Today was one of those days when it’s not your day.
I was looking forward to cycling, though, as the weather was good, the course looked nice and around 7:40 I left for Valkenburg for another attempt at the Granfondo Boogie’s Extreme.
I rode that in 2008 and at the time it was not a success, mainly due to (Belgian) restrictions.
But after 115 kilometers I was at the end of my rope, with 40 more to go…
Things went quite well until after the 1st supply (75 km) and the average was around 30 kph.
But, during that first part in a southerly direction, the wind was quite annoying, almost permanently a headwind and perhaps I underestimated that.
And the temperature was rising to 30 degrees and after a rainy, relatively cool week, that took some getting used to.
In any case, I got some tan markings on my skin today, especially on my forehead 😂
There was plenty to enjoy, although the course itself had no real surprises.
Large sections are common with other courses, sometimes a loop going clockwise instead of anti-clockwise or vice versa.
The climbs in Belgium were often long and usually not very steep, with exceptions such as the Rue des Anges.
Most of the climbing on Dutch soil was of course in the final, which was virtually a copy of the AGR.
First a warm up towards the 2nd supply (St. Geertruid after 108 km) and then in rapid succession the Gulperberg (from Partij), the Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg, Fromberg, Keutenberg and for dessert the Cauberg.
By then I wasn’t enjoying myself that much anymore, because the batteries were drained.
I inched my way up the climbs like a tortoise – even the Fromberg, which I normally fly up, was an ordeal.
At least I didn’t have to get off my bike anywhere, like many others did.
Giving up is not an option, but I was really happy to cross the finish!
Garmin registration – the elevation gain was considerably more than in the GPS track taken from the site.
