EVENT REPORT: Limburgs Mooiste - My first 135k road cycling

Have you ever been challenged and after you said YES, realised that the challenge is way out of your comfort zone… Well this happend to me when I agreed to join  Mr. Boyfriend and our co-rider friend Martin to cycle the 135k tour of “Limburgs Mooiste” in the Netherlands - Limburg. Which apparently is a well known road cycling (racing) tour in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and basically the rest of Europe. I kinda found that out at the START of the road cycling tour that it was serious business and I was at the point of one of my biggest challenges. Read how I experienced my first 135k of road cycling. 

How this madness all started…
Ever since I became fit and loved to work-out again Mr. Boyfriend tried to convince me how much fun road cycling is. He and his friends often went for a “round around the block”, which is never less than 80k, and explaining me that now that I am a Fit Girl ;) and have solid leg muscles this should be a “piece of cookie” for me. I couldn’t see myself raiding a road bike again ever since I almost fel into a ravine after cycling down a small hill in Belgium during school camp 13 years ago. I had injured my left arm pretty bad and still have a scar on my elbow reminding me that road cycling was not my cup of tea.

So for years I have been successfully avoiding cycling down hills, mountains, bridges and any roads with sharp curves that in mine mind were to dangerous to ride. YES, I developed a phobia and I was perfectly fine on my city bike taking me to “flat”  places on this planet.

But when Mr. Boyfriend decided to give a road racing bike for my birthday after he persistently said that he would very much like us to road cycle together. And he promised me that I would really like cycling again and this would be the way to overcome my phobia… I couldn’t resist his enthusiasm and ‘way-over-the-top’ gift. So YES, let’s do this! (not knowing what I was getting myself into… within four months after lifting my new racing bike ;)

Preparation for rockies… 
Of course there was a solid training plan and we trained until we dropped…. uhm NOT! I spent a total of 120k on my new road racing bike divided over five day’s. And these training day’s where in the region of “flat” Rotterdam and not near the “mountains” of Limburg - The Netherlands. What the hell was I thinking… entering a 135k racing tour after this preparation for rockies. :D :D :D But hey, you’re a Fit Girl or NOT. I got a badass bike, professional gear and Mr. Boyfriend that truly believed in my strength and willpower so what more does a girl need? Yes chocolate… but wait for it… together with my superpowers, energy- and CHOCOLATE protein bars  ;)  I ‘though”  I was ready for this challenge, so bring it on!

Why challenge yourself if life is already challenging enough…
Well, after we collected our competition number and I realised that there was no way back, I climbed my cute butt on my road racing bike and hoped for the best. Haha, this sounds all really dramatic, and it was, because after only a few minutes of cycling my phobia started to kick in.

“What if I fall down..?”, “ What if I don’t dare to cycling down a hill…?”, “What if I get a flat tire and rollover…?”, “What if I can’t maintain the same speed…?”, “What if…?…

Somehow I couldn’t just trust on my inner superpower and let go of this fear… The first hour of the cycling tour I was holding the steering wheel of my road bike for my dear life and trying to calm down my breathing. My co-rider friend Martin, needed to point out several times that this cycling tour was one to enjoy and not forget to look around since the nature of Limburg - is one of the most beautiful areas we have in The Netherlands. And it truly was.

TIP: If you love a challenge ;) and road cycle hills,  you must visit Limburg - The Netherlands and cycle my tour. You wound’t get bored, I promise ;) See this link for the cycle route.

No victory without tears…
Who ever said that The Netherlands doesn’t have mountains never cycled in Limburg. My lord, these so called hills with names (see picture below) were pretty tough to handle. I had to step down from my bike twice since I wasn’t able to overcome these steep hills. And literally stood still on my bike while trying to reach the top. This was the part were I missed my solid training and experience cycling up mountains. BUT, I did manage to cycle up the other 23 impossible hills :D :D so a big shout-out for that HURRAY HURRAY!

For most people who road cycle the best part of a cycle tour is,  to cycle up the hill all the way to the top and afterwords be rewarded with this feeling of victory while racing down the other side of the hill. BUT for this Fit Girl not only cycling up these hills was a big challenge, but also racing down the hill was the most scariest part of the tour for me. Luckily the 135k tour only knew 25 big hills - not counting the small hills in between - so for 8 hours I was shitting my - not so fashionable road cycle - pants and prayed I wound’t  fall down or injure other people.

I manage to cry three times… yep… the first time were real baby tears since I was in complete panic racing down a huge ‘mountain’ and had the full on “I’M LOSING CONTROL AND WILL ROLLOVER AND BREAK EVERY BONE IN MY BODY” situation going on in my head. Well I survived this mental break down. Haha. -  The second and third time were tears of joy and accomplishment when I managed to cycle up two badass hills without stopping. Maybe you recognise this feeling, when you give yourself completely and giving up is simply not an option. While ever fiber in your body is resisting but your mental strength is taking over and pushing you through your limits. WOW heavy stuff, right? VICTORY it was! :D

Every challenge has a finish…
Thinking back and writing this article about ‘My first 135k road cycling’ turns a big SMILE on my face :D! Not only did I accomplished the 135k cycling tour and also did not fall off my bike, but more importantly I faced my fears and therefor experience my inner badass strength!!
… But I was a truly HAPPY with cherries on top HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY when I saw the finish line and this challenge came to a SAFE end…!

I have to say I couldn’t have done this without the support of Mr. Boyfriend and our co-rider friend Martin. They have been real patience with me, waiting at the top of every hill, while I was still trying to cycle my cute butt up! Haha. So thank you guys for being my full-on support system and making my first 135k road cycling a milestone in my fit-cycling journey.

[caption id="attachment_24343" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Mr.Boyfriend, Fit Girl Steph and co-rider friend Martin[/caption]

Are you also at the beginning of your road cycle journey, I recommend your read the article of our ambassador: FINKELSTEIN & SONS, she wrote The Fit Girl guide to buying a road racing bike and gives very useful tips. And if you also have any challenges and/or fears in the work-out department, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. Since facing your fears and challenges will allow you to truly see how strong you really are. Perhaps I can share more intel on how you can reach out for your inner badness and overcome these challenges! :D !