People often ask me what keeps me coming back? To RAAM, to PBP, to any ultracycling event? James from GCN asked me the same question and I wholeheartedly answered what I believe(d at the time) - it is the camaraderie that keeps me coming back. The camaraderie between the riders and crews that is not paralleled in any other cycling racing. You are not as much racing against the opponents, but to get the best possible result for yourself. To test your limits and see what’s the best you can do yourself.

You cannot find a better example of this than Paris-Brest-Paris, a 130 year old event that is by definition NOT A RACE. The feeling of accomplishment that you get when working with other riders to reach your goal cannot be matched with anything. It is just the greatest feeling in the World. 

Well, riders in the first group almost made me eat my words as soon as 2 Control Points (CP) into this years PBP. :(  It seems like most of the group didn’t hear about the randonneuring rules  or they might have been lost in translation. The group was small enough to be friendly, work together and try to go to the finish as fast as possible. I never complain(ed) if someone in the group is skipping their turns and you may ask anybody, I do more than my fair share of work at the front. I did the same here, just to be at the receiving end of an attack at the CP. A few guys went full gas, never looked back who is still getting his stuff ready. After busting my butt to catch them back, I was furious and refused to do my share for some time. And let them know in English how I feel about it and that we should work as a group. There was no sign if anybody understood, but the things have calmed down a little. And after the next CP, a guy came to me and said “That was a little better, right?” after we did check and waited for everyone to be prepared to go. 

It was a perfect group (of 8) to continue and try to help each other, ride fast and go for the best time possible. But no, there was another attack, after which Sevi and I chased furiously for more than an hour, slowed down and talked about chilling and catching them back in the second night. Just to be caught back by an American guy, telling us that they missed the route and he left them behind to catch us. In Brest he decided to not wait for us going for No.2 and that is his choice. For sure he was stronger than us, as we didn’t manage to catch him no matter how hard we tried. Good job for Nick, congratulations on "winning" PBP.  Or maybe more so for posting an incredible time! 

I can understand where he is coming from and yes, he would probably be somewhat slower if he had continued with us. But it would have been much less suffering then going solo for 600+km, not to call it more FUN also…

My point? Well cycling is (still) fun for me. Yes, ultracycling does contain some pain and suffering, but riding with a group of like minded riders, riding fast and supporting each other, is always more fun than riding alone. Not to mention faster (on average). Sometimes you are the strongest rider in a bunch, like I think I was 4 years ago, sometimes you are the weakest link (right Sevi?). The feeling of accomplishment doesn’t diminish if you arrive in a group. Whats more - it grows! And it gets you friends for life, that’s for sure.

So, am I coming for no. 6 in 2027? You bet I am! I will stay hopeful that more riders will actually read randonneuring rules and try to make it a friendly ride. Like everywhere in life, being nice is always a way to go. :)

BTW, if you are looking for a coach that will prepare you to reach your cycling goals, check BALOH COACHING and let me know where do you want to start.

I have already said it but I have to repeat - 2-person racing is fun! Whether it is fast or just riding, it is fun, as you get to race, rest, race and so on repeatedly. You get to recover as you're racing and you don't trash your body as much as when doing solo. Hence - more fun.

What makes a combination of two guys fast? First, it helps if each of them is fast by himself, of course. But thinking about what kind of guy you need to pair with, I think more important than speed are being reliable, calm and nice, you just add speed as a bonus. Of course Ryan was and is all of those (and FAST). That's why it was so much fun riding with him. The funny thing is how you actually don't communicate with each other at all during the race. Just a few words of encouragament at the every exchange, that is all you give and get. But, in those few seconds you get and probably transfer the feeling of calmness, speed and encouragement for each other that helps the other guy push that much harder during next section.

The funny thing is each other thinks that the other is faster and pulling more weight. When you have two strong guys, each feels that he doesn't have to worry about anything as the other will pull him out. At the same time,  you feel the mutual obligation not to let the other one down. That makes you push harder when in (most) solo situations you would tend to slack a little here and there. Can you find a better combination? 

