Endurance Cycling – pedalnorth https://pedalnorth.com The best independent cycling website Tue, 31 Dec 2024 19:46:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://pedalnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cropped-Pedal-North-600-pixel-32x32.jpg Endurance Cycling – pedalnorth https://pedalnorth.com 32 32 Race 24 Kelheim – Fight against mind and fatigue https://pedalnorth.com/race-24-kelheim-fight-against-mind-and-fatigue/ Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:30:19 +0000 https://pedalnorth.com/?p=41842
Maria WilkeKELHEIM 24Maria's website

Race 24 Kelheim – Fight against mind and fatigue

Mary Wilke gives an account of her epic cycle at the Kelheim 24 hour race

I’ve trained long und hard for this day, now it has come: The 24 hours in Kelheim were on my agenda and I was already really excited and motivated for this event since a few weeks and I was ready to give everything my mind and body were able to.

On Friday, Christian, my mum and I were on our 580 km long drive to Kelheim in beautiful Bavaria. We planned to enjoy the amazing village festival the evening before the race to pick-up my race number and to have a nice snack for dinner, but unfortunately the weather was really not on our side. After a sunny day so far, Kelheim welcomed us with a huge cloudburst and we had to cancel our cosy dinner. What a shame, but a good Italian pizza on our way to the hotel was great as well and so we were ready for a last relaxing night before the big race.

Race Day

Raceday! All of us were full of anticipation during our relaxing breakfast. Unfortunately I had quite an uneasy night and tried to repress my fatigue with a few cups of coffee. One last time we’ve gone through the plan and tactic for the coming hours („Don’t allow me to take too long breaks!“) and soon we were on our way to check out the camp of Racing Team – WINAX food artists, who kindly allowed us to join them and to use all the conveniences there – A huge thanks for that! After arriving we were really impressed about the possibilities there, because an entire buffet plus kitchen plant was already installed and everything, a cyclist and his tummy dreams about, was available! Thus my well-being concerning food was ensured 🙂

Soon everything was prepared and my clothes had been assorted by the different periods of the race. As a precautionary measure, Christian has taped my lower back and my knees, after the other long distance races I knew my physical weak points. The bike was prepared and cleaned, the first few bottles were filled, now there was no return! Even the space behind the starting line became increasingly full and so I joined some well-known faces there until the starting signal finally sounded!

The 24 hours has started and the legs were simply perfect! So I could manage the hill loosely-light and the atmosphere along the track was fantastic as usual. Everywhere were cheering spectators and along the ascent up to „Col de Stausacker“ we could see the annual party-hotspots and loud music rumbled out of the speakers. I got a good group on top of the ascent and so we were flying with high-speed direction finishing area. But of course it was only allowed for the relay riders to cross the finish line. I had to do the U-turn before the time measuring mat and in an explosive atmosphere, I rumbled over the cobbles through the gigantic party tent to start my next lap.

And so it went on. I drove the following laps together with Marie Westphal from Racing Team – WINAX food artists with even lap times of 30 to 33 minutes. At every lap I reliably got my food package. The first break was planned for the start into the night at 21 pm to eat a small warm snack, to enjoy a relaxing massage for my legs and to put on some warmer clothes for the coming night. At this break I also had my first quick pee-break and after 16 minutes, I was already back on my bike which has been prepared for the night.

Marie’s break was shorter than mine, but that suited me fine. I have noticed that I’ve put myself under pressure to keep the pace and her rear wheel, so I was happy now that I could choose my own feel-good pace. I’ve resolved to go through the night without a break and to wait for the sunrise. But this night was really cold even from the beginning, during the descents I was trembling despite my long sleeve jersey and wind jacket. Moreover, I had great problems to keep myself motivated. Only the big party along the ascent cheered me up again and again and with still good legs I climbed that hill to the beat of the music. The night was long…Really long. The coldness was terrible and crawled through all layers of clothing. I tried to eat regularly even though I was absolutely not hungry to maintain my physical power and to catch a good group every time I am crossing the top of that hill for the long and straight way back to start the next lap. The lap times slowed to 38 to 42 minutes, nevertheless I had great legs and only at 01:30 am I needed to shift to my 32 sprocket. However I wanted nothing more than the dawn to come.

The coldness was omnipresent and also the persistent party-people on the hill were slowly stumbling down. But sometime, this night was finally over too. At 05:30 am and after a breath-taking and wonderful sunrise I was ready for my second break and I was really looking forward for it. I got some warm semolina and an espresso and Christian tried to massage my legs, but every touch was a torture. Another quick pee-break, new warm clothes and 19 minutes later, this break was already over too.

Mind Games

My mind became the biggest problem, at least there were still 7 hours to go and my motivation left much to be desired. Moreover it was the first time during a 24 hour race, that I had really great problems with intense fatigue and touches of momentary nodding off. I tried to kept myself awake with espresso and energy drink in my bottles, took off my glasses to have some wind in my eyes and wished for nothing more than someone to talk to. And yes, my saviour during this bad time was already around: Carmen, who started that race as an individual rider too but had to quit before the night because of health problems, joined me while I was crossing the other team camps near the finishing area. From this moment on, she was a great help until the end of the race!

