As you might now, every year with a group of colleagues, we bike up a mountain in the Alps. The previous years we used to go to France, where we did several climbs from Tour de France, including Alp de'Huez, Le Deux Alpes, Galibier.
This year, for a change, we went to Austria, to ascend the Grossglockner, which is the highest mountain in Austria and a decent biking climb, even harder than Alpe d'Huez.
Now, this year I started training in April, as soon as the weather got better. My training consisted of biking to work and of a number of long distance rides. I biked a total of some 1900 km, for a total of some 86 hours. So I was hoping I could do much better than last year at Alpe d'Huez. And so I did!
The many hours of training paid off in the bends of the magnifiscent High Alpine Road, leading from our start at Fusch (800m above the sea level) to the finish at Fuschertörl (2400m). (However, the official time measurement started at Ferleiten (1150m), where one can buy a ticket, which is then stampted at the top, recording one's exact time.)
My idea was to keep up with my friend and colleague Dries de Groot as long as possible, for I assumed that he'd be the first at the top as he did last year at Alpe d'Huez. So I started off together with him. After some time I was in the lead, with the rest out of my sight. The biking went quite well, as I was pedalling pretty smoothly in one of the lowest gears. At about 2000 meters, I hit the snow limit. It looked like it was winter, with glistening pretty deep snow everywhere!
The biking started to get harder, and eventually Dries caught up with me. We biked together for a couple of kilometers, which were probably the steepest ones in the race. Then Dries took the lead and slowly disappeared from my sight. It started to get really heavy on me, but I could already see the tower of Fuschertörl at the distance. I passed a few other bikers, but there was hardly anyone who passed me! What struck me was that most people were riding mountain bikes, and not racing bikes. There was even a couple riding a tandem bicycle!
Well, eventually after 2 hours 16 minutes and 9 seconds, exhausted but exhilarated, I finished second at the top, about 7 minutes later than Dries. Dennis finished third half a minute later than me, and Robin finished fourth, another 3 minutes later. A couple of people did not reach the finish and turned back. The longest time of our group was 4 hours and 15 minutes.
We waited at the top for some time, but it was getting really cold (about 0 degrees Celsius). So Dries and I decided to go down. The first few kilometers of our descent were freezing cold. I was glad I wore gloves and my rain gear. But then it began to get warmer again, and we stopped time and again to savor the magnificent views of the mountains and the valleys.
It was sunny in the valley and we enjoyed a few refreshing drink at hour hotel, after which we went to relax at the swimming pool and at the wellness area with its Turkish steam bath and caldarium. The day finished off with a great dinner and a lot of chatting. The next morning we were off for a long drive home.
It was fun driving together with Dries. We could talk for hours, discuss the talks of Bill Harris that we were listening on CD, ponder about life, man and how man perceives reality. Our test came when we got stuck in a huge traffic jam not far from Cologne. Confronted with our own impatience, it was a good opportunity to reflect on that state of mind, to relax and take it easy!
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