ASC 3 days summer Trainingscamp in Engelwarz, Allgäu

A couple of month into this Covid malarky our brillant Club organised a three-day camp.

This was a fantastic weekend of riding, socializing, getting to know a bunch of ace people and btw getting to experience some of the most outstanding landscapes. Allgaeu is such an amazing area for cycling and Vorarlberg really rocks! More than 500km and 6000m of climbing.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3816650355

Riding out to the basecamp without having been awarded our kit, yet.

Riding Allgaeuer Mountains for once, had been a long time in waiting

I keep forgetting the name of the main climb of the day, Tannhaeuser I think was a piece of classical music....

Tanntaler maybe? But who cares, when you just imagine riding up here.

Hi Alpine road at the top, not dissimilar to the upper parts of Timmelsjoch or also Kuehtai. 

Social around the log fire, everyone summarizing their life stories and why they are cycling.
 

Ammersee Cycling Team

Since having left Berlin for Herrsching a year ago, I have been riding on my own. With no further prospect of racing this year, it had become almost pointless, to train for anything, just going out and ride for mental stress relive and some degree of fitness becomes kind of dull. Pressing the pedals hard for 5 hours plus, on my own became increasingly wearing. Joining a club based in Munich I found too inconvenient. So, this newly formed team just crossed my path in the right moment. A fast growing community of riders of varying abilities, ages and genders and later also multiple nationalities. 

Next time around we won't fit into one single picture any more

Head down, cam's up

Club meeting during corona, AHA

A steady ride together, averaging 32km/h which means
 sometimes 55km/h hour and then wait
so that everyone catches up again.

Birthday 2020 ride up to Kuehtai and Haiminger Berg

I have made it a tradition to take a day holiday on my birthday, every year for the past 20 years, maybe even more. Going for a memorable ride on a day like this, especially when the weather plays ball, is a real gift. I wanted Reiko and Kenzo to be part of at least some part of that day. So we drove to Innsbruck, they went to explore the city whilst I was wrecking myself up Kuehtai and Haiminger Berg (where Emu did his Everesting a few weeks earlier). Not many km but 3900 m elevation accumulated over just 2 climbs. Back in Innsbruck we still had good fun celebrating over dinner, before driving back home.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3693596301

The ride up from Innsbruck was scenic already.

Haiminger Berg

 Valley with River Inn

Kuehtai

Birthday gift from my dear team at Lilium, I could have used those extra gears on the climbs today :-)

18.June 2020 Accident

 A guy from Munich pulls out of a private driveway at Wartaweil, crossing the infamous bi-directional cyclepath next to the road. I saw him, pulled the brakes, could see he was not even looking at me but it was too late and I crashed into his right front mudguard. 

I approached from right

As I managed to pull the bike on right and skidded sidewards, I hit the ridge between bonnet and mudguard with my left femur, knee, and thigh. The driver was caring, accepted he was at fault called an ambulance and police. After a while on the ground, full of pain, I was able to get up, femur hurting but I was able to stand. After 20mins wait for either ambulance and police, we decided to call them off and he would give me a lift home. Later on, I went to the hospital for an x-ray and the result was a suspected hairline fracture in my left femur. 

huge hematoma behind the knee

Only an additional MRI scan the next day revealed it was a false alarm. I also went to the local police, branch to register the accident and got the bike damage assessed by the local specialized dealer who basically announced it to be a write-off. 

Front Carbon Wheel broke in three places, the Bottom bracket was totally shredded and the frame likely to be internally fractured. I was able to fix the bike with spares I had in stock and one my first ride 2 weeks later, I realized the frame was damaged indeed, it had lost bottom bracket stiffness and behaved like jelly, when getting out of the saddle for sprinting or climbing and when descending at more than 45km/h.  My good S-Works Tarmac SL5 gone, it hadn’t even been in service for 5 years, was still as good as new and with a lifetime warranty, but now it was worth nothing, as accident damages are excluded from the warranty. I have taken a solicitor to file my damages claim with the insurance company of the driver, but for 3 months nothing has happened.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3635101676

01.June 2020 Alpenride 1of2: Bayrischzell and Wendelstein Area, 120km, 3000hm

 One of the memorable days out of this year, a ride that was meant to get me to 5000m of climbing started too late due to excessive driving time. Going up from Hammer to Sudelfeld from 3 different directions, Tatzelwurm and Speckalm, Walleralm  followed by a second leg up to Spitzingsattel-Firstalm-Valepp-Rottach-Valepp-Spitzingsee and back to Hammer. The heat was almost unbearable and so were the hundreds of Motorbikers. On Speckalm I was lacking gears, going up there on 39/28 was almost impossible. Needed to come back with more teeth and grit. To be continued.

Sudelfeld with view over to Speck-Alm

Behind Brannenburg

From Hammer towards Bayerischzell

Valepp

https://www.strava.com/activities/3548749915

May 2020 New Club discovered: Ammersee Cycling Team

 

One Wednesday afternoon riding out with Kenzo we got to see a group sporting some new, not seen before jerseys. They looked quite “sporty”, not the usual sort of pensioners on e-bike wearing same jerseys. No, these guys looked like they enjoyed riding fast. A bit of Strava flyby research and googling revealed this was a new club, with ambitions that seemed to match mine and most importantly, they were local and not based somewhere 60km East of Herrsching. I was hooked and made contact. A new chapter has started since.

Lots of riders interested in the new club

Proud to troop the colors of the 

London Dynamos, to start with.

April 2020 Begin of Corona

 The whole Covid-19 pandemic started out as, lets say a few weeks of an interesting experience, not even having the faintest of an idea what was lying ahead of us. 

Riding with mask seemed to be silly enough, but actually helped tremendously with pollen and hayfever issues. 

For some reason we were blessed with spectacular weather, but wherever you would go on the bike, there were no open places of hospitality, no cafes, no bakeries to refuel, everything closed. 

The most brutal climb in the area
St. Michael

Pit stop with company in
 Eschenlohe

A nice intermezzo was playing
Easter bunny on the bike for my auntie and uncle

Tanlines had gotten serious by now, ...

...not just on the thighs.

March 2020 Late winter or early pre-springtime pleasures?

 

This was a really strange winter for Upper Bavaria. As you know this area lies in between 500-650m above sea level, therefore the likelihood of getting snow is very high. Neighbors and colleagues told me of excessive snow last winter, but this winter it seems more like what I was used to in the UK, mild snowfree winters with occasional nice and sunny days. Some days were really grotty, but some days this winter actually allowed for short tights as early as February so that the first tanlines had emerged by mid-march. The bike though still suffered a lot on every ride. I could not believe to make my first ride into the mountains as early as March and it was totally snow-free.

Maybe I should not use my summerbike

These muddy roads and lanes will defo damage my bike

Around Walchensee

Walchensee ice-cold