Dana Pavisich
After having spent so much time reading the stories of other participants in Sponsoreco I am so stoked to write about my own experience! Mola molt, nens! In the past I used all of the write-ups on the Kromvojoj website as motivation to do boring tasks – like Ok I’ll grade 5 more student essays and then read another entry from the race participants! I never would have completed such a huge challenge were it not for the organizers of Kromvojoj. I always thought that ultradistance cycling would be something that I enjoyed but before the Kromvo I would either drop out last-minute or participate without really enjoying myself. I paid lots of money and signed up for races that I just didn’t attend! Maybe you guys don’t know this but you can sign up for races and just not go – it’s like making a charitable donation. As the race dates would get closer and closer I’d think about everything I needed to learn about and prep and I would get pretty freaked out. Me? Alone! Outside? Sleeping on the ground! No way. Thanks to Sponsoreco and Kromvojoj not only have I faced these fears but I plan to do a similar trip in two weeks…..for FUN!
Before the Kromvo I thought I would start getting prepared by completing a shorter gravel ultra. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done to date, but when it finished I thought – what a scam! When was I going to feel the “sense of personal growth” and reflect about my place in the world?! What is the point of choosing to suffer if it doesn’t expand your perspectives?! All I had thought about for 46 hours was how scared and tired I was, how my devices were losing battery, how much cycling sucked, and how I wanted to give up but was too embarrassed. While I was proud to have finished I definitely didn’t have this perspective-altering experience I thought came with these crazy races. But I was already signed up for Kromvojoj with Sponsoreco! I couldn’t back out from my next race – even though without this accountability I almost certainly would have been absent at the starting line.
The Kromvojoj team and the other Sponsoreco participants answered my silly questions with grace and kindness. I would ask things like…..what if it’s better for me to NOT know the elevation profile? Is this bad? How exactly does one just…..sleep on the ground? How do you push yourself so hard but also have fun? I felt accepted and cared for and that meant so much to me. Through all of our calls, texts, and messages I felt like I was a part of a community, like I would suffer but hey, so would everyone else! We were in it together.
The big day of the race finally arrived and wow the race took a long time to begin! I remember sitting anxiously in the Castellvell poliesportiva checking my watch and thinking….hmm, only 5 hours until we start. Time passes slowly when you’re about to do the most difficult thing you’ve ever done. Once we started I was the most at ease I’d felt so far – all I had to do now was just keep pedaling. Everyone I rode with was kind, positive, and fast! I’m not much of a night-rider and seeing other race participants on the road calmed my nerves. It would be my first night ever of wild-camping alone. I went as far as I safely could, said goodbye to the other participant I was riding with, and pulled off into a small, isolated park at about 3am. If you’ve never been so tired that you sleep in your gross, dirty clothes I can recommend this experience! Just laying down felt like the best gift I’d ever received. I locked my bike with my little Hello Kitty lock and slept peacefully until the local yaya’s woke me up by chatting quite loudly a few meters away (I do think this was purposeful). Grateful to my yaya alarm clock I hit the road, excited that this would mean breakfast was coming soon! After a few brutal and foggy climbs I found an open bar and ordered my 3 sandwiches, 2 coffees, and 1 mug of hot water. This brings me to my HOT TIP for the other riders out there! Miso soup. You won’t regret it! It doesn’t take up space, it’s like 99.9% salt, and tastes lovely (especially alongside a cappuccino). Thank me later, friends. These 3 sandwiches got me past checkpoint 1 and through the night to my next campsite. All of the Kromvojoj staff and volunteers were so kind and uplifting throughout – though I was riding alone it really didn’t feel that way.
I don’t know if you guys know this yet but your gear ratio is actually, likeee, really important! I live in Barcelona and do quite a lot of climbing on my road bike so I didn’t even think to investigate it. This would come to haunt me in the Pyrenees as I dragged myself and my bags up each of the mountains. Despite being a moderately strong cyclist my little cassette and big chainrings were not at all suited to the challenge of the long route that lay ahead of me. At checkpoint 2 I decided to opt for the redux route and wow am I glad that I did! While on the one hand this felt like giving up, on the other I had come to the Kromvo to learn, enjoy myself, and appreciate what I was doing in the moment. Had I stayed on the long route these goals would have been much more difficult to achieve (and my knees would be angry!). I’m normally someone who pushes themselves way harder than necessary and so the decision to do less felt like another personal win. The route was so beautiful – picturesque mountain passes with heavily variable temperatures and incredible views. I was afraid of cycling mountains like this alone. I’m proud that I did it and grateful for the support from Kromvojoj. Plus I have since changed out my chainrings and cassette – there is no stopping me now!
My last campsite was the absolute best – an abandoned church on a hill. The morning brought a lovely view of the surrounding countryside. As I started pedalling during what I hoped would be my last day it didn’t seem to be really coming to an end. It’s hard to imagine being finished when you still have over two hundred kilometers to go. I tried to pay attention to everything I was seeing and feeling, to get out of my head and make sure I’d remember where I had been. Even within 10kms of the finish line I still couldn’t believe it. Seeing the organizers cheer for me at the end, and how they both gave me a hug without even hesitating about how sweaty and stinky I was – their kindness made me cry! I was so delighted to be done, proud of myself,and grateful for the support I was given. Oriol had warned us that these types of events can come with kind of a low-point afterwards as the riders return to their regular lives. I was ready for this but it wasn’t necessary – I felt like I floated through the next week at the school I teach at. Hearing stories from students and staff that had followed my little dot on DotWatcher totally filled my heart! I always wanted to be a DOT! Soon I’ll bike from Barcelona to Stuttgart and back to visit a friend – I’ll sleep on the ground, pedal all day long, and remember the feelings of freedom and joy that Kromvojoj brought me.
Thank you, Sponsoreco.
