldn’t believe it. I was so determined to reach the top of Mt Buller. Now I had to give up short of it.

With those feelings setting in, I lost my motivation for this ride.

However, Damian seemed to wake up from the dead. He rode off strong and visibly got his energy back. 

Although I had no desire to keep riding, I asked anyway if he wanted to change his mind to keep going up Mt Buller. I expected a “no” but to my big surprise he said, “let’s do it!”

What?!?

Thinking that the gravel section was the toughest mental part, this mental adjustment from deep disappointment to “hey let’s rock this” was huge. 

It took me a few minutes to readjust my motivation to ride for another 50km (31mi) with 800m (2600ft) of elevation. But man, this overbearing sense of disappointment evaporated and hell, I was ready to finish this sucker!

With us both being aligned in our goals again, we made the next 50km as fun and exciting as possible. We both just came from very different ends of disappointment and here we are facing a legitimate climb in the darkest of dark, 15 hours into our riding. And we are having fun doing it!

The cherry on the ice cream was some surprise visits! Blake knew we were about to climb Mt Buller and stopped on the climb, cheering us on. Andy and Nicole stopped on the way handing us pizza! How awesome is that?!? Things like this make a huge difference in such a ride!

Damian and I truly enjoyed the last kilometres and it became a little bit celebratory finishing strong on top of the climb and completing what we planned to do after 18 hours.

A huge sense of accomplishment was setting in........ A veeeeeery addicting feeling.

When can I do it again? Ah…right, Three Peaks next weekend!


Our route: Melbourne - 1 in 20 - Warburton - Reefton Spur - Eildon-Warburton Rd - Jamieson - Mt Buller

Climbing up Reefton Spur

Our only water source between Warburton and Jamieson (120km)

I had to kiss the pavement when we finally got done with the gravel section

Getting dark. In the distance Mt. Buller, our final climb

The beginning of the 16km Mt Buller climb

It is darkest of dark! You dont see absolutely anything when the light is off.

* On the way down from Mt Terrible a lyrebird ran actually in between my wheels. That was luck to both me and the bird that we actually got out of it ok.

Race in Cyprus - 4 Day challenge for every runner

If you enjoy running (no matter if recreational or elite), warm weather and like the idea to take your post-race recovery nap on the beach then the Four Day Cyprus Challenge might be just perfect for you!

Cyprus is located South of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea

Being very new to running, I decided what better way to get great workouts in than heading into the sun in middle of November for a 4 day running event.

The four days were compromised of very different running races.

It all started of with a 6km flat, paved time trial, each runner starting 10 seconds apart. Sounds easy, right?

Well, right from day one tactics are played because the winner would be the one with the fastest time of all four races combined. 

So do you run those six kilometers hard and hope you have enough left at day 4 or play it safe but potentially losing valuable seconds? 

Either way, day 2 would test your physical and mental limits with a 11km off road race with an 600m elevation gain. If it's not your quads that scream for oxygen, your lungs will! The race strategy on this day is pretty clear: survive!

Even in November, Cyprus can offer temperatures around 20°C (68F)

If hills are not your strength, you can shine on day three at the off-road half marathon with a 8km descent. But not so fast. You need to work for this treat by climbing up 10km beforehand.

Although the idea of running downhill sounds fantastic on day 3, day 4 might be a different story, especially if your legs are not used to descending.

The “fast” 10km on day 4 through the near-by town Paphos will make sure to remind you of the past three days. Setting a new personal record seems to be out of question, but how much slower the time will be depends on the tactics you played the last three days.

Fantastic views from the mountains

All these intense moments are shared with a great, welcoming, friendly community of about 200 runners of every age and ability. At every finish volunteers and runners cheering for other runners. You share the stories of glory and pain. 

And if you happened to wake up and forgot what you signed up for, you will remember at breakfast when watching your fellow runners hobbling back and forth to the buffet. But dont be mischievous because you will too!

Either way, it’s all good fun. The fantastic, upbeat atmosphere of the runners, the top-notch organization, the beautiful scenery combined with the welcoming Cypriot mentality make this a perfect vacation in November (and since it is off-season, no tourist crowds anywhere!)

Link to the race: https://www.cypruschallenge.com/movies-photos/2014-event

How to succeed at tough races

Two months ago I signed up for one of the harder races in Switzerland: the Alpenbrevet, a 276km race with over 7000m of elevation. However, with a new job I have less time for riding and only two months ago I hopped on my bike maybe once a week. 

Still, I signed up for the longest and hardest distance of the three racing options. 

Finishing a race of that magnitude is not an easy goal, especially if your training capacity is mediocre at best. 

However, although physical fitness is very important, what gets you really up the mountain, through nasty weather conditions and across the finish line is your mind!

Here are a few suggestions that help me get through tough challenges, even with less training:

Never doubt your success. You gotta be on the start line thinking that you will succeed. Any doubt will later, in tough times, knock on your mental door and question your sanity. During the first climb of the Alpenbrevet, all the different distance groups (Silver, Gold, Platinum) rode together. I asked a few riders what distance they will ride. A lot said `I will see. I was thinking of Platinum but if I do not feel well, I will go for the Gold distance`. All of them set themselves up for not completing the highest goal they could achieve. 

Don’t focus on the pain. If you do it will only get worse. It`s the same with feeling sick. If you think about getting sick, you will. Distract yourself. Especially on long challenges, try to distract yourself with something else than your current activity. Sooner or later, you will find yourself thinking about it all the time anyway. Now, when it is easy to entertain yourself with other things, like chatting (if possible) with other riders, enjoying the nature, counting the white stripes of the middle lane, will make the latter and tougher part of the race mentally easier. 

Tell as many people as possible about your goal. Because you would have to tell all of them you had to quit. Then try to imagine what you would tell them. If it sounds like an excuse, keep going.

Play worse-case scenario. If you are getting tired climbing up a mountain, ask yourself: How could it be worse? The grade could be steeper. It could rain. There could be headwind. It could be a cobble way. All of a sudden, your current condition does not seem too bad anymore.

After all it all boils down to:

Pain is temporary but failure lasts forever.

Plus, crossing the finish line after a very tough challenge is an indescribable addicting feeling.

What gets you through a tough race?