I take it all back: fast bikers, you rule!

Last night I witnessed one of the nicest, most inspiring, and incredibly touching pieces of sportsmanship. And it is all about biking!

Mind you, I am not in these pictures. This time it is not about me, but about my friends in the extended group of Fjellgeitene (mountain goats) who biked the Bergen-Voss race as a group, and finished the 165 km course just below 5 hours, exactly as planned.

So what is the big deal about this, you might ask. And I must admit that, although I have been following their training with great interest, I hadn't realized the big deal. Last night, as announced, I was at the after-race party with them, and as the evening progressed it became clear to me what a wonderful story the whole project had been. It needs to be told!

A few months ago, Lars the chief goat put out an opinion poll asking who would like to try to bike the Bergen-Voss race within 4 hours and 59 minutes. Many people immediately signed up, and they ended with a big group who would go for this goal altogether. Now this might insult some of my friends, but I thought in my naiveness that this was an attempt for a new record for all the people in the group.  Only yesterday I realized that about half of the around 45 bikers in the group had already biked Bergen-Voss with finish times in the rage of 4h:15 and 4h:30!

So the whole project has been about 18 faster bikers helping 25 friends to make it below 5 hours! Wow, I was so moved this became clear to me. It is difficult to reproduce how the whole story slowly was revealed during the party last night, but it can be compared to watching a movie when you suddenly realize at some point that the story is something quite different than what you thought it was from the beginning. Like The Truman Show, or The Matrix, or Vanilla Sky, if you're interested in movies. If you haven't watched those movies, do it without reading the plot first. Then you will know exactly what I mean.

While we were eating, I had the pleasure of listening to Emil, who turned out to be one of the "locks". At that point I had no idea what a lock was, but it was extremely entertaining to listen to him, and I understood at least that he had a key role in the group, a kind of a connection between a front troop and the rest, shouting to people at the back when they should speed up not to loose contact with the front, what is coming ahead, when they should drink, when they can take it easy, etc etc. Already at that point I was moved by this wonderful caring for the rest of the group.

Later in the evening, Lars explained to me how the group worked during the race. First of all, they bike in a long line with two and two bikers side by side. In the front of the group are 16 fast bikers. Just behind those 16 are the two "locks", and then behind them come the rest of the group, called the "bus". The 16 fast bikers in the front take turns to go in the front and pull the rest. They do this in a natural rolling cycle, where some slow down slightly to fall behind and others take the lead. The locks (Emil and Bjarne) are the connection between the front and the bus. They constantly communicate with the back to tell them what is coming ahead, so that people are prepared and do not fall behind. At the same time, they also communicate to the front when difficult situations arise so that they should stay in their positions and stop rolling to take the lead.

Later during the night I learned how the project started. Last year, when Lars and several of the faster bikers in the front group achieved wonderful finish times at the Bergen-Voss race, they decided that next time they would help others to make it below 5 hours rather than chase their own personal records. So when he opened the opinion poll, people were already prepared and signed up immediately. This motivated many others, who were perhaps just at the border of being able to make it below 5 hours, to sign up as well, and in this was they created the biggest group of mountain goats ever to do the Bergen-Voss together.

Of course I should have known. Had I been more interested in bike racing, I could have checked the finish times from previous years, and I would have known that many of these people can do it much faster than 5 hours. I would then understand how so many people dared to join the group, and following the big "mountain goat express" project would have been more enlightening. But then I wouldn't have had the OMG experience of last night, which is comparable to any Oscar winning movie. And the beauty of it: not once during this spring did any of these guys ever post anything that could indicate that they are actually faster than the group goal of 4:59.... In light of how competitive these guys are usually, this is an unbelievably lovely example of kindness and sportsmanship. And maybe it is not that uncommon among bikers to do this, what do I know? In any case, my complaining about fast bikers: I take it all back!

I could write a whole book about Lars :-) (Maybe I will one day ;-) ) He is one of the most motivating and caring people I know, and I am so grateful to him in so many ways. Just as an illustration, here is a picture he posted when I was complaining about my slow progress in feeling safe on a bike.