It was an unforgettable experience for both of us and our crew, thank you all for being part of it!

Let’s start the story about a year and a half ago, when it actually started. he Sebring 12/24h race is starting in a few weeks and I am thinking of slacking out a bit, as I have another race (Florida 500) coming up in less than a week. I decide to go only for a 12h Race, read the whole story in my last year’s feed bellow.

After we storm through the race and manage to set the 12h course record, our sponsor dr. Vince (Infinity Bike Seat) asks us “Wouldn’t it be fun if you guys teamed up for a Team race?”. And the rest is a history. The discussion has started, we came to the conclusion that for Ryan as a rookie up to two days would be advisable, so the obvious choice is Race across the West. A first step towards the big one? ;)

We didn’t know what the competition was going to be, but we did know that the current course record by Speed Cowboys was 46h 40min, set in 2021. That was to be our goal, no matter the competition.

We got ready to the best of our abilities each on the other side of the ocean and we meet in Temecula a couple of days before the start. After a few Zoom calls we felt like we already know all of our crew members: Irma Baloh (crew chief), Elisabeth Guevara, Jane Janousek, Randy Horton, Borut Osojnik and Henry Diaz. Most of them have had experience with ultra cycling crewing, so we were confident they will be efficient. They knew the race rules and we added three of ours:

1. no penalties whatsoever (don’t want to lose 1h to a penalty, right?)
2. at no times both of us can be stopped and not moving towards east
3. no fingers showing (when shit happens, we aren’t looking for who is to blame, but we find a solution FAST!)

Our plan was doing a little longer turns as we are after all ultra-cyclists and 10-15miles felt like something that will work fine for us. Also meant less time lost during the exchanges.

We started as the fourth team. I did the first long (22mile) section and I managed to pass them all before the place where I first met the crew. From then on we were doing our race, pushing our limits and racing the shadows of Space Cowboys. We managed to better their time to the 1st TS by 12 minutes and felt really good about our chances. Had a bike flying incident on a bumpy road on stage two (which thankfully only resulted in a broken disc wheel), but still got a draw with the record pace. From Brawley the night was on and our pace was awesome. Every time station during that night we added 5-10 minutes to our advantage. If was so good to have the Speed Cowboys shadows on our tails, as it really kept us on our toes.

We made the Congress (TS 6) before sunrise, which hasn’t happened (to me) since the RAAM start was moved to noon (from 7AM, can you believe it?). The next portion over Yarnell, through Prescott, over Mingus mtn and the long grind towards Flagstaff were in our favour. We did shorter pulls on climbs (3-4miles) and kept on pushing. After 24h done, we were an hour ahead of the record pace.

The second night is a blur, as usually in ultra races. We did our pulls, wondered inside the van, crashed down, were asleep at the spot and were ready to roll again when asked to do so. I did prolong one stage as Ryan had some digestion problems and also needed a bit more sleep. It did show up at that moment as our advantage shrunk for the first time in the race and some alarm bells started ringing. We did keep pushing and as the sun came out, it has woken us, in spite of the low temperatures to what I am used at this part of the course. The truth is, I was usually there in the middle of a day…

The last time station was a blast, even with a No.2 thrown in there for a good measure. ;) At the top, we got together with Ryan for the first time in the race and rode together for the last 10 miles or so. A crazy fast descent later, we were at the finish as the new route record holders, beating the old record for 2h 20min. Our average very close to 21mph, which is crazy fast for that amount of climbing.

Very proud of our achievement, very thankful for the awesome support of our crew Irma, Elisabeth, Jane, Randy, Borut and Henry, thank you guys! Thank you also to all of the sponsors (see above) who made it possible to be here and show what we are capable of.

Last but not least, thank you Ryan for putting your trust with us and let us be your guide into the glories and agonies of real (12h +) ultra-cycling racing. 

