Anyone who always wanted to know what it feels like to have a 24-hour. To contest cycling races, here is Thorsten's report:
The weekend before last, the 24h race took place in Kelheim. I'll tell you, that was a tough number. The weather forecast was not so sparkling, it was still raining in the morning, permanently cold, but then dry from noon; At 1 p.m. there was a big cloud, at 1.30 p.m. it really started to pail, it started at 2 p.m. I then drove in the rain for the first 3 hours, then it stopped, but the roads were still wet; after almost 7 am, i.e. at 8:45 pm, I went to the driver’s position for the first time, totally soaked and frozen; but funnily enough it was going really well up to then, every lap (officially 17.2km, in real 16.5km) in 30-32min, so around a 33er average, with each lap having 180HM. At 9:30 p.m. I drove on with the lights on, at 10 p.m. it started raining again, I was dripping wet again, it was as cold as ice; At around 24h (16th lap) I had to stop because I had a chills, so I wanted to go straight back to the paddock and just lie down, well, I still drove on and dragged myself from lap to lap, bitter cold, wet roads , wet clothes, fog, night, very cold wind and my legs were in the ass too, but at 2:30 it just didn't work anymore (by then I had 21 laps), I could barely switch gears so frozen were my hands; I went to the paddock, put on all the clothes I had with me, sipped some soup and (also on the advice of the others) lay in the car for 2.5 hours.
I didn't sleep, but just lay down and doze a little ... At 5:30 am I changed into the car (winter clothes, neoprene socks, overshoes, winter gloves, etc. !!), got up and felt relatively good; I ate something and drove off again shortly before 6 o'clock. It was freezing cold, but my legs felt relatively good; Except for two three smaller stops to fill up drinks, I was able to drive until 2pm, well 1:40pm, I let it end the last two laps, maybe one more would have been possible, but then I just wanted to enjoy it ...
All in all, despite the bad weather, it was a great experience, with highs and a low point, with many many small things on the track, good atmosphere, a great experience ... In retrospect, it was maybe even good that I had to take a break at night because I I then felt really good from 6h and could have continued even after 14h ...
What also amazes me is that my legs feel really good today after the race, I hardly notice anything, a little tired, of course, but otherwise I feel good; only, the last 3-4 hours on Sunday, my back hurt a lot, but that works again today ...
I can imagine doing something like that again, but never again in rain, rain and cold I just can't stand at all ...
Otherwise the race is really recommended, apart from the top 5 individual starters and relays, this is really a fun event where you help each other, the entry fee is donated to 100%, luckily this extreme seriousness is missing; So now and then you see some people driving around with traditional clothing or with children's bikes and backpacks ... or you see the 82-year-old who drives 19 laps against the rain with horn-rimmed glasses, cotton shirt, city bike, plastic bags on his feet, so over 300km !! !!!!
Oh yes, I drove 34 laps myself, i.e. around 560km, net driving time 18:40, that is, 30s average, I think it is quite good :-) ... and there were around 25km of cobblestones in total !!!
greetings
Thorsten