Mountain Biking

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MBC2019 - last thoughts

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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.

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MBC2019 - Stage 5

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Sangiin Dalai Lake to Orkhorn River

125km and 1,600m climbing

Hamish: 5hrs 47mins
Leah: 7hrs 15mins
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626236980

After yesterdays bad legs, I was a little concerned going into today, and as I should have been. My legs were OK, but not great would be the best way to describe them. Today was the second “queen” stage of 125km and 1600m of climbing. This does not should like that much this is Mongolia, and at the end of the day it was a tough day.

Last night we camped, and it was an eventful night! First up as we were going to sleep the threatening thunderstorm eventually hit us with strong winds and heavy rain just as we were going to bed. Our 8 person tent was fortunate as we had a relatively new tent, and it did not leak. I had mistakenly picked the side into the wind, but had the highest ground. We would have been the driest of a wet lot if it had rained a lot, and in the end the wind was worse. We ended up anchoring the side of the military style tent with our bags and tucking the side of the tent under the groundsheet, and it worked pretty well. We stayed dry and had an ok nights sleep, unlike some of the other tents who got wet.

The next morning we woke to a very cold wind and wet roads. You would not have known a bike race was taking place with 5 mins to go, as everyone was hiding in the tents trying the escape the wind. It was a brutal start to the day.

From the gun the Mongolians went again and I settled into the “chase” group, not that we were doing any chasing as they were gone. The stage started with a long steady climb for 30km, and I managed to stay in the group until here, when I was dropped. Fortunately for me, I was with another group over the top, as we had a 30km false flat into a block headwind to get across. If you cannot tell, the wind in Mongolia is brutal and only really eases up once you are in the hills, and today it did not let up until we had battled over the second King of the Mountain point. Here the wind was funnelled down the valley and directly into us. It was tough!!! I tucked in behind Nico, who normally is a much faster climber than me, but with the wind we were equal.

The final section of the day was much more enjoyable, as we got into the high mountain treed areas. We topped out at 2200m today, and the higher we got the better the scenery. Scattered trees and distant mountains were the feature, and looking down over the rolling hills and distant flat grasslands. Definitely the best scenery so far!

The last 30km were flat to downhill, and I worked with 3 others to form a continuous rolling pace line all the way into the camp.

The other highlight of the day were the last 5-7km, as we wound our way through a 20,000 yr old lava field. On a cyclocross bike this would have been a blast, as we followed to tire tracks at 30km/hr twisting and turning their way through the field. Good fun.

The camp tonight is a very plush Ger camp. It is perched beside a popular canyon and waterfall, not that we saw the waterfall as it as a 1km walk away! Our Ger is huge just for the two of us, and also right beside where the bags were dropped. No lugging bags for miles tonight!

Tomorrow is the last stage. 84km and 1,700m climbing so will be a tough day out again.

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MBC2019 - Stage 4

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Elsen Tasarkhai to Sangiin Dalai Lake
104km for 1100m climbing
Hamish: 4hrs 30mins. Think 8th overall, and 3rd Masters 2
Leah: 6hrs 15 mins
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626236783


Today I paid for my sins of yesterday. Yesterday I went hard and came in 4th equal. Today i got dropped on the king of the mountain climb, and then gave up 10mins over the next 35km, such is the way when you legs are not happy, but that is jumping forward.

The stage today had a unique element, in that we had to cross 2km of soft sand, the edge of the Gobi desert, then skirt around the sliver of desert for 20km. To say people were concerned is an understatement as the last 20km of sand in yesterdays stage were hell! In the end the 2km of sand was a mixture of running and great cyclocross training, as we powered across the sand on mountain bikes. Some was super soft, so you had to walk, and other sections had deep vehicle ruts, but was more hard packed and rideable. Definitely a unique start to the race, and a nasty way to find out the legs were not great first up. The cyclocross experience paid off, and I came out of the sand in the second chase group. To be in the first chase group, I would have to had run some sections, and that did not sound like fun. Fortunately one of the strong Mongolians fell off on at the start, and he came through and pulled us back on the front group, and were seven chasing, once again two Mongolians.

In the end it did not matter, as I knew my legs were not good today, and I popped with about 35km to go. On the positive side I got to take some photos, on the move, and enjoy the scenery more than I would have if I had been holding on to the wheel in front of me for grim death.

The highlight of the day was having a local kid ride his horse with us for about 5 mins. We were going up hill, and he joined us for a stretch which was pretty cool. We also saw a lot more people out today (maybe 20), and the cheered us on, which was also fun. Leah got to see a herd of camels, and I am yet to see a camel. She took some photos as proof!