For more of my conclusions please come back tomorrow. :)

This year our annual Cycling for a Charity took place in February. In 12 hours around 60 participants joined me and donated for our charoty of choice. We raised money for Truhoma organisation and with the donations we reiased 1500€ to buy 50 packages of fruits and veggies for the amilies in need. 

Here are the statistics of my ride:

In 12h on Zwift app I virtually rode 459,2km with 1.650m of climbing. I had 10 minutes of stoppage time, and rode for 11h 50minutes.My average power was 200W, average speed of the ride was 38,2km/h.

Nutrition stats:
I drank 10,5l of fluids, exactly 12 bottles of 7dcl, 2x0,5l CocaCola and 2x0,5l water.

kCal used:  7.820kCal (source TrainingPeaks)

Consumed kCal:

4endurance Nrgy Unit Drinks 12x270kCal = 3.240kCal
4Endurance gels 5x95kCal = 475kCal

bars 4Endurance 3x166kCal = 500kCal
bars Mobberley Cakes 3x370kCal = 1.110kCal
Coca Cola 440kCaI

TOGETHER:  5.765kCal

Tortour Challenge 2022

Ko je bila že tretjič odpovedana/prestavljena dirka Red Bull Trans Siberian Extreme, se je bilo treba odločiti za alternativni plan dirk. Glavni cilj sezone je tako postala dirka preko zahoda (Race across the West) v juniju, avgusta pa kot že 12x doslej na Tortour. Vprašanje je bilo le ali bom našel ekipo ali bo treba solo. Ker ekipe ni bilo na vidiku, sem se odločil za solo varianto, zaradi poškodbe stopal na RAW-u, bolj natančno desne pete, pa sem se odločil za skrajšano verzijo Tortour Challenge, ki je dolga “samo” 580km. Razmišljanje je bilo, da bo to dovolj za testiranje pripravljenosti, vseeno pa ne pretiravanje kar se tiče (morebitnih) bolečin v peti.

Po RAW-u sem se dobro odpočil in s pomočjo kinezio traku, je bolečina v desni peti izginila, seveda pa nisem vedel točno kaj pričakovati ob večji obremenitvi na dirki. Vsekakor je bil plan začeti ne preveč intenzivno in kasneje stopnjevati tempo ter po možnosti ujeti konkurente pred mano. Konkurence nisem ravno poznal in moram reči, da sem bilj bolj fokusiran na svojo vožnjo, pa naj bo kar bo kar se tiče uvrstitve. Zadevo je zakompliciral še sistem, kjer so self-supported kolesarji dobili 1 uro prednosti pred nami z podporo (spremstvom) in na palec se je to zdela kar poštena odločitev. 

Kar se tiče prehrane, je že kar dolga leta moj plan zaužiti 350-400kCal/uro in zadnje čase te potrebe pokrije Nduranz Nrgy Unit Drink 90 in ploščice. Bolj natančno 270kCal v napitku + ena ploščica na uro = okoli 370kCal. Ker sem moral prvo časovno postajo (52km) prekolesariti brez spremstva, sem dal v žep 2 ploščici, na kolo 2 bidona in gas! Startal sem bolj proti koncu, saj sem se odločil, da na virtualnem prologu ne bom preveč švical. Pri 36 prijavljenih, bi mi to lahko odneslo maksimalno 18minut in to se mi je zdelo nepomembno dirki, ki bo predvidoma trajalao 19-21 ur. Startal sem res počasi, ker so bila tudi navodila organizatorjev taka, da moraš po kolesarskih stezah v Zurichu voziti počasi (20km/h), dokler ne vidiš komisarja, ki da znak za začetek dirke. No, tega komisarja ni bilo nikjer, zato sem verjetno počasno vožnjo nadaljeval malce predaleč. Pa nič hudega, sem bil vsaj dobro ogret. ;)

Potem je začelo lepo letet, še vedno pa sem se držal načrta po ravnem 65-75%FTP in v klance do  max. 90%FTP. Tega sem se kar lepo držal in kljub temu prehitel kar nekaj svojih konkurentov v 50+ kategoriji. Žal je kake pol ure po startu začelo tudi deževati, na kar sem bil pripravljen z Gabba dresom in galošami za dež. Ja, napovedana je bila deževna noč. Na prvi postaji me je čakala Irma in dobil sem novi bidon z napitkom. Potem pa gas naprej v deževno noč. Žal se je intenzivnost dežja povečevala in po nekaj urah me je začelo zebsti, tako da sem se moral ustaviti in dodati anorak za dež in pokrivalo za čelado. To nam je vzelo le par minut in se je splačalo, saj sem se hitro pogrel.

