Even more Roc d'Azur

Almost a week has past since my Roc experience! I wanted to write down my experiences sooner but was waiting for the time and the pictures.

Last Friday was my day and I was very nervous....being nervous is normal for me before a race, but the pressure was on even more. I had stated the whole year through I had wanted to compete for a podium spot, when three weeks before the race my knee looked like football and I could hardly walk of pain. The fear of major damage didn't do my confidence much good either. And when I was riding on the Roc trails, 3 days before the race and could not keep up with my host and guide, I felt trouble....''I'm not ready'' ''My training has not been sufficient'' and more of those things went through my mind.

So, when on Friday I stood in the back rows of the second wave with my brother, I was relieved. It was an anonymous start; no way that riding away in the first kilometers would be possible, with all these people in front of me and no way I would be able to ride a fair result.

Off I went, said goodbye to my brother in the first climb when he passed me and felt the fire return when I was passing lots of people....men.....during that first climb. A technical climb that I had studied in July. I new what to expect and knew how to beat the sucker. All went well. The first descent was a big traffic jam and I knew that a descent time was, again, out of the question, with this kind of trouble during the first descent.

And sure enough; when the next climb doomed and with a little steep bump to pass on technique, before attacking the climb, I again was stopped by someone not able to pass the obstacle. Getting back on the bike was going to be hell and the rythm would be jeopardised.

Sure enough, I struggled on. I knew the terrain and passed lots of guys, on rythm and my power, but even for me the juice ran out, for the dead simple reason that it was hot, that I had not ridden under these circumstances and in this terrain for 2 years and because of the ongoing stopping and starting due to jams....after 2.5 hours I had had it and was close to quitting.

Do not get me wrong....the new descent was awesome and I felt that I could finally use the bike for what it has been made for. This was pure heaven, but also brutal reality. My lungs were burning and my legs moved on in a fine power mode. But I had had it and was very, very close to getting off, when I passed the house of my hosts. Enough is enough I thought; the knees are holding out, I can still ride technical runs, but this is too hard....

For some reason I moved on, thought that finishing is the least I can do. I don't want to dissapoint myself, nor the people who have helped me and who support me. I have to finish. When I finally crossed the line with a 45 minutes laps of my best time I felt dissapointed. 45 Minutes longer than usual is too much, even with the traffic jams....My front tire was flat and I had struggled in the last two descents were the flat tire pushed me straight, where I was supposed to turn a sharp corner......ai ai ai ai.....I just made it.

In the end, after a hard day on the bike and a short swim in the sea afterwards and thunderous clouds to end the day....I had finished 7th in my category. 7th.....who would have thought!

Roc 2010...here I come!

Roc d'Azur, still

I surpassed myself today....

After arriving in Roquebrune last night and having to take the two bikes into my room for the hotel-night, I finaly arrived at my destination this morning. The two days in Le Gard were wonderfull. I went for a ride yesterday, managed to put in two hours with ease and found some very nice paths....my arms and legs are the silent witnesses of the thorns and other sharp branches Í've had to cut my way trough. Two hours of beautiful little ways to areas I didn't know existed close to home...and the houses I've seen in the middle of nowhere, with their swimming pools...It is one of the most accessible, exciting places to ride a mountainbike. I'm thoroughly impressed!

And then today. The morning was spent visiting friends....Can I call my surgeon and physio of the rehab centre friends? Heck, why not! It was so nice to see them again, be it for advise or just to have a coffee with them....It was good to see them.

The afternoon was spent preparing the bikes...and then....after lunch; THE RIDE.

I haven't been this tired after a ride in, well, years maybe. Although it was only two hours, and two hours on the Roc d'Azur tracks, I have emptied my muscles and lungs of every microgram of energy today....It is impressive.

The two dangerous downhill passages have been cleaned of any superflu and are spectacular. Where I walked part of the first one because it was too steep to get back on my bike, I managed to stay ON my bike for the second one with the runners in my pants. And I managed!

But the mental toughness one gets of rides like these, have not been in my training efforts, so today was one year of getting mentally tough in two hours.

Am I still making sense?

The cool beer afterwards dropped into my system like a tranquilizer and I know I will sleep well tonight!

Roc d’Azur

After tattered preparations due to bad luck all around, I packed my car and drove off south. This is the first year that I'm a visitor to the Roc d'Azur; the first time that I had to look for a place to stay and the first time that I'm taking a holiday to go and ride. Up until now the Roc was held in my back yard and I had prepared on the tracks and trails themselves. In short, this is adventure again.

First stop, Mejannes le Clap, in Le Gard. First stop because I don't want to bother the friends where I'll be staying for too long, especially because my brother will join me too and that will make two of us in their house. First stop also to get some well-deserved rest, check-out the legs and enjoy the sun, the silence and the solitude. It is well worth it. I'm glad I decided not to get a hotel with a value of € 10K of bikes in the car and to drive on, despite the fatigue…the morning here was nice, the sun is shining and on my way to a grocery store in a small village close by, this feeling of rooted-ness…a funny word isn't it.

Anyway, let's stick to the riding. Two weeks of forced rest have not done the endurance-capacity a lot of good. The small sprints and short steep hills leave me breathless, with a biting twang to it. But when I ride the wide paths and I look at my gear I see that it's heavier than it feels…so strength wise all is well. Nice! I feel I miss the toughness of competition…again, a forced rest, so no last minute tests done. Heck, I enter a path, I know it's technical and I feel my shoulders tense up. Damn it, relax I tell myself and trust your legs and the bike…..The trail is tough, sharp stones and lots of loose rock but I manage to pass…..A test of mental toughness to regain the trust in my capacities. I'm happy and the fatigue of the last few weeks doesn't seem to bother me anymore. This is it….this is the way.

Roc d'Azur here I come. I won't win, but the feeling is back and I intend to enjoy myself out there. Another test tomorrow, longer than the 60 minutes of today to ride off the car journey, and then off to St Aygulf.