During the first two days of our Northcape4000 adventure, Siniša and I managed to carry out our plan despite a challenging elevation profile. We crossed the Alps via two mountain passes, reached the highest point of the entire route, checked in at the control point in Munich, and finished the second day in the Bavarian town of Abensberg.
At one of the hotels, we weren’t the only riders heading north. During dinner and breakfast, we met several NC4000 participants whom we would see more or less regularly over the next few days.
Since we weren’t racing, we allowed ourselves to stay in bed until 6 a.m., so we could be first at the hotel breakfast and get going as early as possible. We got about seven hours of sleep. The night before, we washed the jerseys we wore during the first two days and hung them out to dry. The fans in the hotel rooms and the air conditioning helped dry our cycling clothes quickly. That became our every-other-day routine. In the mornings, we often still had to finish drying the chamois of our cycling shorts with a hairdryer.
Based on experience from previous multi-day rides, I knew that good sleep and quality nutrition were essential for quick recovery. So I started the day with a hearty breakfast. An empty sack won’t stand on its own, and muscles won’t function without building blocks and fuel either. The “Swedish table,” or buffet-style breakfasts we enjoyed, proved to be just right. A smart mix of protein for muscle repair, carbohydrates for energy, and a bit of fat became an important part of our morning routine. One espresso for me, and two or three for Siniša… and we were ready to hit the road.
As planned, at 7:30 a.m., we mounted our bikes and hit the road heading north-northeast.
On the third day, we were scheduled to cover another 250 km and climb about 3,000 meters of elevation. The climbs weren’t as tall or as long as those in the Alps, but the route kept lifting and dropping us over the rolling hills of northern Bavaria all day, all the way to our daily destination—the town of Kraslice in the Czech Karlovy Vary region.
I was expecting a tough day. Experience had taught me that muscles hurt the most on day three. The body and muscles are still adjusting to the daily effort, and the mind hasn’t quite grasped where it is and what’s happening ☺. It didn’t help that Monday was cloudy at dawn, with heavy humidity in the air, which later brought us a summer rain.
In the town of Kelheim, we crossed the Danube River.
For the first time, we visited a bike shop because I had a flat tire shortly after starting on day one. We needed to restock our supply of spare gear and give the bikes a quick cleaning after the rain.
Cleaning the bikes turned out to be a pointless effort, as we soon found ourselves riding 12 kilometers of gravel track specified by the organizer. This wasn’t well-packed gravel but a mixture of sand and dirt with the occasional protruding root. After the rain, that surface coated our bikes with a fresh layer of grime and required full attention, since wet roots are easy to slip on. Bike tires and wet tree bark don’t get along.
In the early evening, we crossed the German–Czech border. Physical borders within the European Union have long since disappeared, but the legacy of life behind the “Iron Curtain,” which lasted over 40 years, is still visible here. Riding through the town of Cheb, we rolled over rough granite cobblestones. Roads like these would, over the next two and a half days of riding through what was once East Germany, give us plenty of sore backsides, some swearing, and frequent detours onto the sidewalk.
The final route to Kraslice included about 350 meters of climbing through the Ore Mountains, which separate the Czech Republic from the German state of Saxony. There are several ski resorts near Kraslice.
Since we hadn’t closely checked where the guesthouse we booked was actually located, we ended up adding extra kilometers and wandering around town. Exhausted, we finally reached the apartment around midnight. After a light dinner and prepping our gear for the next day, we quickly drifted off to sleep.
Until next time, keep riding!
Ksenija
Ride Međimurje takes you on short recreational rides along the Mura River and through the vineyard hills of Upper Međimurje. Of course, once we dig ourselves out of the snow. 🙂