That is another Mongolia Bike Challenge done! We are back in Germany now, it feels a long way away. The vast open spaces, the ger camps and the other racers feel like another world. Leah and I both have a case of the post race blues at the moment and having completed the blog posts, that did not help. We miss Mongolia and no doubt having sworn not to return after stages 3 and 4, I think we will be back in a couple of years.
As I look back on the race versus last time it was tougher racing but much higher quality ger camps and food. The distances were bigger although there was less climbing but we had much more wind, and always a headwind which made for a hard race. I went hard days 1-3 and paid for this strategy days 4-6, but would not change it, as I enjoyed racing at the front of the field the first three days.
Leah had a very good race, given she was concerned about her training and if she could finish. She finished 2nd overall, so was super happy with that. This is her best result in any stage race, and she had more podium time than me.
I enjoyed the racing and it was hard and fast and different to two years ago. The constant attacking of the Mongolians early in each stage changed the race dynamics a lot, and made it harder. That is racing. The course was also less technical and at times very fast, much faster than previous versions, and this also changed the racing.
The biggest difference from two years ago, is this time we both came back healthy. Staying healthy (no bad stomach) in Mongolia is a challenge and we were much more conservative this time than two years ago. I guess sometimes we do learn from our mistakes. Below are a few tips that we followed to try and stay healthy:
Wash your hands with soap all the time
Do not eat the salad or raw vegetables. No exceptions!
We ate rice and very well cooked chicken for almost every meal, and sometimes added some well cooked beef. If you are vegetarian, Mongolia will be tough.
Do not drink the water, even for cleaning your teeth
Clean your bike bottles every day with soap on the outside, and rise with bottled water on the inside. The bottles will get covered in dirt and shit, so this is the least you can do.
Be careful of the food at the race feed stations. This time I did not take much food at all from the feed stations, but had mostly my own food. This may have been overly cautious, but you do not know what has been on other peoples hands before you.
Be careful in Ulaanbaatar before the race, as you do not want to start the race sick. Some people do...
There is only so much you can do to manage your health, and sometimes you get sick, and this we were much more conservative and through this and good luck we came home without a case of a bad stomach. During the last couple of stages that became my goal, as last time we were sick for what felt like weeks.
So that is Mongolia Bike Challenge for 2019 done.
What is next? After an easy week this week, we will be back on the bikes shortly as we think about the cyclocross season. Living in Germany the cyclocross scene is all new, and I will be planning the season with the guys at VC Frankfurt. We have heard there are some races within a 2-3 hr drive so will see. Leah and I both enjoy cyclocross and in Germany this will be a new adventure.
