![]() ![]() And in the middle of the ride I was in so much pain from saddle sores, I found it excruciating to sit. "Then I had problems with my gear shifting and I was stuck in only one gear for up to 150km. "I was faced with stomach problems in the very beginning ," she says. Bachofen von Echt says "there were certainly more lows than highs" on the course. Hallucinating wasn't the only low point, either. Helle Bachofen von Echt's route in BikingMan Oman. I am quite competitive ," she says with a laugh. Another high was also passing male riders on the route. Being in this position made me really determined and strong-willed. "During the race I really started getting on a high when I slowly made my way from the middle of the field and into the top 10 overall. While such extreme sleep deprivation might be enough to make anyone else surrender thoughts of finishing the event, an innate competitiveness kept Bachofen von Echt going. But I was aware they were hallucinations, so I kept going." The hallucinations became strong with everything around me moving. ![]() ![]() I did start to hallucinate lightly during the first night, after around 24 hours of riding, and in the final few hours before finishing. "Although extreme exhaustion set in, I always felt in control of both myself and my bike handling skills. I decided to keep riding until my body would give me a sign that it was time to sleep. The reality was quite different. "I actually didn't sleep at all," she says. "I had never taken myself to such sleep deprivation extremes before and I had no idea how my body would cope. Bachofen von Echt originally thought she would stop for quick "random" naps during the race either at the side of the road or in bus stops, even though she hadn't packed any sleeping materials other than a foil survival blanket. 'I actually didn't sleep at all'Īs the race takes place during both day and night, sleep is a big consideration for riders, too. "I would also go for weekly deep tissue massages and foam rolls, because it is day after day after day. Recovery is a big part of the training ," she says. In order to make sure her body recovered between rides, she would only eat clean, home-made, organic food. However, at the weekends I tended to go to the mountains to train. I would get up between 3am and 4am, then drive to Hatta or Jebel Jais and ride in the mountains for six hours." Bachofen von Echt takes us through her daily routine leading up to the race: "I would get up at 5am, start a ride at Al Qudra at 6am, or as the sun comes up, and then ride for four to six hours. Training for such an event is tough, unsurprisingly. I saw dinosaurs and trolls, but I kept going In the final few hours, the hallucinations became strong with everything around me moving. "The BikingMan races and events are a fantastic way to enter the world of unsupported bike -packing adventures, where both organisers and fellow ultra-riders offer incredible support and friendship," she says. This time, she was the fastest woman on the course. After BikingMan Oman, she took on the BikingMan Corsica challenge on April 29, making her way across the 700-kilometre track with 13,000 metres of elevation , completing it in 41 hours and three minutes. I wanted to use this event to go really far, go to a place within myself where I have never been before, to test how I react and how I cope in the extreme."īut Bachofen von Echt, who teaches at Power Cycle Dubai, didn't stop there. "I really felt ready to try to test the limits of both my mental and physical capacity. "The BikingMan Oman challenge sort of landed in my lap at a time whe n I was ready and felt like taking on a new personal challenge," Bachofen von Echt, a professional cyclist and indoor cycling instructor, tells The National. Fit at 40: Age is nothing but a number to these UAE-based athletes ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |