Category: English

Yesterday bicycles cross-country competitions Kirgishany 2016 were held on with 80, 60 and 5 ( for children ) km distances and categories men/women 18 – 29, 30 – 39, 40 – 49 and 50+, men/women novices 18+, juniors 16 – 18 and children. Start and finish were located on the territory of Green Cape sanatorium near Tavatuy lake, close to Novouralsk city in Sverdlovsk region. I rode to them from Polevskoy at Friday evening on the bicycle, yelding on day-time heat and weather forecasts with +10 – +15 degrees on Celsius night-time temperature, I did not take jacket with me and additional warm clothes. 51 km unhurried ride to Railway Station without load on the legs – is a good exercise before tomorrow’s competitions, heat, beauty, birds are singing around and asphalt sweeps around with cars; fast I arrived to city and moved to the North, periodically riding on the sidewalks, where roads are too narrow or transport stream is too intensive.

On the way I met Natalya Martyanova, she walked with daughter : “Hi,” – “Hi,” – “What fate led you here?” – “I ride to Kirgishany,” – … : “Will you ride to them too?” – “No,” – “It seems, that you intended to go,” – “No,” ( “And do not force me” :-) ) – “Will you ride to Tavatuy this way?” – “No, if I’ll come in time to train, then I’ll ride on it, if no, then – yes,” – “Ok, go on, hurry up, good by,” – “Good by.” Arrived to RS with time reserve, to say softly : I do not ride too often on the trains and did not bought in ticket window in Station ticket itself; already in the train I asked controllers how much trip to Murzinka village with bicycle ‘ll cost : “Don’t you have it already?!” – “Yes, this is so,” – “Then you’ll have to pay box office,” – “How much does it cost?” – “100 rubles + 90 rubles trip + 25 rubles bicycle,” – “Is there ability to buy before train departure?” – “No,” – “Uh, ok, then there is nothing to do, I’ll buy it from you this way,” – “Sit for a while …” … 1 – 2 train stops passed nearby : “Buy a ticket,” – “How much will it cost to Murzinka with a bicycle?” – “Wait, I’ll count … 107 rubles,“

Ticket
Electric depot
Murzinka
...
Cost : 107 rubles.

Thank you :-) .

Different people travel : old intelligent on the view woman, not drinking alcohol and not smoking, sells newspapers; on some people with red faces, labor took a holiday, when it transformed them from monkeys to humans, to be more precise, it tried as it could, but alcohol made stronger influence on them … Most of people are doing their own businesses and apply this time with use : some are reading books, some are reading tablet PCs. It started to be dark under the sky, dusk and lighting in the railway carriage hidden outside environments, leaving only reflections on the windows; and only risen Moon and part of sky around it are beyond their power. Gat’, Iset, …, Sagra, …, Ayat’, …, Tavatuy ( it is already close ), Kalinovo and Murzinka at last. Came out, lifted down bicycle, found a way down from rail road to asphalt road, sat on bicycle and rode through the thickening dusk there, where I already’ve been 12 years ago …

People are recreating on the shore, bonfires burn; up to the entrance to Green Cape it became already dark, guards are little poisoning an air : “I arrived to Kirgishany competitions, where here is the tent camp and ability to stay at night?” – “Here on the alley go up to high-rise, there is a parking, near it you’ll see cars and bicycles – there everybody are encamped,” – “Understood, thank you.” People are singing songs near bonfires, everybody about their own. Ascended uphill, it is not a first time, when I carry bicycle on myself in the mountain, on the top near canteen there is a parking with bicycles on part of cars – I need to go here, lower on the meadow there are tents – I need to go here. Spread out made by myself thermo mat, took off my shoes and went to sleep. First 30 minutes – 1 hour it was quite comfortable and there was ability to sleep, I even started to fall asleep, but events went the other way : instead of night time temperature +10 – +15 it started to go down to +5 – +7 or to something like this … It was better also to not drink tea so close to sleep. From the ground : everything is good and I do not cool, but from the air : coat weakly keeps warmth and protects from night-time cold; there was need to take with me at least jacket, then I already would have been slept normally before competitions. All in all : for a whole night I half switched off for 1 – 2 hours maximum – and this is the all, all other time there was struggling with cold to not cool and to not catch a cold … At night one woman covered me with thermo blanket or something like this, thank you to her for this, otherwise it would have been much colder and harder.

