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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Remko Kramer


Steve and I met the first time on the internet. Me and some friends had just started the Marco Polo Cycling Club an adventure cycling team planning to race all over the world, and Steve became one of the first members on our website www.marcopolocyclingclub.com Since our team was on a riders for riders base and didn’t have any sponsorship back then, it was an adventure in itself to go abroad racing. Living on a shoestring we planned to race some stage races in California. We had an interesting line-up of riders ready to come over, from New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands and even Mongolia. But how to organize the team, travel from place to place or even just “survive” in an expensive country like the USA without budget. After sending out an e-mail to our members in California we got enough support to make it happen. One of the guys that was a key factor here was Steve. He offered to join as Sportive Director to one race and offered to borrow his Toyota van the whole 3 weeks. I couldn’t believe this was serious, so I double checked and Steve had 1 condition. We had to decorate his van with team stickers. I had to admit that we didn’t even have that. “Then you better get some paint and get creative” was Steve’s plan. And so we did. Painted the van with Marco Polo Cycling Club and Chinese characters and drove all the way to the bay area, while the mileage of the van went over 300.000 leaving L.A. After that we stayed friends and in contact over the internet and shared our adventures in life.
And now here we are, Steve becomes 50! I was surprised by the number, never thought of Steve as a 50 year old guy and I guess he isn’t. What does a number say? Well it says the Challenge has to do with 50… A Challenge for Steve, it must be hard and I think that I should choose something that suits me. Well, since I am in good form from racing pro races I thought lets do something crazy on the bicycle. And I got the crazy idea to accelerate to 50KMpH and repeat that 50 times…

I had no idea if that was doable for me, but I was sure it was a serious Challenge. I train intervals regularly and know how to sprint to over 50. But I also know that muscles get tired and empty from intervals. And I know too well how they feel then… My regular few sets of 5 or 2 x 10 at the max are nothing compared to this. I did 2 or 3 hour races at averages close to 50, I race in crits regularly where we sometimes accelerate even more than 50 times to 50. But that is not to be compared to doing it yourself. Without drafting and falling back to cruising speed to even make the few hours it will take. I asked some pro cyclists that know what it is to ride 50 and who know how to do some decent interval training, but none of them had any idea if that was possible at all and how it would be like. One of them told me “I have one advice… it will get really tough”. Sounds good…

Planning the Challenge I decide to even make some rules; no drafting, no off-level, back to below 30 after each sprint. Knowing it will get hard, but not knowing how hard, I also give myself some freedom. If I will fade out, I can spread it over more days, but the main thing is to make the 50 full.

I also know I have to plan it fast, I just had my last race and the autumn is already showing its ugly face. I need at least a dry day and I can’t wait too long, because I will loose my fast legs soon when the season is over. The week after my last race is bad. Rain and some dry parts of the day when I need to work. But then the day comes. I have to do it in the morning since rain is expected in the afternoon. I prepare like for a race, light breakfast, drink enough, and I choose my fast race wheels with 9 bar tire pressure.

Thinking of Steve I decide the Challenge needs some extra juice and as a warm up I start with 50 push ups. Most of you will laugh about it, but cyclists tend to get really weak in their arms. For many cyclists it would even be mission impossible. But I also work some with my arms so I should make it, maybe I would need a break but I should make it. I start off fast, getting in the push-ups nice. After 25 it is slowly getting harder, after 35 it gets torturous, but after 40 I really start to struggle. I push them away one by one. The last 3 I almost drop through my elbows, but I make it. So now I don’t have my arms anymore for some extra sprint power…