So we drove the coming laps and hours together. It was worth it to have someone to talk to, the fight against the fatigue got much more easier and I was so grateful for her slipstream on the long straight back direction Kelheim. At 10 am I had another short stop, because the sun was producing the much-desired heat. Definitely too hot for my long sleeve jersey, so another quick change of clothes, another espresso to refill my caffeine level and then we both started for the final few laps. My fighting spirit was finally back, because I’d already reached my goal to ride one more lap than in the previous year and there were still 4 hours to go! Whether this is a good or a bad thing, but my new goal was to beat the 600 km! 70 more km to go, I think, Carmen was not really happy about my decision 🙂

Wohoooo! Finally the time had come when we were on our last lap. We finally did it, what a feeling! One last time riding over these cobbles with hurting wrists and arms because of the hard vibrations, one last time climbing this hill crossing partying and cheering people and then, finally, we were riding this straight without any pressure. Arriving in the party tent we were welcomed by a raving crowd and loud party music and at least we could climb over that trunk where normally the relay riders are finishing their lap. YES – End of the game!

Exhilaration and relief!

What a moment! Once again I couldn’t stop my tears of thankfulness, exhaustion and relief. I saw my mum and Christian and I knew, what these two guys have done during the last hours to made this race possible. This gratitude cannot be put into words. I was received by many good friends, people were celebrating and the whole atmosphere was amazing.

My exhaustion and fatigue were forgotten and I was simply happy to be part of this moment. I reached my goal to finish on the podium, the effort, the fight against the fatigue for hours and the fight against my mind, the curses but also the fun on the track were rewarded with the 3rd place and an unforgettable moment on this legendary podium. I’ve done 605 km and 7.731 m of elevation during a total riding time of 22:20 hours.

Visit Maria’s own website here
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]]> Lap after lap at the 24 hours of Zolder with Maria Wilke https://pedalnorth.com/lap-after-lap-at-the-24-hours-of-zolder-with-maria-wilke/ Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:20:24 +0000 https://pedalnorth.com/?p=41792
Maria Wilke24 hours of ZolderMaria's website

Lap after lap at the 24 hours of Zolder

Back in 2018, the quite inspirational German cyclist, Maria Wilke cycled over 700 km in 24 hours, at the epic race event at Zolder. Looking back at this achievement, as we enter 2025, we wanted to re-publish this achievement, in order to inspire others who might be thinking of their won personal challenges. Maria has shown over the years, that women in sport can achieve anything; and, as one of the founding bloggers with our website, it’s a great way to celebrate her return.  The following is her own account of this epic ride. 

Adventures & Inspiration, with Maria Wilke

Classic situation – You get off your bike and say to yourself: I think, I’ll never do this again. And this is what happened last year after I’ve rode my last lap of the 24 hours on the race track of Zolder/Belgium. Yes, a lot can happen in one year and then happened what should happen: Also in 2018 I was standing at the starting line of the 4 km lap and even felt some anticipation with a view to the forthcoming 24 hours.

But let’s start from the beginning. Unlike last year, Christian, who wants to ride the 24 hours Solo by himself, my mother as the world’s best supporter and I arrived on Saturday morning/race day. The starting signal sounds only at 3 pm so we preferred to sleep in our domestic beds and started the trip to Zolder after a strengthening breakfast at home.

Preparation & Briefing

Fortunately we were allowed to join the camp of our friends of the Milc Cycling Team. I was looking forward to meet Pascal again, who wanted to support me also in this year on the track! After the Briefing, we started our preparations fort he coming hours on the track: Sorting clothes, arrange bottles, powders and food. At least we tried to make it as easy as possible for my mum, because she had to support me AND Christian – I was a bit sorry for her when we told her all of our special wishes and extra orders when, how much, how often, little bit from this with a little bit of that. But I was sure she would manage it 🙂

Everything was prepared 3 hours before the start and it was time to put up my feet and relax, to enjoy a portion of milk rice and to mentally prepare ourselves for the 4 km lap. Our plan for this year was to ride non-stop through the night from the beginning – Normally we decided to take a short break before the start of the night at maybe 10 pm, but because of training reasons I want to go through it with a high average pace. I remembered my ride last year when I had to fight against fatigue and performance issues. It seems that the track is nearly flat but it’s still peppered with 3 slight ascents and these ones will get harder and harder after riding them every 6 minutes. In contrast to last year and my 12 hour race here in 2016, we would ride the track in clockwise direction, which meant, that I didn’t even knew how hard these ascents would be in the other direction. But I was sure, time would show us fast than we would like.

Challenging Mind & Body

So we started on time at 2:50 pm for the warm-up lap behind the pace car, to check out the track, the curves and the ascents. Especially at the beginning it’s really rough in the big and really fast group and it’s nice to know, where I would have to ride for the best position. After the participants, who qualified themselves for the pole position (also Christian was riding there) we were allowed to follow 3 minutes after them. The race is on! Because the food zones were directly in a descent and the speed would be very high while crossing, we decided to manage the handover of drinks and food via feeding bags, which are also used in the pro races, because I didn’t dare to grab bottles at a speed of 50 km/h or more!

