The Longest Night
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Really, whose idea was this? Putting on my cycling gear in the parking lot at 0 degrees I can't help but ask myself who is to blame. There are still some patches of snow in the parking lot and the cloudless sky doesn't just promise beautiful views of the stars but also a cold, cold night. And if that isn't enough, the lake will probably add some fog to that – I just hope there is no ice on the road...
Under the Stars
Christian and I are in Arco, about to start the “Randonnée del Solstizio d'Inverno”. The last brevet of the year, on the weekend before the winter solstice – the longest night of the year to complete 200km around Lake Garda, with 1100m of climbing. Together with some 180 other cyclists we gather in the Christmas market – then it is one last espresso at the bar, a few words from Fabio (the organizer – thank you, Fabio!) and in small groups of riders we hit the road. As the ride around the lake is only about 150km we start with a loop towards Lago de Cavedine and Lago di Toblino to reach 200km in the end, the required distance for a brevet. These are familiar roads for me, but in the dark it still feels new. There is no moon and the only light we have are our own lamps, piercing ahead into the darkness. Up on the hills around us the castles are illuminated for the Christmas season and in the crisp air we have a clear view of the stars – this is night riding at its best!
I luckily also got my clothing choice right – starting out a bit shivering I am now relatively warm. No need to get out the thicker gloves or use the heat patches I bought for my shoes – on the contrary, on the uphill I even open the outer layers to let in some cold air. I would not want to break out in a sweat with 180km in sub zero temperatures still remaining...
We stop only briefly at the first control, beautifully located at the Christmas market in Santa Massenza. Two cups of hot tea and a couple of cookies later we get back on the bikes and return to Arco the way we came. The second control is back at the bar were we started, and this break takes a little longer. There is cake and tea and hot chocolate to be had and it is warm inside – but we are already quite far back in the pack and there is still 3/4 of the ride ahead of us, so a bit reluctantly we head back out again.
Along the Lake
And now it is time to hit the lake. A road that I would never recommend because while the view sure is beautiful there is also plenty of traffic and it would not make for nice riding. Normally, that is – but at close to midnight in the middle of December we have it almost completely to ourselves. Being near the end of the riders means that we do not even see other cyclists and so the two of us pedal alone through the darkness. To the right we have the lake, nothing but a flat surface of pitch black darkness. Above us the stars, occasionally a church or castle bears Christmas lights in the hills to our left and also every town we pass through is beautifully adorned with Christmas illuminations.
But I am still happy when we approach the next control, after now 113km. In Peschiera del Garda we get our brevet card stamped at the local McDonalds and when we roll into the parking lot we are in for quite a picture: Well over 100 cyclists are inside, all clad in their high-viz/reflective winter gear, happily munching away at Big Macs and raiding the McCafé for hot tea and coffee. A few locals are there as well, dressed for going out on a Saturday night, warily eyeing us all not quite knowing what to make of all this....
We take our time again, stopping for almost on hour. But we need to warm up and also eat something. As usual I did not eat enough while on the bike, which is especially stupid in winter as the body needs plenty of energy to stay warm. If I don't want to bonk soon I better finish that Big Mac menu, whether I like it or not....
Heading North
We have now reached the point furthest south of the tour and heading back north should feel something like “almost back home”. But to the cold now comes the tiredness, making the remaining distance feel longer than it should. The strong headwind doesn't help either and we mentally need to break it down to shorter sections. “Not far now to the place where we have to answer the secret control question”,“soon we'll hit the Gardesena Occidentale with the tunnels and galleries”, “almost at the last control”. Even only stopping for a very short time (eating a bar, taking a picture) now takes its toll. The body seems to think “hey I stopped, this is over – time to power down” and a one minute stop means 15 minutes of cold feet and hands before my blood circulation is back into “moving mode” and agrees to supply toes and fingers with enough warmth as well...
But the ride is still beautiful. Riding through the empty tunnels and galleries feels surreal, we see no more than a handful of cars and the opposite shore looks like it is lit up by a string of pearls, so evenly space are the street lights. And before we know it we descend into Riva del Garda and ride the familiar roads back to Arco with the first hint of dawn in the sky. Treating ourselves to cappuccino and cake with other riders and the first locals that are already up early on a Sunday means the sun is already up by the time we reach the car park, pull out the sleeping backs and quickly fall asleep in the van....
PS: I am to blame
I had a few small signs of an approaching cold, but apparently that was nothing a hot bath couldn't fix. On Sunday, right after the ride I said “never again – once was nice, but once is also enough”. Writing these words two days later I am not so sure about that anymore. Christian, are you coming again? You can blame it all on me and say it was my idea...