At 4 a.m. o’clock it started to lighten, somewhere at 5 – 6 hours Sun illuminated tops of trees, half an hour – hour more and its light reached tents camp, but still did not warm up, and somewhere at 7 – 8 a.m. o’clock it started to more or less bring warmth to ground and dispersed night-time cold. I got up somewhere at 6:50 a.m. – there was no sense to “sleep” further. “Yes, what a condition before marathon, maybe it is better to re-register to 60 km distance?” – “No way, I arrived here to not ‘re-register’ …” Ate food, it became slightly better, Sun started to heat up even more and I started to free myself from night’s colding; registered, took number, took yokes and additional booklets; rode under sunlight – and it became much better and lighter, I started to heat up and activate on a new day, which is a sleepless continuation of previous one. Lower on the slope other competitions are being held – touristic ones. Gave my belongings to organizers of competitions on their duration. Closer to 10 o’clock on the competitions start and finish area arrived Renat Sultanov – I know him from the bicycles rides of previous year, we sat and talked for a while, then I rode and warmed up further. “It seems, that your tire is set in a wrong direction,” – “Where?” – “Back one, arrow like protector picture should be oriented in the rotation direction, somewhere here on the tire there should be rotation direction marked down, here is it,” – “Ah, no, everything is alright,” – “Yes, this is a front wheel of your bicycle … I still sleep …” ( “So an condition before marathon …” ).

Before start of adult competitions, children on small bicycles competed with each other on ten 500 m laps – future of bicycles sport of Ural and whole Russia. And time have come to line-up before the start, people stood too far ahead and organizers asked everybody to move back, as usual, nobody wanted to retreat and pull back, however, let it be reluctantly, people gave area for lining up in front for the fastest professional sportsmen. So that they are able to start quickly and overtaking of others would not wasted their time and would not created dangerous situations in such a large group of people. In the race events, besides bicycles riders Olympic games awardees participated sportsmen skiers : Anton Shipulin and another one man, I forgot his name, I ask forgiveness for this, because I’m not a frequent TV watcher ( when I did this last time? and I do not intend to do this again ). And so, under the “Fire” of the Scooter start of the race was given, avant-garde burst forth, then wave of speed moved to the middle of column, reached me and went through the whole column.

On the asphalt somebody passed me, somebody I overtook. Tavatuy lake, Murzinka and other small villages fly nearby, it is hot above the ground, warmth go up from asphalt, it is great to ride. First quarter of a distance I revived myself, warmed up and switched on into competitions, closer to end of asphalt Renat caught up with me and moved forth – well done, he trained well during these Winter and Spring. Then forest grounds with uphills went on – this is what I can do and what I did these Winter and Spring : riding into mountains half-asleep and half switching off, and here I started to rotate pedals, overtook a couple of people, caught up with Renat and moved forth him and a couple of bicycles riders nearby and raced further, when uphills went on – nobody caught up with me, but later on the downhills periodically Renat rode ahead of me and periodically I rode ahead of him : he rode on part of this race lap and knows it and sleepless night in cold affected my pedals rotation speed and intensity.

On the way there are a couple of forest cold and fast rivers with fresh water : vzhu-u-uh, shower and shoes are full of water – this refreshes and there is no need to drink lots of a water on the distance. Then forest grounds went again with periodical puddles, which somewhere are rideable on the sides, somewhere through them and somewhere there is need to go down from bicycle and walk this liquid manure on the feet, especially if those, who are ahead, stay down somewhere on the way. It is good that there were no rains before competitions, otherwise there would have been need to cancel all the forest, completely. On the downhills Renat started to move forth and rode ahead, later I caught up with him only on Check Points and periodically saw him on the straight areas.

After forest, stony and sandy ground road went on – here is the fork had to work a lot, hills are not steep here, so it is easy to ride and whole area rides quite fast. Cars, rising clouds of dust, distracted slightly, there was need to ride through them by holding breath, the Sun heats up already like in Summer, so, it was better to ride part of ground road on left side to stay in trees’ shadows, so that I’ll not exhaust on Sun heating on the right side; it was good that there were not much cars at this time on the road. On Check Points I only made a swallow of water and a swallow of tea from the flask and moved forth. On the CP before asphalt, Renat hesitated somewhy and rotated pedals not so intensively, part of the asphalt to Green Cape we rode together, then he rode ahead. Part of the area I rode alone, then a pair of women-sportsmen wanted to outrun me, one of them is from 40 – 49 years age group : “No way, let it be I cold at night, tired and did not slept, but I’ll not trail behind women, I have a strengths, to rotate pedals faster …” – I intensified my movement and asphalt up to Green Cape I rode mostly ahead, then small uphill to start area. Here is it finish straight line : standing with the strong words, rotating pedals and squeezing everything from me : and here is it a finish.