Tonight we are in the “camp”. We are in a 8 person tent, 4 each side, and it spacious although i hope it does not rain to much as I do not know where the water will go. Let’s see. The organization likes to camp for one night, and sets up the entire camp. Food is brought out from Ulaanbaatar from Rosewood cafe, shower tents are put up, and “short-drop” toilets are dug, all for one night. It looks like a military camp, as all the tents are green and very square! The food today for lunch was very good and we are looking forward to dinner tonight.

Tomorrow is a hard stage. 125km, and 1700m climbing, with maybe some rain, and no doubt more wind. We seem to be riding into a headwind every day, and that is draining. We are back in a Ger camp tomorrow as well, so time for more washing, and maybe, just maybe, another hot shower. Fingers cross.

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MBC2019 - Stage 3

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Tuul Ovoot to Elsen Tasarkhai

135km for 1700m climbing
Hamish: 6hrs for 4th equal overall
Leah: 8 hrs for 2nd women and solidly in 2nd women in the GC
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626236715


Well today was the queen stage of the race, and for good reason. We were not given much information about the stage before hand, besides the Strava profile. Today we faced a thunderstorm on the start line, and 5km later the sun was out, but not before we were caked head to toe in mud. A few hills, but nothing too steep, but the real kicker came in the form of 30-40km of flat, then a long climb up a valley. It should have been easy, but we had a block head wind or cross wind, that even the Dutch would have been proud of. It is never good when you look down and see 15-17km/hr, and we were at the front of the race. The final kicker for today came in the form of 23 km of sand tracks to the Ger camp. Having made the summit of the last climb, I thought it would be downhill, and a quick 23km into camp. I could not have been more wrong, as we battled 23km of sandy tracks all the way into the camp! 

Today’s racing was similar to the other days. One of the Mongolian National Team got away, and his two team mates attacked us to try and get away to him as well. Richard, Nico (the same two riders from yesterday) and I covered attacks for 50km. Flat attacks using the cross wind, down hill attacks and uphill surge attacks. Eventually I crack at about 50km, and Nico cracked slightly there after. Richard held on for a little longer until the next climb, then he also cracked, and today the three of us rode together to the finish. We all suffered today, and we were the lucky ones finishing in 6 hrs. At the end I was as exhausted as I have been for some time. I cannot remember been that stuffed for some time, although I do forget these things. Our friend Paolo, who is the official photography took some pics of me at the end, and I look exhausted.

The time cut is 11hrs and it has been 10.5hrs and people are still coming in. Some will miss the time cut today. 

Although I suffered a lot, and did not manage to take any photos, the scenery again was vast and spectacular. It is hard to convey there vastness of the landscape, as everything is big! The valleys are 15-20km wide, and the hills do not look big, but they are. That combined with topping out over the last climb and seeing the edge of the sand dunes, and shitty sandy track, also added to todays experience.

Leah had a long day but good day coming in 2nd women in a time of 8hrs. She is solidly in the middle of the overall field, and is 2nd women GC stitched up! She had a better ride by the sounds of it across the headwinds flats, as she rode with others, although she also as not happy with the 23km of sand tracks into the camp.

On the very positive side, we have a Ger with an en-suite bathroom, and I had my 3rd hot shower in the row. The en-suite Ger is bling, as far as Gers go, and three hot showers in a row is three more than we had two years ago at this event. Two years ago, the route was quite different.

Tomorrow, is 90km ramp. To start with we have 2km of sand to push our bikes though, then one long continuous climb from 1100m to 1900m, then we drop 200m into our camp for the night. I am not sure if I have it in my legs for another chase the Mongolian National Team tomorrow, but you never know until you are on the start line. Tomorrow night we are camping, which no doubt will be “interesting”. Let’s see.....

Photos

  1. Hamish stuffed at the finish line. Thanks Paolo for the pic

  2. Leah and Pedro. Pedro and company adopted Leah today and helped her across the nasty headwind flats and hills.

  3. The grasslands with Hamish in second wheel.

  4. Stage 3 route and profile. Very deceiving…

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MBC2019 - Stage 2

Moltosg Els to Tuul Ovoot

MBC 2019 - stage 2
101km, 1100m climb
3hrs 33mins - 4th equal overall, and 1st in masters 2
Leah: About 5hrs and 2nd women today!
No Strava file for me as my Garmin corrupted the file. Here is Leah’s: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626244586

Another fast start, although the fast start was more for positioning today, as the track we followed out of camp was a double track but with lots of deep potholes filled with water. If you were not in the top 4-5 wheels chances are you would be getting wet and with 101km in front of us, I did not want to get that wet, so it was a classic case of the strongest riders fighting for position.

