With the Epilogue ending in a complete cluster fuck, our first (short) trip of this year came to an end last Saturday.
But that stage is not representative of the whole week we spent there.
As before (in 2014 and 2016) I mostly enjoyed cycling the area.
And I say “mostly” because the roads and climbs are always there – and I’m getting familiar with the area by now – but the weather is unpredictable and had a somewhat negative effect on the overall experience.
On the other hand, the apartment was even better than we hoped for and definitely the place we’ll book again the next time.
As I failed to upload my last ride, I manually entered it on Strava, but that doesn’t get included into the fancy VeloViewer activity wheel, so I created another entry that did:
I covered 680 kilometers in my total of 8 rides, or 85 kilometers on average – you can find more details on each ride in the “post stage reports” I posted during the week.
My longest ride was Stage 5 with 116 kilometers and my Epilogue was the shortest stage with 48 kilometers (slightly more than on the wheel).
The average elevation gain was 1,486 meters per ride – if I apply my 50/50 rule, the average grade was 3.5%.
Both my Prologue and Epilogue where not round trips but also ended at nearly the same level as where I began.
However, because of the poor route planning, my Epilogue was averaging 6.3% and my Prologue “only” 3.9% 😂
And those numbers only serve as an indication, meaning that cycling the Hochsauerland area on average is easier than in the Alps, which should not surprise anyone.
Then again, it also doesn’t mean you do not run into steep climbs, averaging well over 8% at times.
At any rate and not unexpectedly, this week was a lot like the previous trips there, only two days/stages longer.
Although, as stated, the weather was not what I hoped for, my main problem – as usual – was my physical condition.
“Meh” as it is any given day, I crashed and bruised/broke some ribs during my ITT Tri2One Almere just a week before departure.
That really doesn’t make cycling – at high(er) intensity – easier, but in the end, I’m glad I got to cycle at all.
I could have ended up in the hospital not going there at all or have been forced to do “other” activities.
And to be fair: the area does have a lot more to offer 😎
Picture gallery (“Best Of”) here.