Walked and received medal of finisher, asked whether there is an ability to learn the results : “They’ll be later or in one of the closest days.” All in all : my muscles did not tired at all, after movement to clip-less pedals my legs muscles do not tire at all, even after whole day of rotating pedals; however there is need to replenish energy and nutrition of organism and heart, whole circulatory system, brain and whole neural system, lungs and other systems of organism require rest and nutrition. To say the truth : marathon was not the hardest part of these days : just rotate pedals fast enough and squeeze out everything, which one could do, there was no technically hard areas on the way; the most difficult part was to not cool and not catch a cold at this night – this is a my own guilty, next time I’ll act smarter in such cases, and in other close cases too, applying this experience to them.

Took my belongings, ate food, made some photos for the memory and went to make one of my most interesting businesses – to make a photos; people are recreating after marathon and prepare to trips to homes. In-front there is a sanatorium high-rise, in one of these rooms on 3rd or 4th floor I recreated for a week, when I was a student. People slowly move to awards-giving area, event partners speak their words, first awards were given to children, then to the young participant, who rode 40 km of adult distance : well done – he’ll be a sportsmen, if he’ll go on a right road in life. Then to men and women novices, then to women of categories 40 – 49, 30 – 39 and 18 – 29; then to men-veterans, 40 – 49, 30 – 39 and 18 – 29 and to men-juniors at the completion. Small technical questions were performed after this; thank you giving to organizers of event – ProBike Team, they done very well. Group photos and roads to homes.

We’ve agreed to ride with Renat on one train to Yekaterinburg, packed everything, said “Good bye” to Green Cape, there’ll be ability to ride to Tavatuy lake at this Summer, when it’ll be warm at night and water will be warm enough too to bathe. Small asphalt to Murzinka, waiting for the train, became acquainted with another one rider, which registered for novices distance, but rode a whole distance, however in the 5 hours. On steel bicycle with additional hinge and very not effective equipment and small experience of riding on a long distances, there is ability to participate in Kirgishany, however, for something more difficult and technically intensive there is need to prepare oneself and the bicycle much better. Trip to Yekaterinburg, mostly the same stations, but in a reverse order. On the way we talked and learned each other better, on one of the stations in the train girl with bicycle entered, she rode with acquaintances to Tavatuy lake, but they somewhy lost each other and started to evacuate back to Yekaterinburg on the trains.

Here is it – a Railway Station, underground passage to the city, “good bye” to fellows and up to homes each other. It is good to ride through a city with Kirgishany competitions number and finisher medal in the form of heart on the chest. Further the same 51 km of a way home lay in front of me, this time mainly on the autopilot, it is good that at Saturday evening there are not much cars and the road is often free. On the exit from Yekaterinburg dusk started to approach the ground, somewhere there is a still day-time heat and somewhere temperature is much lower : br-r-r, reminder of a recent night. Quite fast I rode through all Polevskoy highway : there is ability to ride fast enough on the asphalt even in the darkness and in dusk road and marks on it are visible quite good. On the entrance to Polevskoy it was already dark; somebody are walking hugging with the beer bottles, somebody with them stay near parodies on street racing cars – how dull all this after Kirgishany and everything that already was.

Pedals rotating more and I’m at home, at last this 48 hours day without sleep, cooling at night, 80 km Kirgishany cross-country marathon competitions – candidate on the one of the stages of KVMR, and 102 km of rides to Railway Station and from it to home completed. It’ll be good to repeat this again, but this time not so extremely : with sleeping before competitions and without such cold at night. Ate food and switched off to sleep, this night I slept very soundly. Before Ural MTB Marathon I’ll not make such sleepless nights, it is much more complex in technical terms and it is good, that here are a morning buses to Yekaterinburg before the competitions start – I’ll remember pop-music for a while. Next there’ll be May Bicycles Tour ( group of May Bicycles Tour in social network VKontakte ) and other competitions and events, I’ll not pass even one weekend day with good weather of these warm months of year, will use them for the full extent and will receive impressions and feelings up to this winter. See you on the next event!

You can see additional photos here : 80 km bicycles cross-country marathon competitions with sleepless night before them.