Here is how he looks now (definitely ready for the Tour):

Here is a much shorter and slower version of the mountain goat express:

I do not promise anything, but I can tell you: there is hope!

I want to ride my bicycle... or do I?

There are nine million bicycles in Bergen....

Or was it Beijing? At least it feels like that in Bergen right now! "Everybody" is preparing for the Bergen - Voss race, and they are all so fast...

I cannot make up my mind about whether or not I like biking as a training form. I remember when reading Haruki Murakami's book about running how much I agreed with him about the drawbacks of biking: your speed does not depend only on your strength and endurance, like in running. It depends on so many other things, like having a good and light bike, not being afraid of speed, whether you are good in maneuvering around all sorts of obstacles like people, kids, animals, and vehicles on your way... and the 9 million other bikers...

After experimenting a bit with triathlon, I was quite demotivated by the slowness of my heavy hybrid bike. So in winter Frank and I bought racing bikes. And the difference is indeed amazing. But it took me some time to get to the point where I could actually experience the difference. First I had to get past the obstacle of click pedals...

I knew that I would struggle with biking when the feet are locked to the pedals. I had tried this once a couple of years ago, fallen badly, and given it up. But now there was no way around it. During the winter, I put my bike on a stationary roller, and used it for restitution as often as I could. At the same time, I clicked my shoes on and off the pedals a million times to let it become natural. When the spring came, though, and we went for our first biking session outdoors, things did not work as easily as I hoped for. Just at the parking lot, before we even started, I fell twice trying to mount on the bike, and Frank and I were both wondering whether we would at all be biking that day. The thing is, unfortunately, it takes some falling before the brain realizes that it should very quickly unlock the correct foot before trying to set it on the ground. There is no help in soundly standing still with one foot on the ground, if you suddenly want to put also the other foot on the ground forgetting that it is still locked to the pedal. 

Of course things depend on earlier experiences. Although I could bike as a kid, it was never a natural part of my daily life. Growing up in a big city, we would take the bikes with us to a park and bike there. In contrast, Frank was biking daily as a kid, even participating in some small competitions. Even though I have biked more than him as an adult, his balance and confidence that comes from childhood is incomparable to mine. For him lock pedals were not a problem at all. After a couple of biking sessions, I was still feeling pretty insecure, and started to discuss whether I should go for another brand of lock pedals that some said were easier to click in and out of.  I discussed the matter with Knut Bøe, the legendary biker who now owns the bike shop we bought our bikes from (in fact I've discussed so many things with Knut, and we have been in the shop for advice and help so many times; he is an extremely inspiring and motivating person!), and concluded that I simply needed more practice.

 

So here I am now. Lock pedals are working fine; it has become natural to click in and out of them without thinking. Back/shoulder/butt aches from long rides are getting less and less painful, and more bearable. I still don't have the level of balance I would have liked. For example, slowing down during a race to get a bottle of drink offered and actually drinking and eating while riding still seem like distant dreams. But  as long as I have things to work on and improve,  I am somewhat motivated.

The problem is... I simply don't enjoy it that much. Oh, so there I've said it. Biking works perfect as recreation and restitution. But it is a pretty inefficient way of training to improve form. You need so many more hours than for running, you need free passage, empty roads, no people, no cars, and most importantly no other bikers. At least I do. I am so cautious that I slow down for people, cars, and especially unpredictable obstacles like kids and animals. But most other (faster) bikers don't. So there I am, slowing down in wait of an opening, and suddenly comes a fast biker and passes me and takes my opening before my path is again clogged with people. I know many of my friends won't like me saying this, but what I find among the biggest obstacles in improving my biking skills and increasing my enjoyment, are some of the fastest bikers out there.

Early Sunday mornings work fine. Before everybody else is out. Say from 8-11, you can get a lot of km done in peace and quiet, with as much speed as you dare. But here is only one Sunday a week... And I seem to be mostly motivated for this kind of commitment when I have an injury or pain that prevents me from running.

Oh well, we'll all see how it goes. It took me years to start enjoying running, so perhaps time is all that it takes. Once (if ever!) I have better balance and speed, and can join the group rides of Fjellgeitene, I am sure it can become much more fun.

And I am going to their after-party of the Bergen-Voss race!! :-D