2024-07
Well it’s been a while since I last added something here… On the one hand that’s due to the fact that I had quite a lot of other things on my mind in the last year, on the other, a lot of my bike rides in 2024 were focused on (preparing for) a longer tour I planned with some friends. Initially we planned on crossing the alps from Germany into Italy, but you can see for yourself how that went in [a-link-yet-to-come].
Anyways, my training plan for the steep tour was riding up the highest hill in the area. I did check the elevation of my route and it was around half of the highest peak we had planned for our tour, so I was conviced it would suffice and went on with my preparations.
Ascent I
The first time going up was quite tough.
I was just beginning to figure out the route and it was quite hot and dry outside. I took the route I was most familiar with from previous tours I did with friends, which follows a road that is rather popular with motor bikes. I made the mistake of riding on a weekend, ensuring I was overtaken quite a lot, sometimes with a scary lack of distance.
After being more than annoyed by my way there, I carried on riding up the long incline through the forests that cover the hill. After a good amount of “just keep pedalling” and one very exhausted break, I arrived at the top of the hill (give or take a few meters in altitude), for the first time in a few years.
I was out of breath - really out of breath. I had to lie down on a bench at the hiking parking lot for a moment. After recovering I started walking a bit further into the forest and took a few pictures, which I spread around this rides’ text for decoration. Then I saw the small kiosk at the clearing open for the first time since I’ve been up there. So of course I went and got an isotonic sports drink - a zero-alcohol dark beer, starting a small tradition I kept up during the few training rides I did; enjoying one of the surprisingly many options of alcohol-free beers at the peak always gave me a nice incentive to power through on the way up.
Going back, I took a different route a friend had shown me earlier and enjoyed the landscape quite a lot. The prospect of moving town for uni was very much on my mind that day and I had a bit of a day dream of taking a few of my soon-to-be friends there on a holiday and enjoying the sunshine close to home. After that though, the way back must have been quite uneventful as I don’t remember too much about it.
I do remember realizing I was quite kaput as soon as I sat down for the first time after putting my bike in the shed, though. And the muscle ache I felt every time I went up the stairs the following days both made me proud and question whether this really was a good idea.
Ascent II
The second time was still as hot, but surprisingly not nearly as exhausting.
The process of figuring out the route toward my hill stayed with me for every ride, as there doesn’t seem to be a good path from my home town to the peak. However, I tried out option 2 that day and so had to ride up a short but steep segment of road in between an Orchard and a pasture with some sheep at the foot of the hill. Since the incline started quite suddenly and the sun burned from behind I stopped pretty quickly and pushed my bike up the path, which only marginally helped with the sudden exhaustion.
So, after having recovered a tiny bit from these roughly 100 meters, I continued on through the village on the side of the hill, missing my exit and riding a good deal in the wrong direction before realizing the road was curving away from my destination. Having turned around, I had a few more short but steep inclines which lead me to the correct road out of town. Going up this way was nice, but I was also a bit on edge as I was going the wrong way on a one-way street. All over all it was fine as there was little traffic and the road had clearly been built as two-way and still had some of the markings. Still, breaking the road law like that bothered my inner German and I also half-expected a car or motorbike to come downhill a little too fast and too close around one of the many curves.
As an aside, I also noticed on my previous ride that there was no internet anywhere close to the hill so I had to rely on my favorite Pendulum album as the motivating soundtrack on the way up on all of my rides. So, after ordering another one of the zero-percent beers, I had a nice chat with the kiosk owner. He had quite a funny way of talking up his wares and the kiosk in general. It is the most well stocked in all of Germany after all! ;)
Coming home, I was surprised to find I was not nearly as exhausted as the last time. So I basked in my youth and enjoyed the speedy response of my muscles to training and looked forward to the next ascent.
Ascent III
This one wasn’t straightforward at all.
Another hot summer day, another ride up my favorite hill. Determined to find a good way up, I had studied some maps and figured I could ride up to the hill again, but this time leave in the other direction and take some hiking trails perpendicular to the road and go a bit more straight. This is where the issues began.
First I went along a back road of a back road that suddenly turned into an unpaved forest path. So far so good but I instantly realised that the touring bike I was riding did not have anywhere close to the ability of going uphill on dirt that I was used from my mountain bike. So, after doing an unintentional wheelie, I decided to stay on the less steep parts of the trail and continue on.
After a while and a few suspicious curves, the lack of steepness turned into a level path and then into a downward slope. At this point I was commited, so I continued on and after crossing another open field with hot, straining direct sunlight, I came to the roundabout where I had begun the long ascent on my first time up the hill, meaning I had gone half-way around the hill and still had all of the going-uphill in front of me.
Going up in the shade of the trees wasn’t half bad, espacially after the two previous practice rides and with the motivation of a cold drink awaiting me at the top. So, I went up, had my break, and started on my way back. Coming through the village on the hill a second time for that day, I saw that, to my surprise, the small museum there was actually open. Since I had nothing planned for the rest of the day I went inside and found the two people running the place; One archeologist and her husband, a geologist by trade (I think), the latter of which gave me a private tour of the upstairs exhibition.
After learning a bit about the old and the recent history of the region - including a chat about the old cherry tree in the town that had recently died - we went downstairs again. There, I looked through the posters explaining the rock formations through the ages and how this specific hill was formed. Me asking a few questions here and there got the three of us talking about a few different topics, from geology and history to bike rides, holidays and the running of the museum. Just as I was about to leave, the archeologist gifted me a copy of the book she had written on the history of the hill as thanks for the my interest.
Feeling honored, I took the book home and enjoyed my evening, skimming through the first few pages.
Ascent IV
Now some routine was setting in.
I took the same way up as the second time, as it had proven the least annoying one of the ones I had tried. The training also paid off, as I was very quick to regain my strenght as soon as I had reached the highest point of my ride. That of course meant I had a very relaxed time, enjoying my malted beverage. Being less exhausted, I also asked the kiosk owner about the CDs he sold, which were by a local keltic (as in irish folk music) bands. This band, according to him, were the very best of their kind, of course. He even put on one of the songs for me but I put off buying the CD for another day.
Well, that day never came (or at least not as of yet).
The unintentional training break
A few days later I got sick. Really sick.
At last I lost my sensee of taste, turning my suspicion that it might be Covid into a reality. I made the best of the situation: I figured out that even if you can’t taste or smell ginger, it still hurts your mouth if you eat a good chunk, I learned toki pona and played some videogames. But, I was absolutely not in a place where I could have continued with the training.
Being in the priviliged position of just having finished my Bachelors degree and being fully vaccinated, I had little trouble just sitting out the symptoms I had, but after the roughly two weeks it was time to prepare for [another adventuer with a-link-yet-to-come]. After that one I had some other, smaller events to attend and also planned to get my bike checked by a mechanic before crossing the alps.
So, the infection effectively ended my preparations early. To see how the trip I prepared for went, have a look at [a-link-yet-to-come].
