Bike O race 1:31:44 [5] 11.94 km (7:41 / km) +422m 6:32 / km
Long distance Bike-O today: there were warnings since days about this day due to the dangers of the weather. And it sure was wet from above, biting wind and about 3 degrees. It wasn't very long as long distance bike-O go, but the elevation gains predicted of 365 m on 9.8 km promised a steep up and down on a short distance.
And it was exactly that and I pushed the bike uphill a lot (and others did too) and I also hopped off the bike a lot on the downhills on the muddy single trails, as I was almost faster, but surely safer that way.
I started right behind the other gal in the same class and saw her pretty quickly. But I had problems at the beginning, felt kind of weak and had to wait till my diesel engine got into gear. After the 4th control, I caught her then passed her on the downhill on a paved road. And she decided not to do the next loop back uphill on the next hill but went home for a warm shower (she already had already told me that she would not finish as it was too tough ahead of time). So, I was the only competitor in my class to finish as the other 2 women didn't start at all.
It was an "epic" race, quite tough, technically very hard to ride due to the mud and because of the steep uphills in this dismal weather.
It turns out a good training for me. And my fingers warmed up despite the wet gloves. But the toes were borderline frozen.
What an adventure in eastern Slovenia.