a mountain of a challenge

For a few weeks now, I've been on the waiting list to ride the Dolomites Marathon with Team Adidas. Today I learned that I'm in. As the event has long been booked out, I should be excited, and I am. But at the same time, I am also a little scared.

This will be by far the most serious bike ride I've ever done. I could explain ornately, but let me just give you the numbers. In the course of not even 140km, more than 4000 vertical meters have to be climbed. For about seven hours, I will be going up (mostly) and down (for brief raging intervals) almost exclusively. There should be no more than a few flat minutes here and there, and while I have done longer rides, I have never climbed that much in one day. I'm not even sure it's easily possible around here.

In order to find out what is possible, in terms of climbing and in terms of my climbing it, I did the Great Loop of the Chartreuse last week, a ride I've been dreaming and hallucinating about ever since arriving here in Grenoble two years ago. While the Chartreuse, covered with trees throughout, looks like a mellow mountain and is certainly not known for insane climbs, it has steep uphills, and plenty of them. But the real challenge is mental. At some point one has to descend into the center of the mountain range, and there is no easy way out except climbing up. I should say practical, not easy, because easy it wasn't.

The last climb before committing, ie. descending into the pit, is more than 9% steep, which means the rest of the way is one long suffer fest. Only an icecream sundae in St. Pierre de Chartreuse, right before the final ascent, gave me the energy to survive. After 110km I had climbed almost 3000 vertical meters. I was delirious and more exhausted than I'd been in a long time – and still miles away from what the Dolomites will be like.

The marathon is still two months away. Maybe I'll have to train with focus, something I've always got away without. I'll certainly have to ride a lot to get into better shape.