aka: Langenberg Marathon 2006. So, the time had come again, after Plettenberg a few weeks ago, to tackle the Langenberg Marathon. I left Moers shortly before 7am and made my way to the Sauerland. Once I got their, I went to where they were handing out the starting numbers, then to change and warm up. Unfortunately, the warm up ride was quickly interrupted, when the front V-brake jammed and blocked the front wheel.

The reason was that the liner in the Nokon tractions had bulged and b;ocled the traction.
What to do? Quickly find a knife and cut off the bulging part. It was better after that, but not perfect, since it was still wonky.
The whole thing took so much time that there wasn't enough time to warm up anymore, so I went to the starting block. Then I had an idea. Why not take the whole liner out? No sooner said than done. I quickly took the traction apart in the starting block, removed the liner and the brakes worked the way they should again (The looks of the other starters weren't bad, when I was holding the Nokon!).
Super, this is gonna be a great race, I thought, not warmed up and with technical problems.

Then, at 10:10am, the race finally began. I was able to move a a few places during the lead in lap and work my way to the front, but I soon noticed that my legs weren't limber and still a little heavy. However, after a short while all that was forgotten and I was able to keep up with a group of four, who were riding a pretty good tempo. I could see the next group a few turns ahead, but wasn't able to catch up to it. Then, my speedometer let me know that the finish line wasn't far off. The others and I picked up the pace and I was able to pass one more person, even though we rode through a pine tree plantation and along narrow paths through the bushes. Suddenly, I heard a hissing coming from my bike. First I thought a leaf had gotten caught in the spokes, but it sounded a little different. When I got back on asphalt, I realized that it was my back tire. Shit, what now?

The guy in front of me was able to pull away and I rode uphill on my agonizing flat, yelling at the spectators, asking them how much longer I had to go. The answer was: "just down the hill". Thank God! Unfortunately there were also a few turns that I wobbled around and hoped: "Tire stay on the rim". I kept turning around and seeing the people I had previously passed getting closer. I thought, "no, no", but they caught up to me and I lost three more places and was then in 7th place in my age division. I was really mad and disappointed that I fell so far back.
Bad luck, what're you gonna do!!!
So, that was it. I was off to fix my bike and train some more, so that I am faster and end up in a better position in the next race. This was my time: 1:49:51

Athletic Greetings,

Daniel Schwink