1 Kommentar
Tags , Nachts, Randonneur, Rennrad, Wintertraining
gepostet von Christopher J. am 19. Dezember 2017
Really, whose idea was this? Putting on my cycling gear in the parking lot at 0 degrees I can't help but ask myself who is to blame. There are still some patches of snow in the parking lot and the cloudless sky doesn't just promise beautiful views of the stars but also a cold, cold night. And if that isn't enough, the lake will probably add some fog to that – I just hope there is no ice on the road...
Under the Stars
Christian and I are in Arco, about to start the “Randonnée del Solstizio d'Inverno”. The last brevet of the year, on the weekend before the winter solstice – the longest night of the year to complete 200km around Lake Garda, with 1100m of climbing. Together with some 180 other cyclists we gather in the Christmas market – then it is one last espresso at the bar, a few words from Fabio (the organizer – thank you, Fabio!) and in small groups of riders we hit the road. As the ride around the lake is only about 150km we start with a loop towards Lago de Cavedine and Lago di Toblino to reach 200km in the end, the required distance for a brevet. These are familiar roads for me, but in the dark it still feels new. There is no moon and the only light we have are our own lamps, piercing ahead into the darkness. Up on the hills around us the castles are illuminated for the Christmas season and in the crisp air we have a clear view of the stars – this is night riding at its best!
I luckily also got my clothing choice right – starting out a bit shivering I am now relatively warm. No need to get out the thicker gloves or use the heat patches I bought for my shoes – on the contrary, on the uphill I even open the outer layers to let in some cold air. I would not want to break out in a sweat with 180km in sub zero temperatures still remaining...
We stop only briefly at the first control, beautifully located at the Christmas market in Santa Massenza. Two cups of hot tea and a couple of cookies later we get back on the bikes and return to Arco the way we came. The second control is back at the bar were we started, and this break takes a little longer. There is cake and tea and hot chocolate to be had and it is warm inside – but we are already quite far back in the pack and there is still 3/4 of the ride ahead of us, so a bit reluctantly we head back out again.
Along the Lake
And now it is time to hit the lake. A road that I would never recommend because while the view sure is beautiful there is also plenty of traffic and it would not make for nice riding. Normally, that is – but at close to midnight in the middle of December we have it almost completely to ourselves. Being near the end of the riders means that we do not even see other cyclists and so the two of us pedal alone through the darkness. To the right we have the lake, nothing but a flat surface of pitch black darkness. Above us the stars, occasionally a church or castle bears Christmas lights in the hills to our left and also every town we pass through is beautifully adorned with Christmas illuminations.
But I am still happy when we approach the next control, after now 113km. In Peschiera del Garda we get our brevet card stamped at the local McDonalds and when we roll into the parking lot we are in for quite a picture: Well over 100 cyclists are inside, all clad in their high-viz/reflective winter gear, happily munching away at Big Macs and raiding the McCafé for hot tea and coffee. A few locals are there as well, dressed for going out on a Saturday night, warily eyeing us all not quite knowing what to make of all this....
We take our time again, stopping for almost on hour. But we need to warm up and also eat something. As usual I did not eat enough while on the bike, which is especially stupid in winter as the body needs plenty of energy to stay warm. If I don't want to bonk soon I better finish that Big Mac menu, whether I like it or not....
Heading North
We have now reached the point furthest south of the tour and heading back north should feel something like “almost back home”. But to the cold now comes the tiredness, making the remaining distance feel longer than it should. The strong headwind doesn't help either and we mentally need to break it down to shorter sections. “Not far now to the place where we have to answer the secret control question”,“soon we'll hit the Gardesena Occidentale with the tunnels and galleries”, “almost at the last control”. Even only stopping for a very short time (eating a bar, taking a picture) now takes its toll. The body seems to think “hey I stopped, this is over – time to power down” and a one minute stop means 15 minutes of cold feet and hands before my blood circulation is back into “moving mode” and agrees to supply toes and fingers with enough warmth as well...
But the ride is still beautiful. Riding through the empty tunnels and galleries feels surreal, we see no more than a handful of cars and the opposite shore looks like it is lit up by a string of pearls, so evenly space are the street lights. And before we know it we descend into Riva del Garda and ride the familiar roads back to Arco with the first hint of dawn in the sky. Treating ourselves to cappuccino and cake with other riders and the first locals that are already up early on a Sunday means the sun is already up by the time we reach the car park, pull out the sleeping backs and quickly fall asleep in the van....
PS: I am to blame
I had a few small signs of an approaching cold, but apparently that was nothing a hot bath couldn't fix. On Sunday, right after the ride I said “never again – once was nice, but once is also enough”. Writing these words two days later I am not so sure about that anymore. Christian, are you coming again? You can blame it all on me and say it was my idea...
Tags , Nachts, Randonneur, Rennrad, Wintertraining
gepostet von Christopher J. am 19. Dezember 2017