Finally it's B-day!

Finally it's B-day or S-day if you wish. Yesterday I rode 500m on the Specialized Epic 29" of Tito's wife Ester. ( She's got my height at 1,5cm of difference. ) The 500m was enough to fall in love with it. 
Today I got it under my but for a full 55km.

I don' t feel well today, my nose is dripping and my head's heavy, the legs are leaking power. 
Understandable after 11 days of harsh biking and the symptoms of the flue I took in heritage of my man. But the Epic 29er made me feel light as a feather. I am not pro fully, I call it to heavy to be advantageous with my weight and after the Transalp on a 29er hardtail I became against 29er for my length (157,5cm). The handle bar was higher than the saddle and I couldn't take a decent race position. It didn't have the right geometry, I cursed more then I pedaled during that race. 

Me at the Transalp in 2012

This Epic was still a bit high on the front and the handle bar far to large for a racer like me, but with a negative stem and another handle bar we can sort this out. It felt like riding in a sofa. And the bike is surprisingly light, lighter then my Lynskey. Oh God, why did I try it? I don't want to go to the Absa Cape Epic with another bike then this one. It's power saving thanks to the suspension, I didn't have to go of the saddle for every little crack in the road and it makes you go more fluently over all kind of obstacles. Tomorrow there's another day in paradise with this bike and than it has to go back to its legitime owner and sad enough it is not me. 

Tito and Ester preping the bike 

Yesterday  I went out with Tito, his wife Ester and their friends. Nice trails and good local company what does a biker desires more? 

Ester 

The only biker who went down on this drop was this little Belgian girl and her Titanium hard tail. "Crazy woman", Victor called me! 

If you wonder what Tito is been doing here: picking wild asparagus! 

If you wonder how he takes them home?

If you wonder why he's been doing all this? 

In the local pub at the end of our trip, we were eating omelette with wild asparagus. A nice end of a nice biking day!

Biking Benicasim Part III

Yesterday was a try out. 
We drove 1,5h by car up to Penyagolosa where Yvan of the Toerist Biking left us behind with the mission to come back by bike. 80km on a track found on the internet, whole the way over the GR ( Grande Randonée ). We should have known better, but our enthusiasm took the advantage over our thinking. 
2,5h and 24km later, we found ourselves in a the local barrito of un pueblo en la medio del nada. Un boccadillo con jamon y queso and un cafe con leche descafinado, gave us new energy and we hit the road again. I was excited about the trails, we had to put in our high technical skills and we were rewarded with some extraordinary views and thrills. But the idea of another 56km of this nearly unridable trails was too much. As we tried to avoid the tricky parts, we found ourselves lost in the mountains and after another 3hours we decided to  take the fastest way back to Benicasim. We were longing for a sign of life and an asphalt road, can you imagine? 
25km over the asphalt and one more climb ( the shortest pain ) over the mountain brought us home to our hotel. 
It was a long, cold and windy day filled with ups and downs, but the sun hanging low over the last climb made me realize how lucky I am to be here in this MTB paradise. 
It was a try out and it didn't work out, no problem, at least we tried it. 

hit the road

As we stand here we don't realize this trail continues for at least 1kilometer. It starts fluently rideable but goes over in a rock garden. We remain concentrated and we reach the end without putting one feet on the ground. Thrilled and excited we are!

savely bur shakey we come down

In this little pueblo we find warmth and shelter from the heavy wind. We rode for 2,5h and are only 24km away from where we started. 

Check out our ride on: 
Penyagolosa - Benicasim door mertenssara op Garmin Connect - Details

Biker's best @ Benicasim

Yesterday as we tried to leave the room for breakfast, we couldn't open the door. It moved only 10cm. No comment needed when you see this picture.

We stay in a sport hotel and almost half of the guests are cycling teams. We find ourselves in the same corridor so we became part of the joke. 

The result of the Spanish tracks or my steering capacities. :-( I still went out with it today.

I'll need some blessings to guard me from further damage.

We went up on a single trail where normal bikers come down and we probably missed an exit somewhere since suddenly we were captured in a villa's garden. The owner let us out but wasn't really pleased with his unexpected guests.

Todays ride was a salvation. If I wasn't already yesterday, today I am convinced there is some great biking at Benicasim. 

Mark from De Toerist Biking is my personal guide en together with Mister Garmin we discover the trails. In october there will be an MTB week organized by De Toerist Biking and our favorite magazine O2Bikers. No date is set yet, but keep an eye on both the websites!

• http://www.o2bikers.com
• http://www.detoerist.be/biking/

Check out the details of the ride:

Benicasim ride II  mertenssara on Garmin Connect - Details

Back on track!

I' am back on track: today I made my first steps on Benicasim's trails. Result: a broken rim. 
But no worries, in front of the hotel there is a rental MTB shop and in case they can't help, there is always ...Tito! I can continue my rides here, but still, I am not happy, it's just not cool to break nice stuff. DT Swiss, 1380 Carbon, why did I bring them here?

