I am very, very, very disappointed with this ride.
I was aiming to better my time from 2019, 6:30:03 and finished in 6:43:28. I was 13 minutes and 25 seconds slower.
I have a good explanation (aka. excuse) for this result, and I’ll write it down for the record so I remember what happened. But let me reiterate that, even with this explanation, I am very, very disappointed. I hope you understand me if you continue reading.
I lost one bottle at km 30. I hit a pothole and saw it flying. I stopped for it but couldn’t find it. It was the bottle that was still full. I was drinking from the other one.
Being the unconscious that I am, I didn’t think much of it. I will need to stop to refill my bottle but that’s not a big deal.
I was feeling fine and I was thinking I was having a great ride. Looking at the numbers now I see I was right. At the top of Marie Blanque I was matching my times from 2019.
But there was where I made a huge mistake.
I passed the feed station at the top of Marie Blanque without stopping and only when I was descending did I realize I had no water. Huge mistake because I knew it. I even told myself you have to stop to fill this bottle. I don’t know what I was thinking. I never end surprising myself how stupid I can be.
The next feed station was at km 127. That was a whole hour without water.
Worst of all is I still thought I was doing great. I protected myself in the middle of a group most of that hour. Something I’m not afraid to say I am very skilled at. When Portalet climb started I kept my own pace. I was passing lots of cyclists. Yes, I was thirsty, but I wasn’t feeling that bad.
When I got to the feed station I drank all I could, filled my bottle and continued feeling I was doing great.
But I wasn’t.
And water was not an excuse anymore. In the second half of the Portalet an spectator offered me a bottle in exchange for mine. Perfect timing, mine was empty. Didn’t mind mine was a better bottle than his. It was a great deal.
I continued my merry climbing completely convinced I was doing very, very well. Don’t get me wrong, by the time you are in the second half of Portalet “doing very, very well” means you are just surviving with a sustainable pace, but I “knew” I was going to be faster than 6h:30m.
By the time I got to the top of Portalet, for the second time in the same ride, I realised how stupid I was. There was no way I was going to get from the top of Portalet to the finish in an hour. I knew I was not going to better my PB from 6 years ago.
At the top of Hoz de Jaca, a spectator gave me a bottle full of water. It was very welcome, spectators at Quebrantahuesos are amazing, but my destiny was sealed. 6:43:28
I am, of course, not happy with that time, but there are two things that really disappoint me. The mistake I made at the top of Marie Blanque and how mistaken my feeling was climbing Portalet.
I know the depth of this disappointment is a measure of the unrealistic idea that I have of myself. But I can help it. Next year I’ll be back.
The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14869505706/
Take care of yourself
Javier Arias González