In the meantime, two Mongolians attacked and disappeared up the road, and the pink jersey wearer, race leader was back with us. I think he expected us (Richard who is leading the Masters 1 category, and myself to cover and case down his 2 teammates then he would ride away from us. In the end his plan did not quite work, as his two teammates slowly pulled away from us, and the pink jersey wearer saw his pink jersey slipping off his shoulders. He attacked hard on the flat and I was on his wheel, and all he achieved was to pull three of us  and him out of the peloton for a lonely day up the road. In the end he attacked the three of us a couple more times, and each time we covered him, until we had a small hill. He rode up beside us, and told us he was going, and he was gone! The only bugger for him was by this time his two teammates were gone, and I have just found out he finished 2 minutes back on them, but still 10 mins in front of us. He would have had a long lonely day out.

The rest of the day I rode with Richard and an American until we dropped him on a steeper climb, then it was just the two of us. I was super happy to be with someone as we rode into the block headwind again. After a lightening fast descent from the 2nd feed station at 58km, we eventually ended up on the flat with 30km of lose sand, corrugated roads and headwind to the camp. Richard and I worked together until he had a mechanical and stopped, and fixed this. I waited for him at the 3rd feed station, as the idea of 23km into the headwind did not sound like fun.

In the end we came in joint 4th overall, and this time I did win the Masters 2 category, unlike yesterday, when I thought I had but the gravel bike rider took it instead. 

Overall, I am happy. It was a tough day out, and suited the stronger riders, so I made the most of it. 

Leah had a good day out and came in 2nd women, so more podium time for her tonight.

Tomorrow is the queen stage. 135km and 1800m climb. First up is a 500m climb over 30km with a nasty little steep piece part way up. I suspect it will be another fast start to force the groups and then everyone will settle into group pace. The back half of the ride goes up and down over multiple 100m climbs. I have a feeling these will be tough, as the short ones are often the worse. Then from 110km it is downhill into the camp.

That is tomorrow. Now it is time for me to have some quality recovery and reading time.

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Mongolia Bike Challenge 2019 - here we come!

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Mongolia Bike Challenge 2019 - here we come!

Mongolia here we come again. We are back for another Mongolia Bike Challenge (MBC). What have we got ourselves into this time.

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Grand Raid Godfrey - 90km mountain bike race

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I may be more Dutch than I expected, and “may” have harbored a few prejudices against our southern neighbors in Belgium, so when the opportunity came up to do a mountain bike race in “Bouillon” in “Belgium”, and living in the Netherlands, expectations were low. I had visions of a small industrial town near the French border, and nondescript country side. I could NOT have been MORE WRONG……

Bouillon, yes it is pronounced like the soup, was beautiful, and I am saying that about Belgium. Rolling tree covered countryside made a picturesque backdrop to the town that sits on a sharp curve of the Semois River, and above the town guarding it from an age long ago, is the Bouillon Castle. Bouillon has long been considered the gateway to the Ardennes, and the castle continues to guard the gate you could say. A little side note, the most famous of the Lords of Bouillon was Godfrey of Bouillon, a leader of the First Crusade, and then the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Who would have known that the small town of Bouillon would have such an interesting history.

Why, you may be asking am I going on about this. Well the reason my wonderful partner Leah and a couple of mates from Amsterdam, Ben Evans and Mark Stephenson and I were in Bouillon was do the Grand Raid Godfrey which is a mountain bike race. 

http://www.grandraidgodefroy.be/en/

Revived this year with a new leadership team, and a lot of energy, we were in for a treat. Besides been a beautiful small town with a picturesque backdrop, it has a lot rockingly fast mountain bike trails and a very well put on race. To be precise, a 25km 30km, 40km and 90km loops giving riders the option of a 25km, 40km, 70km, 90km, 130km and 160km race. Some pavement, but not much, a good portion of 4 wheel drive roads, and better still some striking single track. What more could we ask for, and I only wish we had gone down on Friday, rather than Saturday, so we could have explored the castle. Next time.

The different loops

Leah enjoying coffee and pie in Namur on the way down. Another surprisingly beautiful town in Souther Belgium that is shadowed by an even bigger and more impressive castle and citadel than Bouillon.