But enough complaining. About the trails. Today's ride was a shorty: 45k but still 1350 height meters. The main course a very steep climb divided in parts: a little bit of climbing a little bit of descent alternating. Partly on gravel roads, partly single trails, endlessly. We finished on a concrete road of 25%, mixed with an exceptional heavy wind that's been blowing since Tuesday eve. Quite tough!
Logically what you climb, you can descent, I was rewarded with a very nice downhill. It started on a graveled road and soon it went over in a nice but very rocky single trail. And this is probably where it happened ... the rim ... 

Back in the hotel, there was a little surprise. A Flemish soigneur following a Swedish continental team ( People4you ), was expecting me for a massage. Maurice knows what he's been doing and my legs are thankful for this unexpected treat. My mind is happy with the complement he gave: "These are well trained muscles, the result of a well balanced training." On the other hand he could feel they were not used to massages. It is time to put my man at work! 

Check out my ride on Garmin connect:

Benicassim Antennas door mertenssara op Garmin Connect - Details

From MTBear to Road Rabbit

Monday was an obligate rest day due to the transfer from Calpe to Benicasim and due to some technical issues: a twisted disc brake and air in the braking system made us visit the local Specialized Concept store. "You'll find the store at four kilometer from the hotel." the hotel manager guaranteed us. One hour and thirty kilometer later, we arrived at our destination. I'll spare you the details of our quest and give you the correct address of Tito's Cicle Store in case you find yourself in the same situation one day:

Specialized Concept store
Calle obispo de salinas, 50
12003 Castellò de la Plana

Remember every character of this address, you will be thankful for this complete information.

Tito seems to be a local MTB hero, he knows all the trails in the area and he proposed to take us out on a ride on Saturday, an offer that we couldn't refuse. Seeing me arrive with my titanium twenty-six hardtail, he insisted I'd try his wife's Specialized Epic twenty-niner full suspension. Again an offer not to refuse! Can 't wait ... ! 

As the material got fixed, the sun went down and so did my enthusiasm: when we came back to the hotel we learned there would be no mountainbiking before Thursday. The guide didn't arrive yet. As an alternative I could join the road bikers and so the MTBear became a Road Rabbit for the past two days. On Tuesday I putted 140k on the counter, today I made it another 130. Not bad as an endurance training for the Absa Cape Epic, but enough asphalt for a biker. Tomorrow will be D-day, my expectations are high: 45k with 1350 height meters. 
Bring it on!!! 

A welcome obstacle

Feeling the bike again

Four days since I am back into real MTB and I start feeling comfortable on the bike again. Yes, I still can! Tomorrow my three companions go home and I continue my journey to Benicasim in search of some new trails. I hope to be as pleased as I was here in Calpe. My expectations are high, I became exacting! 
Giving you here a small insight of my daily routine so far. Looks like a nice day in the office isn't it? 

Search for the trail!

Faster than my shadow

After a long day in the office

For all those moments in the rain and snow, all those hours on the Taxc, for all the time I wondered WHY? These pictures are just a part of the answer, the real big answer starts on 17/3/2013 in South Africa with The Absa Cape Epic.  

j

Something like MTB

As I woke up this morning and looked outside the window, there was this mountain. I almost took it for my beloved Table Mountain, but that mountain asks for another six weeks of patience. Today I am at Calpe. It's the third day of my two weeks training camp. 

As often when you don't plan anything, many things happen and so did this time. There was only the idea of escaping from the Belgian rain and heading for the sun. One day before me and my partner would book our tickets to Alicante we learned some of our MTB relatives would go to there too for a couple of days and they asked to join them. Real bikers who know the place like their backyard is always a pleasure to hang around with, so we didn't refuse. 
The next ten days of our stay we will drive up to Benicasim to meet the people of 'De Toerist Biking' they came up with an invitation the day after we booked. Starting our holiday with nothing planned, we ended up even before we left with a tight schedule. And all about MTB, I like! 

As we speak, I can look back on three days of pure MTB around Calpe. I left with no expectation, since I know Calpe from road biking and I never heard about Calpe as a great MTB spot. Well I can tell you, guys, I was mistaken. Thanks to Rudy, Eddy, Dirk and Guy, I now am an initiate in the MTB possibilities of Calpe. 

Having a well deserved break

I discovered only now that during my harsh winter training in Belgium, there was not one height meter on my program, not one steep little climb, not one steep little descent, let alone a long climb or a long descent. Not one rock had disturbed my rides in my sweet little flat Belgium region. I was so focused on my physical skills that I almost forgot, there still is something like MTB. Technical skills are aside from being physically in a good shape, key if you plan to enter a race like The Absa Cape Epic. 

I feel I am the right person at the right place, surrounded by the right people.
At this very moment we are watching the WC cyclocross, is there a better end of a wonderful bike day?
Here is one happy biker greeting you!
Hope to come up with some pictures soon!
Adios,
Sara 
PS: Sorry for my baby English