As planned, Pascal and I stayed in the fast group as long as possible although the speed was really high. I was able to place myself well, tried to stay in the first rows of the group to reduce any potential risk of crashes and my legs felt really good! The only thing I worried about was my stomach. It was protesting, rumbling and bloated and I wasn‘t almost able to drink, much less to eat. After 150 km we had an average speed above 40 km/h and I worried that I would be punished for the sparse food and drink intake. Again and again I forced myself to take a swig out of my bottles but there was definitely no thought of eating.

After 150 km we decided to leave the fast group. The speed was much too high to keep it up for the coming 21 hours that we had to face. Also to avoid more stress for my stomach because of the effort, Pascal and I joined a more easy group and started into the night. Fortunately my stomach calmed down from 9 pm and I could start eating my white bread sandwiches to supply my body with some energy. I preferred them with meat and cheese, my stomach felt more comfortable with it instead of the sweet things like Nutella, honey etc. Surprisingly my legs had their best time during the night. I felt great, no signs of fatigue or something else, and also the temperature was really pleasant. After getting some thin arm warmers at the beginning of the night, I only needed a light wind jacket (more to keep back and neck warm) and some knee warmers (also more to avoid pains in them). Pascal had a great idea and mounted a small music box under his saddle and so our disco express was rolling deeper into the night.

But slowly but surely I suffered because of the very short lap and the monotony. The battery oft he music box was empty, the sky got only slightly brighter and after every lap I saw this clock above the finish line which said, we had still over 10 hours to go. At that time before 5 am we rode nearly 500 km with an average speed of nearly 36 km/h and I urgently needed something to keep myself motivated. Fortunately the sun started to rise, the first sun rays fell through the trees on the road in front of us and finally it was time for our short break in the camp at 6 am. My mum, who was sitting hard as iron, shaking and freezing on her chair next to the track during the damn whole night and waited for some orders (yes, sometimes I wondered if I would need something else so it’s not that boring for her , already prepared some hot semolina with protein powder. It was blessing to get out of the cycling shoes and to move the toes but in general I felt no physical problems – No aching legs, no aching back, knee was good, only my butt said thank you for the monotonous sitting position.

Fighting The Pain

I wrapped myself into a warming blanket, sat down at the table in the camp and actually dozed off several times. That’s when the body comes to rest and the night takes its toll. That was my sign to get up (whereby I could even finish the race, the second woman was already more than 100 laps behind me) and also my mum and Christian, who had to cancel his race by the beginning of the night because of knee pain, pushed me back on the bike. I just ordered a hot vegetable bouillon for the next lap and started alone direction track. Pascal started already a few minutes before me, because he was on the 3rd place of his category and for sure wanted to defend it! For my part I had still problems to keep myself motivated, so I needed a new aim. I wanted to crack the 700 km, what meant to ride 200 km during the next 9 hours.

Easier said than done. Time seemed to stand still lap after lap, the backward-counting clock above the finish line didn’t make it better and so I was just strolling over the course. From time to time I found a group to ride with, sometimes was also possible to go with the big and still really fast group of the team riders but after almost being involved in a crash I decided, that riding on my own or smaller groups would be the safer choice. At around 10 am I sat down next to my mum at the track (needed someone to talk to 🙂 ), watched the crossing riders and tried to motivate myself for the last 100 km. After I started feeling cold in the strong breeze, I got back on the bike for the kilometers. Also during this race: Sometimes it’s always over and at some point I saw the magic 700 on my cycling computer. Now nothing kept me on the track for another lap – Into the camp, take a warming shower, jump into fresh clothes and relax. Shortly before 3 pm, I returned on the track for a very last lap to enjoy the feeling of crossing the finish line!

And finally the clock was at 00:00, together with Christian I was rolling over the finish line and yes, I was quite happy that it was done. Nevertheless I could look back on strong kilometers, 706,5 km and 3.163 m+ in total. The average speed suffered a bit because of my demotivated time during the last hours, but at least it was at 33,4 km/h after 24 hours. All in all it was a great mental training for the upcoming events like the 24 hours of Zolder or the 1000 km race of the torture. And again I must say, that a great support during races like this is absolutely invaluable – Thousand Kisses to my mum, I am deeply impressed by her perseverance. Riding 24 hours is different to sitting 24 hours at the track, preparing sandwiches, filling bottles and preparing breaks – Such a support is priceless! Also special thanks to Pascal, who gave me best possible protection from the wind during and was my partner in crime for nearly 15 hours in a row and also kisses to Christian, who helped my mum and encouraged me after he had to cancel his own race. You guys are great and I am looking forward to the coming events with all of you!

Visit Maria’s own website here
Read Our Blogs

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Tobias Arweiler

Schattwald and the Tannheim Valley gravel ride – in the Austrian Tyrol

Cycling Rossfeld Panoramastrasse from Konigssee

VOTEC Gravel Fondo Route – Heidelberg Germany

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