I had heard about this race from some people (expats) I bike with over here. It sounded pretty cool, and it was pitched to me as a lot of fun and a very well organized race. I thought about it, and signed up for on May 1st with the intent to train more and ride to work (~28km one way). It didn’t work out that way. Some people I spoke with had done a few similar length races before this one, long training rides or spent a week of vacation at a training camp. I did none of this. I road to work once or twice a week for about a month, and went out for two or three hours on Sunday, inconsistently. It is no wonder I got my ass handed to me by 694 men and women, practically all on the first climb! My goals were: 1) Come back in one piece. 2) Have fun. And 3) Don’t be DFL (dead f#&*ing last).
This guy I know from work had done this race several times before. I had asked if the first climb, 13km long and just over 1000m climb, was difficult? He told me that the first time he had done this, he was glad no one told him about the climb in the middle of the race, up and past Berghaus Bort. “That is a hard climb,” he said, “you will know when you see it, the start is only long, but not difficult.” That’s encouraging, I though, most of the climbing will be out of the way in the first part of the race.
I was not nervous before the start of this race, maybe because it was the “fun” category, or maybe I just knew that I hadn’t trained so hard and didn’t expect to place anywhere in the first ½. I thought, I’ve been riding to and from work, faster than last year, so I must be in decent shape, I should be able to finish in less than 5 hours. But then again the elevation on my way to work is like 200m, so it is not at all a “challenge.”
When the gun went off, it took several minutes, it seemed, before I crossed the start line; there were about 100 or so people in front of me. We started off in Grindelwald Grund (940m) at 8:15am and biked most of the way on pavement up to Grosse Scheidegg (1965m by 9:50am), and continued on to First (2167m) by 10:30am; this was just the first 15km.
I have to admit, the first climb was not hard it was just really long. I didn’t think it would take an hour and a half to summit even in the second to last granny-gear. The entire ride from Grund to Grosse Scheidegg was more like a Sunday ride. Everyone rolled out and formed a long line up the road like a snake. At least near the back (where I was) it was apparent that this was not a race. Even as the road narrowed, there was almost no place for the cars to pass. In fact the Swiss Post Bus schedule was severely compromised when a bus (a half hour behind the first) had caught up. There was little to no opportunity for a car to pass mountain bikers on a 10-foot wide road, let alone two buses; they both passed me.
There were some points where it seemed steep, but the reward was the trail from Grosse Scheidegg to First. On my way to First, I could see many people walking sections of the downhill, which was a good idea, cause the drop off to the side was several hundred meters it seemed. Some sections involved steps with varying offsets; from experience I know that is a point of instability, as I have endo’ed once or twice on stuff like that. On the approach, I was able to ride up to the steps, but I was happy to walk them. This one guy I let pass tried to take the stairs an endo’ed pretty good. I saw a piece of slate (I think) sticking up in front of him like a knife-edge with the typical alpine red and white blaze on it. I pictured this guy being gutted on it as he flipped over the handle-bars. Luckily, this guy rolled to left, the up-side of the hill, and missed it by about 6 inches. After the stairs, there were some ride-able sections, where there was a guy with some remote camera taking some pictures. I thought, as long as it caught me riding! I crossed a creek with flowing water surrounded by mud, which effervesced with the smell of fresh cattle feces. Of course, this muddy section was to wide and to thick to ride though, and require me to put at least one foot down. Luckily I was able to get my foot back with my shoe still on it. Just after this, began the start of a very long downhill.
As Dom can attest to steepness of the hike we did from Bort to First in October 2007, the downhill was sketchy to say the least. There were 180° switchbacks where if you were to miss the turn, you would be careening down a cliff or over an edge, where breaks would do you no good. At times I felt like I was doing a hand-stand on my handle bars; my palms pressing so hard into the bars, the circulation in my fingers seemed to cease. I could remember the guy from work saying to me, “What? You don’t have disk breaks? Well you had better be careful on the downhills; I’ve seen guys blow out their tires using rim breaks. Be sure to pump the breaks then, otherwise there’ll overheat.” Once or twice, my breaks locked my back wheel, and I actually began to accelerate. With such long downhills, there was no opportunity to pump or ease off the breaks. The gravel on the double track was more like scree; rocks the size of tennis balls. I kept thinking the knobby tires I was running were too fine, they were for Cross-Country not Alpine, and why the hell didn’t I have a full suspension bike? Everyone I had passed on the uphill was bombing the downhills. I had never been on this trail on a bike before, nor biked in the Alps, I was not about to get cocky.
