On the 31st of August 2014 I participated in the 19. Race around the Tatras, which is a demanding track around the highest Polish mountains and goes also through the Slovak territory.
Near 100 participants of various skill level had gathered at the starting line in Nowy Targ, Poland - so as the race started it was visible that various groups are being formed.
I started out determined with the first group of around 15 riders. We rode together until the 120 km, when 4 riders (me included) started going faster uphill in Strbske Pleso, Slovakia. We were going like this to around the 200km, but on a small hill in Białka Tatrzańska I decided to go a bit faster and arrived alone on the finish line with the time 05:45:00.
At the finish line I was told that I set a new record for this track: 202 km in 05:45:00 which is 13 minutes faster than the former record. I was really surprised! :)
It was not an easy track, but the satisfaction of finishing 202km in under 6 hours was soothing the fatigue ;)
After the race everyone got a warm meal and we could exchange our opinions on the race.
It was a great adventure for me and I'm grateful to my general sponsor Grena Ltd. because without the bike they made available for me, I couldn't have made such a progress during the past months!
This was my first start in this Race and I'm sure you will see me there again! :)