Outside the chilly temperature makes me shiver. That is bad news, since my muscles respond bad to cold temperature. My legs love the heat, the hotter the better, not this cold wind, then they choke and don’t give that little extra so needed this time.
Still with some confidence I take off. At a nice smooth road around the corner I do my first, I have to go really deep to make the 50. And it hurts bad! This is not going to be ok I think. This is not my day, not my weather and I have no idea how crazy I was with this Challenge. The next 3 I make it, but they hurt even more. I feel nauseous, a bit of head ache, I really dig deep. How will I ever make it 50 times! No way! I taped a paper on my handle bars to keep track of the progress so I can mark each 5 sprints. Ready to make my first cross… I don’t make it. Some side wind and a rough road; 49 something. Damned. What to do now? It won’t get any better. Nobody knows so I could just mark the cross. Steve looks a lot younger then 50. What about just doing 40’s? No. No time to think too much. I have to continue and face the Challenge. From now on I start looking for little advantages, like a little off-level, a little tailwind, little things, but they help a lot and I get in many 50+ sprints. I concentrate and just focus on the job to do and that is sprint and rest. Meanwhile I get on the nerves of 2 touring cyclists, passing them 3 times at top speed and then roll below 20 each time so they pass me again. Not enough oxygen to explain to them. After a long, long time I finally put down my 5th cross, 25 sprints that is a lot!

Oh no, that is only halfway…

I start thinking again, I will never make it. How hard these last few sprints were, I hardly catch my breath again, I need more and more rest in between. I take the same road again, remembering the best spots and just keep putting in the sprints again. Some I just don’t make it, sprinting at the max, no chance to put on some extra, no chance to pull up that last KM. The only thing I can do is count them. My legs feel so empty but I made it to 35! So now it looks like countdown. But a long countdown. Don’t think of the first 15. Just don’t think at all. And put in the sprints whenever I catch my breath again - and the lactic acid level is back below my eyebrows - I take off for another max effort.


40 down! Hey Steve looks he isn’t 40 yet, doesn’t he? Shall I quit? Would Steve quit? Shut up and keep doing your job!

My legs feel fluffy and numb, like pudding, I look down but they still look normal, not how they feel. So I squeeze another good 50+ sprint out of them. Keep going, no more thinking, I can’t even think anymore. Too much lactic acid kills the thoughts. But I can look at the computer still. I now only look at it when I am at the max, sprinting with my eyes closed. I even start using the pushing away technique of the final sprint to catch another bit of speed. 48 something. No way, I can go any faster. One 49.8, that is like 50, isn’t it?

45 down, 5 to go. I am going to make it!

Now I start striping them off on the paper one by one. Nothing left in my body, but still I can sprint it up to 50 when I focus 100%. Dizzy and shaky but when the sprint starts again I can still release some last left-over reserve of power. 49! Steve is 49 now. But he is 50 when he gets this report. A nice smooth road and a bridge that covers the wind. Here I go, 49 on the computer and my push brings it over 50, 50.6! Done, ready, finished, arrivée! What the hell did I just do? I hardly make it home. 20 KMpH that is my speed now. With my fluffy legs I push the pedals and I can hardly stand when I get off the bicycle. Climbing the stairs is dangerous and I let myself fall on the couch. It takes me 15 minutes to convince myself to go to the fridge and get the well deserved coke I was thinking of the past hour.

So that was a Challenge. I think of Steve again. Top it off? Do another set? Of push ups of course. But still. Am I crazy? Still shaky I go down on the floor. My arms still work. After 25 I start loosing control. Flat on the floor. No quitting! I take them 5 at a time now. My back bending, my legs tremble. 45 down 5 to go. After 2 I can’t come up again. Now it is one by one. The last one comes out of my toes. 50. No more Challenge! Done! That’s it Steve.



So my Challenge kind of failed. My rules set before I couldn’t hold.

- I did 50 sprints.
- Some sprints were below 50, but none below 48. The average was over 50 at least, because several were 52 and 53’s.
- I used some slight off level roads and light tailwinds, but no descent or strong winds.

It was a cold day and I just didn’t have my top day, if one of them would have been more in advantage I would have made it to my rules. But this makes clear it was really at my absolute limit. So this was a real Challenge!

I see it like life itself. Some years were hard, some years past away so fast, some were a real struggle, some below expectations, but most above and all at the max! Happy Birthday Steve! Just keep going strong and put in those upcoming 50 years!

1 comments:

Steve Edwards said...

I've been hearing about this challenge from others and finally got to read it today. This is SO cool. I can't wait to try it but, um, there's going to have to be a LOT more form in my legs than I have now. So much to train for this winter! Thanks, Remko!