We were staying at Berghaus Bort. This was an ideal location because the race ran by here twice. The down side was, Melinda started to worry when she saw people coming down the mountain from First, some of which were bloody and torn up. During the time I estimate to ride by, and since I under estimated the time it would take me to ride by, she was not to see me for at least another hour. That’s why you see so many people riding by Bort on the way up; then you see me, like I’m out for a solo Sunday ride.
Once past Bort, it was another one and a half hours before I would, somehow, circumnavigate the valley by riding more sections of downhill (which are only indicated by a forewarning of three bold arrows pointing downwards) and of course, as you would guess it, what-goes-down-must-go-up-again return back to Bort. I had already passed the 3rd stop for “Verpflegung” (food), the third or fourth stop for “Reparatur” (the mechanic, which would issue bills for services rendered), the fourth stop for “Sanität” (medic), and was approaching the massage station, which sounded good, but unfortunately had a line and let’s face it, this was also supposed to be a race and I hadn’t even made it to Bort for the second time.
It was perhaps the 30th or 35th kilometer and about four and a half hours into this “race” when I exited the woods, and turned left on some pavement. I look up to see a sign with arrows pointing up and “2.5km – 300m Hohe.” Everyone at this point beyond the sign was walking! This was the climb up to Bort that my co-worker was telling me about. This was the first point where I began to question the relevance of the “fun” race and to understand the deeper meaning of the “challenge.” I began to ride the sections I could and walk the sections I couldn’t. Once it began to level off, closer to Bort, there was no one around me, not because I was faster than the others, it was because there were so few people to pass at the back. Melinda saw me riding up to the Berghaus, about one and a half hours after some of the others she was talking pictures of. This was a bit humiliating, knowing that the Jackass who won the race road up passed Bort doing a wheelie most of the way! Friggin’ Showoff!
Once I got to the next rideable section, I realize the people I kept passing, were no longer contesting me. Additionally, at each “Verpflegung Haltestelle” everyone else appeared to be making conversation or having a buffet. I’m not sure if I kept to the business of racing because I was in that mindset, or because I was so fatigued I couldn’t remember the German words to ask for “eine Wasserflasche,” “ein Müeslistab,” “eine Energiestab” “eine Banane,” or “eine Orange.”
I had finally crossed the valley, thinking I was getting much closer to the finish, but not realizing I still had an hour. My mind finally went when I thought the course would turn right down to the finish, but instead turned left back up the first climb. I swore I was mis-directed, but eventually I saw the turn-off. I was in the final 10km and I couldn’t find the mental strength to force myself up any hill, or the physical strength to ride safely down any single track. These were sections I knew I would easily ride if I had the energy. I walked most of it. Finally, the dirt turned to pavement, and I was in the last 3-5km. This was perhaps the fastest I was able to go all race, about 40km/h, and then the final climb to the finish… My chain came off and I came to a dead stop. Only a couple of people passed me at this hill to the finish, but they were not in my race, they were finishing the 88km race. Nice! I managed to ride the last climb, motivated by the thought of the finish line and not the thought of beating anyone. The finish was much further than expected, but I finished.
Melinda and Noah on the Train up to Grindelwald
The Yeti on the way up to Grindelwald...
The Day Before the Race...
Old Farm House in the Valley
It is always fun to let your kids play at the edge...
The Sunset was awesome!
Nice!
The Wetterhorn...
The Clouds were also nice...
The morning ride down to the race...
The 88km Race starts...
The ride up to Grosse Scheidegg...
Some of the views were awesome!
Almost at the top... a view down the valley...
The climb was steep at times...
A look back at the road up...
A short break at the top...
The weather was perfect...
The trail to First was Suh-weet...
Watch out for the drop-offs...
After the downhill, but still decending...
Melinda watching the first riders come up to Bort...
You gotta love the guys in the Cow and Tux Jerseys!!!
...and the 4 cyclider engine...
Here's the A**-clown riding a wheelie up the hill...
Robert out for a Sunday ride...
Was ist los?
Too tired to ride...
and steep too...
More alps...
The last pic before the finish (still 30 minutes to go)
I'll take the lift back to Bort, I rode enough hills for the day...
The Google Earth Course...
Don't hang that smelly stuff in here! (Nice tan lines...)
Yeah, Daddy's back! (that took a long time)
That night was another good sunset...
Yes, that is a Berghaus on top of the Eiger!!!
The next morning we hiked to the lake
Melinda and Noah, ready to hike!
Nice Sunrise in the valley
Nice Farmhouse...
The start of the downhill from First...
Look Noah, Cows!
Robert and Noah at the Lake...
Cows at the lake...
More Cows...
Suspicious Cows..
Cows love the Alps...
Cows, Cows, Everywhere...
The Family at the lake...
and a marmot...
Cows in the lake...
You can see why the cows like the alps...
HDR image...
HDR images of the Lake...
Another HDR...
Ok... Last picture...