Ja, žal je po 4 urah power meter crknil in moral sem se zanesti na svoj občutek. No za občutek, v prvih 4 urah sem se res lepo držal plana in imel NP (nevtralizirana moč) 72% FTP. V dva daljša klanca (Brunner in Jaun Pass) sem prehitel še nekaj konkurentov, pa tudi mene so začele prehitevati hitrejše ekipe. Tudi prehrana je bila nekje do sredi noči po planu, kasneje pa sem ob močnem nalivu malo izgubil tek in voljo do žvečenja, sem pa dodal nekaj Gelov, predvsem kofeinski so mi pasali sredi noči, za malo poživitve in prebujanja.

Po celi noči dežja, je bilo sredi dopoldneva lepo čutit celo nekaj sončnih žarkov na obrazu. Zgornji del opreme se mi je začel celo sušiti, seveda so bile Nogavice v sprintaricah in dežnih galošah popolnoma premočene. Ko smo preverili, da bo suho vreme zdržalo (naj bi) do Zuricha, sem si na predzadnji postaji vzel čas in se preoblekel/preobul. Ni bilo škoda izgubiti 10minut časa, ker občutek v suhih sprintaricah in na soncu je bil nepozaben. Lahko sem ga začel gonit kot je treba , še malo bolj, ko sem izvedel, da je bil drugouvrščeni Poggio le 12 minut pred mano na postaji. Ko sem ga po nekaj kilometrih zagledal pred sabo, sem lahko še malo dodal po gasu in v enega izmed klancev sem ga končno dohitel in prehitel. Naslednja naloga je bila, poskušati se čimbolj približati vodilnemu Lauku, ki je imel sicer dobre pol ure prednosti, ampak na ultra dirkah pač nikoli ne veš, kako se človek počuti in kako se bo razpletlo.

No, razpletlo se je tako, da je po kake pol ure razbesnelo neurje z hudim nalivom. Tako hudim, da mi je navigacija zatajila, da ne omenjam zavore, ki so na karbonskih obročih potrebovale 30-40m, da sploh začnejo prijemat in so me v gostem prometu kar nekajkrat spravile v precejšnjo zadrego/nevarnost. Na križiščih sem moral tako ali tako čakat spremljevalno vozilo, da so me z napotki spravili v pravo smer. Tako je bilo mojega lova na zmago efetkivno konec. Čeprav priznam, da realno niti v sončnem vremenu Lauka po vsej verjetnosti ne bi mogel ujeti. Tista ura handicapa je bila pač preveč glede na kvaliteto samo-oskrbnih kolesarjev.

Z drugim mestom v kategoriji sem bil zadovoljen, še bolj pa z dejstvom, da sem bil na koncu dirke še dovolj svež/močan za napad na stopničke/zmago. Tudi prehrana Nduranz je delovala perfektno, v 20 urah vožnje sem popil 19 bidonov Nduranz Nrgy Unit Drink 90 in dodal 14 ploščic ter 5 gelov, torej zelo blizu tega, kar sem planiral pred dirko. Tudi dežna oprema je bila dodobra preizkušena in na srečo dobrih 15 ur močenja na dežju ni pustilo nobenih zdravstvenih posledic.

Sem bil pa ponovno opomnjen, da v primeru dežja disk zavore na specialki le niso tako napačna izbira. Morda si bo treba omisliti to na naslednjem N+1 kolesu? ;)