[vier weken geleden en excuus dat ik te lui ben om het te vertalen
]
77% did not finish. It was luck I was not to be amongst them.
It all started back home: the frameset of my N+1 was delayed and building it took more time than anticipated. As a result the bike was ready just a few days before the brevet and I took it with me with nothing more than (literally) a ride around the block on its odometer. Generally speaking it’s not a wise idea to hop on a brand new bike that you’re not used to yet for riding a 650km brevet
The train and flight to Munich were uneventful, but when I assembled the bike on Munich Airport I noticed a dent in the top of the seat tube, making it impossible to insert the seat post. Disaster!
Panic! What to do now? I took the S-Bahn (train) into Munich and found myself a bicycle shop nearby. A young guy at "Velo am Ostbahnhof" was unfazed when he saw the dent, took a big pair of pliers and bent the edge back in shape. Quick check for if it would leave scratches and then I was all set. Crisis averted!
The next morning at 4:30 some 250 randonneurs assembled at the Munich Zoo entrance hoping to finish at Bolzano (340km) or Ferrara (660km). Cold, but at least it was dry. The first part was a twisty gravel path, which dispersed the big group right away. Quiet roads followed and I rode mostly by own. Then suddenly I got a pat on my back, it was Michael with who I rode a large part of Borders of Belgium. We continued together but got separated in the descent of the Fernpass (apologies Michael, I just hate to brake and it was a joy how my new bike moved through the bends). While I was surveying the place for lunch in Landeck Michael arrived, he pushed on while I had something to eat.
Until Bozen (Bolzano) everything went very well, I arrived without any rain and way ahead of schedule (at 21:00). Shortly after I left Bozen it started to rain heavily. Because of the weather and being so much ahead of schedule I decided not to use a sheltered picnic place I had scouted two years ago (one hour riding from Bozen), but continue to Trento and sleep in the Hotel Sporting.
I spent like half an hour under a hot shower to get some feeling back into my toes; they were completely numb from cold, despite me wearing winter overshoes and rain pants.
Still cold and raining it was when I left the hotel at 05:30, heading to the checkpoint in Avio. After about an hour the Garmin was warning its battery had 2% left, wtf? It had been charging for hours in the hotel... Put it in battery save mode then used my phone for navigation. This was time consuming and I got very cold from stopping so much; taking my glove off to handle the phone didn't help either.
Oh how nice was that heater at the Grill in Avio
I was close to giving up at this point but the coffee, hot stove and prospect of tail wind until Mantova cheered me up, while I was waiting for the GPS to charge. After 45 minutes it showed 17% charge and I decided to wait a bit longer. But then after another 30 minutes it was showing 4%! WTF?
And it was not just Garmin that gave me trouble: when Samsung says their phones are waterproof they fail to mention you can’t charge them when there’s even a hint of moisture in the USB port… As a result my phone was nearly dead too… Still, I decided to leave and hope for the best. If all else would fail I could use the printed route sheets, or decide to scratch after all.
Again, progress was slow because of the navigation. But, as the Dutch saying goes: “als de nood het hoogst is is redding nabij”.
My saving angel was Rene, the other Dutch rider. I first met him at the Bici Grill and a while later we met again when I retraced from a navigation error. I asked if we could ride together for a while and we found we matched well in speed and temperament and rode the rest of the ride together.(until that puncture near Ferrara where I urged him on, no use for him to wait in the rain and I was confident I would make it to the finish from there)
After the stress before the start, enduring the cold and rain, the misery with the GPS and dealing with two punctures, the finish on Piazetta del Castello was an anti-climax. Just the organizer’s van with your luggage, and someone to congratulate you and register your finish. Which was at 39h40 for me, still well within the cut off of 43 hours (additional time because of the overdistance). The ACP homologation number followed a few weeks later, meaning that I now have completed the qualification for PBP
♂️
Back home I disassembled the Garmin. The USB connector had broken off the circuit board, making it impossible to charge. Tried soldering a replacement but those contacts are just too small and flimsy. And not enough power left to transfer the 400km that were recorded, so no ride details on Strava
But that doesn't mean this ride didn't happen!
)
Panic! What to do now? I took the S-Bahn (train) into Munich and found myself a bicycle shop nearby. A young guy at "Velo am Ostbahnhof" was unfazed when he saw the dent, took a big pair of pliers and bent the edge back in shape. Quick check for if it would leave scratches and then I was all set. Crisis averted!
I was close to giving up at this point but the coffee, hot stove and prospect of tail wind until Mantova cheered me up, while I was waiting for the GPS to charge. After 45 minutes it showed 17% charge and I decided to wait a bit longer. But then after another 30 minutes it was showing 4%! WTF?
♂️
