this is the story of two BSN-Pirates, ever crazy "Mady" and Pirate Captain "Ubi Blutsventje", that made their way to Thaleischweiler-Fröschen in Palatinate on August 6th. Mady was there to strike fear into people's hearts at "Sleepless in the Saddle" and I was there to (get naked) and strike fear into people's heart at the "German Singlespeed Championship"...

The night before the race Mady nicely filled up his carb supply, at the nutrition booth on the Ketscher Flapper Festival, with roasted almonds, turkish nougat and other local specialties..

In Mady's mobile office, on the drive to probably the most insane event that will take place on German soil this year, I communicated with Pirate Sister Nina, who would be starting in the Holsten City Man in Hamburg.

Memories of the first German Singlespeed Championship in 1934 began to resurface during my warm up for the SSGC05. At 2pm the Le Mans start took place and I was the first one to make my way through the Palatinate forest on the 5.6m/9km lap with 393 vertical ft/120hm and a transmission ratio of 32:15.

After 3 laps on the relatively easy slope, except for two steep uphill ramps, one of which was on a rooty-sandstone-trail, the final downhill stretch was the hardest part. Oh well, someone else became the German Champion and I came in 5th. The certificate said. "He tried hard, but it wasn't enough and so he is now merely the German Singelspeed Runner-Up!". Okay, I'm the German Singlespeed Runner-Up.

Florian Eschenbach, ex-MTB-pro of the Alb-Gold team, acting singlespeed world champion, had some really bad luck and rolled across the finish line with a damaged chain tesioner.

Never without the Pirate umbrella, but there weren't any British folk there???
Captain Mady, shortly before the start of the race at 8:52pm (sunset). His big adventure is about to begin: "Sleepless in the Saddle", from dusk til dawn on the familiar track and all that as an individual starter on a singlespeed.
At midnight, after a routine battery exchange, the light bulb of his Lupine light installation suddenly burned through... but after a compulsory half-hour break, I got a sub from a rider who had dropped out and from then on a 5 watt Sigma Mirage helped with the necessary tunnel vision in the underbrush.

9 hours and 7 minutes later, Mady crossed the finish line at 5:59am after 19 laps, that's 106m/171km and 7480 vertical ft/2280hm, and came in in 5th position out of the individual starters. Of course this great accomplishment made him the best singlespeed rider, because the people in the places ahead of him were all riding bikes with gear shifters. Respect, respect...

Anchors away,

Ubi Blutsventje German Singlespeed Runner-Up