Saterday afternoon, November 25, 2017 …
Crowds in Amsterdam and serene silence at the Mauna Kea.
Amsterdam
But opposites attract. And those guys on the couch can’t resist the image of the Mauna Kea any longer. After years of musing and dreaming in their search of new cycling goals, they made up their minds. As passionated cyclists they conquered many climbs together. It all started with an unforgettable cycling adventure in the Ardennes 15 years ago. In miserabe weather conditions they discoverd the addictive effects of suffering together. They never stopped cycling and their ambitions grew higher and higher. Just like their destinations. Ardennes became Alps, one mountain at a time turned into several climbs in a day and finally La Marmotte was the prelude to the Haute Route. The thought of the Mauna Kea occurred now and then, but was never taken seriously. It was considered as an ultimate dream and no one dared to present it at home. Untill one of them asked the question ‘why not?’ What keeps us? Why restrain ourselves by the thought that we ordinairy mortals can not do this? At that time it was too late. The idea nestled into their heads and hearts and finally they were convinced they have to do this!
It may sound like a crazy idea, and it actually is, but these 16 guys are not crazy at all. They all have different backgrounds, innate talent and expierence. Some of them are a little opportunistic, but in gereral they know what they are doing. So they take their time and prepare this epic dream carefully. Well planned and disciplined, under supervision of an expert.
Saterday afternoon they unfolded the plan: in november 2018 they fly to Hawaii to climb the Mauna Kea…
This kick off was marked with an Watt-bike test as a “zero-meusurement”. So this afternoon gave insights about the current power per kilogram of body weight per person, and the needed power. Conclusion: there’s work te be done and weight to be lost!
We’ll keep track of all this work, so stay connected!
