Berlin-Frankfurt-Berlin by Bike
(originally published in blogspot)
At last, after more than two years, I make my first post. I do hope this becomes some kind of a habit, because I like writing, but that is an activity I have completely forgotten (even more than biking). I will be publishing mainly in Español and English but… there might be some entry in German.
My girlfriend is going to the Czech Republic this Sunday for a week or so, so I have decided do something different.
From all the records and marks of my youth, the one I can most easily beat is the longest distance I have covered by bike in a single day. That is around the 100 km from Logroño to Huerta de Arriba. I did it some 20 years ago with my little friend Iván (from whom I have not heard since those days). Anyway, I cannot beat my own record for 5 km (my favorite distance) without dedicated training. It is not much, a little above 17 minutes, but I cannot beat it. I do not think I can improve the longest distance I have ever walked (it should be pretty close to 100 km). But I sure hope I can ride for more than 100 km. That is what I will try to do on Sunday. In fact I will try to double that distance.
There are little things I enjoy more than the pleasure of physical self-destruction. I remember with melancholy each of my journeys through the “cerro el Ávila” in Caracas in which we all finished absolutely ‘mamaos’. Or the visit to some cave which lasted all day. Or my lonely runs where ever I was. I used to be able to run 20 km in two hours one morning, just for the fun it, and don’t even remember the same afternoon. That is not true anymore. A couple of weeks ago I covered less that 10 km here in Berlin in almost an hour and I was with pain for a week! (Please note that ‘agujetas’ are not due to lactic acid, and that Sodium bicarbonate does not help at all).
36 years and a lack of training I suppose. And the other thing that is missing is motivation. Yesterday whenever I planned “one of my trips” I was longing for it till it happened. Now most of them past unnoticed. It is perhaps not so much that I do not have the motivation but also that I have to take into account more people, more circumstances… So this entry one week before the journey is mainly for self motivation: “esa vaina va!”.
So, if the weather allows it (it did not used to be a problem, though!) next Sunday I will try to travel from Berlin to Frankfurt and back. Well not that Frankfurt, the Oder. It has been a long time since I do not cover more than 40 km in a bicycle (perhaps 14 years). And this is going to be around 185 km.
So I leave you with a small map of the planned route. I have’nt put that much though into it but sounds about right:
So, you can take this post as an invitation (wether we know each other or not, does not matter). I will be leaving Wesserstr. 23 at 5:30 AM on Sunday Morning. I expect 6 hours in each direction and 4 hours to loose (a beer in Poland?) and with a little bit of luck I will be home by day light.
And everybody is welcome to make suggestions on different routes (as long as they are under 200 km and hit Frankfurt).
Let you know on Sunday morning!