Below feedback from Jeanine Clarke on the experience:
After a thorough and what I believed clear race briefing with the team I thought it was clear that we were NOT racing but enjoying the ride at a moderate pace!
As predicted at 10h00 all race strategies were forgotten! The two man team powered away and Mike Mike tried his best to hold on to our team mates with heart rates of 170! Me I just stuck to my game plan – given Ive never cycled 230 km I was preserving my body so that I could at least finish the race!
Mike Mike moaned his way through the first 105 km of headwind which was actually good as it cleared all the frustrations of his life! He was eventually quiet and we knew he was back!
From this point on the race was fun and seemingly a lot easier than the first 105km! I loved the feeding stations! There was no rush and I got to do my stretching making sure my body held out! Our second Leon was beyond amazing! He supported us unconditionally and did whatever was needed for us to meet our goal!
I loved changing into our ” night clothes” and riding in the dusk watching all the bike lights below us then once down watching all the bike lights above us! It was not that cold so easy to enjoy! Our headlamp kept turning itself off so that added a dimension of adventure! Of course I prayed like mad that we were blessed with staying safe on the bike! And we did!
I was delighted to finish which was well into the night! I thoroughly enjoyed the 12hrs50 of “racing” and would do it again in a heart beat!
Take care
Jeanine Clarke
Oncology Sales