Gundie Busenberga
What did your participation in Kromvojoj entail?
When I received the email confirming my spot in Sponsoreco, I knew, for the first time in my cycling life, I wanted to do structured training to improve my overall riding abilities. I worked with a coach to gain a fitness level so I can finish the race.
Kromvojoj team was there to share tips and tricks to take any of my worries away. This gave me an understanding of what to pack, what to ditch, gave me time to fine tune things as well as what knowledge I needed to improve, and what to expect. I knew that riding was just one skill of the whole set of things I needed to have to be able to finish.
I took part in Badlands women’s rally few weeks before Kromvojoj which gave me one last chance to check my setup and highlight what was missing and tweak it.
How do you rate Sponsoreco in promoting and encouraging the diversity of participants in this type of event?
Sponsoreco is an amazing tool to encourage new and lesser-represented rider groups to take the chance and try out ultra cycling. Sponsoresco were there to answer all my, sometimes silly, questions and encouraged me along the way. I think it’s a great safety net throughout the event, ensuring that you don’t get intimidated by the many experienced riders or any doubts. On the contrary, the whole event atmosphere was very encouraging and inclusive, and that is solely achieved by the organisers behind Kromvojoj.
Have you achieved your personal goals?
Yes, I have. My main goal was to finish, and I did it. I knew things would not go according to the plan but support and encouragement was always there to push though. My second goal was to learn and event the right environment with plenty to learn. Last but not least it was important for me to enjoy it and I truly much did. It is a highlight of my cyclist experience to this date.
Day 1
Disclaimer. This was my first ever ultra cycle therefore I went into it with 2 goals. To learn as much as I could & finish it. I knew the 8pm start wasn’t gonna be easy but it was the only reason I could make it with having just enough time to get to Reus for check-in & briefing. Having just finished guiding a week-long women’s camp the night before, back-to-back with the riding Badlands women rally, I was pretty tired going into this. I tried to compensate for this with some fuel, food & well, more food. Starting the ride with a police lead out and closed traffic to leave Reus was a unique & surreal experience. Absolute mood booster by cheering bystanders for sure. Highly recommend it. Up until the 100k, we were okayed to ride together. First 50k then, then my groupset malfunctioned leaving me in one gear. Surprised? No. With only getting my bike back the night before, things were bound to go wrong but I didn’t think it would start this early on. After painful single speeding for about 30k & help from a few kind riders I was back in the game but dropped behind pretty much everyone. I tried to push on for a bit but with legs gone & tiredness coming over and just being pretty upset with the whole issue I started looking for a corner to bivvy for the night. With Friday in full swing & reggaeton blasting from bars few of us ended up camping in a spot just outside Sant Fruitós de Bages
Day 2
After a solid few h rest, I woke up realising I’d slept in my sleeping bag inside out. Day could only get better! Rolled into Sant Fruitos de Bages early and found an open cafe, but it had no WC Never doing that again. After wasting ages finding a working bathroom, I finally left town. Soon after, my tracker died, so I had to make another stop to sort that out. Batteries seemed to be my downfall so far, but as long as my legs held up, I was good, right? Once all that was sorted, I was happy with my pace until the sun got too much so I stopped for a quick lunch in Viladrau followed by a catnap somewhere in the bushes. Don’t think nap did me any good but once riding again, I soon rolled into a familiar part of the world. What nap didn’t do being home certainly did. I have never been so excited to see a climb. Both Sant Hilari & Els Angels were at an emotional high. I might have cried a bit. The temptation to pop into Girona was strong, but I restrained myself. I stopped in Madremanya for some unexpectedly fancy food, and the kind man who served food offered to camp in the hotel garden to avoid wild boar. Win win
Day 3
Glamping doesn’t always equal great sleep, legs tired and thinking that I’m about to miss CP1 made my anxiety peak high. I was convinced I will miss check in and therefore will get disqualified. I stopped to rearrange things on my bike, and listened to a voice message from a friend. The pep talk couldn’t have come at a better time. It was enough to carry on. Over the moon to find that CP1 was still very much up had a little pause before it rolled into France, celebrated true French style with a huge pizza, and restocked food. Hit the next climb in peak heat and realised my front brake was gone. Couldn’t clip out properly either. Luckily Google and Jack came to the rescue! Spent the rest of the day riding in the headwind. Until I heard my name in a random roundabout – it was a couple of friends from Girona who had been dotwatching me and realised I’d be passing their hotel. Another pizza for dinner and due to wind decided to call it a night
