{"id":2341,"date":"2023-06-21T17:00:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kromvojoj.cc\/?page_id=2341"},"modified":"2024-11-04T20:32:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T19:32:17","slug":"cronica-aida-de-heras","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kromvojoj.cc\/en\/edition-2023\/cronica-aida-de-heras\/","title":{"rendered":"Aida de Heras"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018What a ride!\u2019 is what I have been repeating to myself in a loop for the last week. Of course, that applies to the non-trivial length of Kromvojoj, a ride that originally was 1400km with 24,000m of climbing around Catalunya, but also to the huge array of emotions I felt during and after the race.<\/p>\n

This route had a particularly special place close to my heart for many reasons:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It was my first-ever ultracycling event<\/li>\n
  2. It was also my first-ever cycling event<\/li>\n
  3. It took place in the land that I called home until I moved to the UK 15 years ago (!)<\/li>\n
  4. From the very first time I got in touch with the organizers, it was obvious that they would take care of all the riders.<\/li>\n
  5. The organizers Joan, Oriol, Bernat, and Tom\u00e1s are committed to getting more women involved in ultracycling and made a tremendous effort to get more of us involved, including offering a sponsorship through Sponsoreco.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I never really intended on signing up for this \u2013 at least not at this point, i.e. having never done an ultra before, as the elevation profile seemed pretty daunting. Let\u2019s just be very clear here \u2013 I\u2019m not a particularly strong cyclist and I don\u2019t have the physique or ability of a climber, so this challenge seemed completely out of my league. Oriol and Joan kindly offered to have a chat with me so I could ask any questions I had and to help me finally commit to a challenge that was always going to have to be met with pure grit and determination. Being on the other side of it, I can\u2019t thank them enough.<\/p>\n

    Anyway, so here I come, all the way from Bristol, with all my cycling gear in a big, chunky bag filled with the kit I needed to cycle around Catalunya in May. May was always my favourite month of the year for its gentleness \u2013 no harsh temperatures near the coast, fresh and sunny in the high mountains. Perfect riding conditions. Sure \u2013 it may rain a little at some point and it may be a bit chilly overnight, but you\u2019d expect a bit of that. 5 days before the start, while at work, my phone starts buzzing. People in one of the group chats are freaking out about the weather \u2013 snow is expected in the Pyrenees and rainstorms are expected everywhere else. And there I was, equipped with my ultralight jersey and some light summer gloves. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the week freaking out and trying to get the right kit. If you have followed the race, you already know that we didn\u2019t have a very easy ride \u2013 we started off soaking wet, rode through a very cold night and the raging winds made sections of the route very sketchy to navigate. On two different occasions, I ended up walking my bike because it was impossible to control. Following a very long and scary descent, I was ready to go home and put the bike away forever. But I\u2019m not here to talk about the weather (I have spent a long time in Britain but not quite that long!). I\u2019m pretty confident that we can all agree that the weather was shite, and move on.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m here to talk about the people who made this journey so unique and precious, starting with those back home who supported this madness in one way or another. My mum did a sterling job at helping me get my priorities straight when I was made to decide between taking a job interview or racing this event. When I met my partner three years ago, I had completely given up on cycling because I was convinced that I could not spend more than a couple of hours on a road bike without experiencing crippling pain due to saddle discomfort. He has since lifted my cycling more than anyone else ever could. My sister Olaya provided the emotional solidity that I lacked and managed to make me excited about my own race (which at some point, I wasn\u2019t). And now, on to my journey companions \u2013 all those other riders I met during the event and who made me laugh, saw me cry and who made this adventure the perfect ride and an absolute joy. While everyone I met had a small part to play in the journey, some riders deserve a special mention:<\/p>\n