Driving down on Saturday my expectations were changing quickly and once we got to Bouillon, I knew we might be in for something good. Signing in was easy, and after a quick beer with the guys and Trish, (a Canadian friend of Mark’s who is over here on holiday scalping mountain bike races); Tom and Ilse Smet who are off to Australia to do the Crocodile Trophy this year, it was out to our hotel in the small town of Saint Cecile. A boutique hotel at a reasonable price with a good restaurant. If we had time it  looked like it had a great outdoor area, but not this time. After a slow, but good meal, we adjoined for the night as we needed to leave at 7am the next morning to make the 745am start.

Leah with one side of Bouilllon in the background

The Bouillon Castle. IMPRESSIVE and the other side of Bouillon.

RACE DAY

After a sneaky piece of positioning amongst the skinny Belgium’s, Ben, Mark, Trish and I were about a ¼ of the way back on the start grid of 150 riders. On the start line the field always looks intimidating and this start was no different. Lots of shiny “bling” mountain bikes and skinny fast looking riders.

Mark and Ben on the start line... 

Well maybe they were not so fast, or I am on a streak, as after the gun went and we did a quick loop through town, we started to climb and I found myself near the front. Not wanting to destroy myself on the first climb, maybe age is a good thing and I have learnt from experience, I settled into a steady tempo and to my surprise crested the first hill in 3rd place and the leading 6 riders had about a minute gap on the field. How that happened I am not sure, but I it felt good. I had never managed that before. 

The first downhill was memorable for a mob of cows on the road. As we blasted down the loose gravel road, we rounded a corner to be greeting by about 50 cows walking slowly in front of us. The leading 6 of us managed to blast through them pretty quickly and easily and we were on the next climb. The group exchanged a few funny glances as we cleared the cows and we could only imagine the chaos behind us, and was no doubt creating a nice gap. 

On the second climb I was also with the first riders and passed through the first feed station and hit the first real downhill with them, then they just disappeared. I got stuck behind someone, but to tell the truth I had no show of riding the single track downhill having not ridden my mountain bike since the Croc Trophy in October last year. As I rounded the bottom of the hill, places 1-6 were GONE, and about 10km later I passed and dropped the rider I was with. 

From then on it was a great ride through the rolling hills around Bouillon. I saw and passed one other rider from my category 55km later but otherwise had the day to myself, passing a few 130km and 160km riders who were the same trails as us.

It is interesting racing like this as the demon in your head is always saying the group behind you is going to mow you down and catch you, so you have to keep pushing, harder and faster. Hard on the uphills, do not fall on the downhills, then hard on the flat and road. If there is one thing I have at the moment post the Haute Route Alps, that is power, so I am fast on the road. But still the demon is telling you to go harder and faster all the time. Look up enjoy the view, quick stops to fill water bottles, then back at it again. Maybe I will catch another rider in my race. Add to that a few cramps during the last 15km, and the mind was really going into over drive.

This was the theme for the day, and at the same time I really did enjoy it. The climbs were not too steep, the downhills once I found my hidden skills, were great fun, and the trail was a great mixture of flat, hills and some pavement to cover the distance. A fun day out.

In the end I was 6th overall, out of about 150 finishers, and 1st in the 40+ age group. 4hr 25mins. The next rider was 1:30 back, someone I passed with about 10km to go, and then there was a 8 minute gap. The demons were wrong, and I could have sat up a little more….

How did my wonderful partner Leah get on. She did a 25km trail run, as I am yet to get her onto a mountain bike, but that will come. 

How did Ben and Mark go. Ben came in about 50mins behind me, and Mark was another 20 behind Ben. Ben got lost, and his 90km ride was 94km. After his second wrong turn, he sat up and enjoyed the ride, and tried not to get lost again. He was all smilles when I saw him post finish, as he had enjoyed the technical downhills more than I had and generally had a fun day out on the trails.

Mark enjoyed the day, but did not have a great one. A flat tire on the first downhill cramped his style, then his “first” number 2 stop on during a bike race did not help either. As he said, when bending over on the bike hurts, you just gota stop, and that is what he did. A funny story post ride.

Trish, Marks friend from Canada, cleaned out the women’s race and added a Grand Raid Godfrey cycling top to her collection. Well done. See the podium picture below.

So that was the weekend. A fun weekend and a well run event, and I would recommend it. The trails were great, although you do need to look for trail markers, we will be back next year and we will enjoy more of picturesque Bouillon.

Finished, just a bit of dirt on me.

Ben and Trish at the finish

Trish on podium duty.

The showers were something else. The girls end was at the other end, but to get to it Leah had to walk through the guy's changing room. I could not resist a picture but it does not communicate just how cold the water was!

The showers were something else. The girls end was at the other end, but to get to it Leah had to walk through the guy's changing room. I could not resist a picture but it does not communicate just how cold the water was!


On last picture, compliments of the organizers



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