Day 4
This will forever be the day Jack and I nearly froze to death in a mediaeval French cave somewhere in the Pyrenees. What started as a scenic ride through cherry fields quickly turned into a rainy day. I was just making mental notes in my head for future ultra events to make sure every single thing is waterproof. As the rain continued, the surroundings became more and more deserted. Tiny towns were sparse and had nothing in them. I was set for food, but after being rained on while climbing, I was ready to pay big money for a hot cup of tea. Spoiler. There was no one to take my money. Day finished by climbing and descending Col De Jau at an incredibly slow pace. Midnight climbs just hit differently; maybe it was the altitude, tiredness, cold, and lack of a front brake that led to bivvying by the roadside in devy freezing field
Day 5
The Boulangerie sign from last night’s descent meant going back with hope for breakfast. Started the day by retracing the way back to the commune, but the boulangerie was closed until summer. Fortunately, the mayor of Counozouls welcomed us with coffee and biscuits, making up for it! After making peace with riding in the rain, we pushed on. One thing I’m certain of now, Google knows nothing when you’re deep in the Pyrenees. Because once we reached Les Angles, places were very much open online but closed in reality. Stop and wait around in Les Angles was my lowest point in the race, but a call to a friend and a pizza (when things opened) convinced me to not scratch just yet. We had another long descent into Livia with a quick coffee stop at a kebab shop to regain blood circulation in fingers and toes. Finally, a 2am check-in at a hotel in Alas for a quick kit wash and few hours of sleep
Day 6
La Seu d’Urgell to visit the bike shop for brake repairs and resupply. Then, a full day of nothingness amidst the mountains. Surprisingly, I stopped at a tiny town with only one restaurant and one thing on the menu: a bowl of spaghetti with garlic and chilly oil. It was one of the best meals of the whole race. Eat pasta, ride faster—it’s true, kids! A very humble day overall, ending with a bivvy sleep in Col de Nargó behind the town’s church. Definitely good rest. I think tiredness created some brain fog, making me think I was in Isona and not understanding why Booking.com was suggesting spots at the previous town. It only dawned on me the next morning when I saw the road sign. This was also the day I pulled out my iPod shuffle and discovered it had about three albums on it. Just me, Kavinsky, Woodkid, Adele, and my thoughts.
Day 7
3 rounds of breakfast and we’re off. Back to rain & cols. My nose has officially had it—nosebleeds were on. This race was now officially built on blood, sweat and tears. I think I had reached some inner peace and accepted this was a reality and I thought I wouldn’t be mad if this was my life from now on. At the downs breathtaking views and regular texts from dad, who was closely dotwatching and cheering me on at every summit, was what kept me in the game. I knew people were finishing at this point, but I made a conscious decision not to look and just carry on. My aim was to finish. Second part of the day was reintroduction into civilization by having lunch at Isona and meeting Jordi, the race photographer. Followed by surprise cheer on by roadside cheer on by Jose with some of the best chocolate and rolling in the mural filled Penelles welcomed at the official CP2 Unfortunately, due to the newfound pain in my heel, finishing today didn’t happen so hotel in Mollerussa for the night, mañana mañana
Day 8
Short but not absolutely sweet. Started the ride with ankle pain still very present. Unfortunately not getting all the pain relief but all the side effects from the new meds 20k in had to sit myself on a side of a road to stop the dizziness. Once that was out of the way I had to think over if I was gonna call it so close to the end. I weighed out options of walking the last 50k but realised it was not sustainable. I just had to pedal really slow, do the last few climbs. I rode through Juncosa when a little kid saw me climb and shouted Vamos and ran along me. Next thing I know, the kid ran home and came back on his bike and joined me on the climb. We just rode up a hill and then just checked out each other’s bikes, high fived and he was gone. A wholesome moment that pushed me all the way back to Reus. And that was it. First ultra was finished.
