Marc Herremans - some inspiration

Another inspirational story about someone who doesn't give up when shit hits the fan...

Marc Herremans

“Life’s only limitations are the ones we make – its all in the mind and nothing is impossible!”



Marc Herremans is a Belgian Triathlete who made it to 6th place at the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i in 2001, after being in this sport for only 3 years. One year later he crashed during a training ride in Lanzarote, leaving him paralyzed for life from his stomach down to his feet.

Yet after a short period of 3 months after the accident, Marc refused to be discouraged and started training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i, this time as a wheelchair athlete. That's how he earned his nickname, "Mad Max", as he never gives up hope and always tries to push his limits to the furthest possible.

He participated in the Ironman World Championships in 2002, only 10 months after his accident. Although he didn't finish first, he participated again every following year, because his ultimate goal was to win Hawai'i. In 2006, he finally succeeded in his goal: he was the first wheelchair athlete to arrive at the finish of the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i(ironically, he didn't receive any prize money, because wheelchair athletes do not receive prizes).

In 2003, he started a foundation called "To Walk Again" that supports other disabled people, such as making a sports centre for disabled people, and that invests in bone marrow research. To gain more support for his foundation, Marc met disabled celebrities such as Christopher Reeve.

In October 2007, Herremans became the first person to complete the Crocodile Trophy with a hand bike. The Crocodile Trophy is one of the world’s hardest mountain bike races, traversing part on Northern Australia - 1400km in 10 days.



read more about him here

7hrs of A-Z results and the Moonride 12hr solo

Whaka's Trails A-Z in 7hrs ... where did I get to?

Hm, maybe it's called Karma, coincidence, luck or the spirit of Whaka Forest ... in 7hrs I made it ... to the letter E ... for those that know, the only trail in Whaka's network with an E is .. tataaaaaa ... EXIT TRAIL. How convenient at the end of a 7hr ride. Thanks for A Da M and Sarah PC for keeping me company at the beginning and rippin up Corners, I only had to do it twice that day...the A-Z mission will continue...

Moonride - 12hr Solo

Firstly - Murray Flemming, the organiser, kindly donated my race fee to limbs4all. Thanks for that Murray!

moonride...I never really enjoyed those 12hr MTB races in teams - don't get me wrong, I enjoy the team situation, I just don't like this caning it for 25min and then resting for 2hrs and then trying to cane it again and rest again...I just DON'T go fast and always find it frustrating and don't enjoy this riding/resting format. SO - I did wonder if I would enjoy a 12hr solo more than a team race.

And the answer is yes!

With all this training for Canada I knew I was fit enough, the question was how I'd deal with riding an 8km loop for 12hrs, round and round and round in circles...

It turned out to be easier than I thought - at the end of the day it's like an Ironman, you don't look at the whole 12hrs ahead of you, you just break it down into laps and your next stop, rehydration, refuelling and all that shabang. Jamie Campbell and Sarah PC were my supporters and kept me going during the day - Jamie's got heaps of experience in going long and doing nutter things like a double Ironman, so he was perfect support and kept me on my no-doze and knew when I had to do what - thanks big time Jamie!

I really enjoyed the ride and was stoked that I managed to pace myself - Yoda shall be proud! I kept my lap times consistent, even the first few night laps. I slowed down later on and finally bonked on my 21st lap, that one and the 22nd were quite hard. I just got into a real low, the legs were still fine (-ish, as fine as can be after 10hrs of riding) but mentally I just hit the wall. Man was I grumpy! Anyway, Jamie made me ride 21/22 without a break and then stop for one last re-fuel - Coke and sour lollies aaaaaa - and I was all good for my last lap. Knowing it was the last lap helped!

Lessons learned?
You know how they always say, never try anything you haven't tested in your training, on race day? Bullshit. I rode with new shoes, never worn before, had new mudtyres on my ride, never ridden those before, and I hadn't done any night riding for over a year - borrowed those wiiiicked Ay-Up lights from Dave Joy at Bike Vegas and chucked them onto my helmet the night before the race. Never took them for a spin beforehand. And I loved my shoes, tyres, lights and the nightriding. There ya go.

Em's Powerbars (hmmmmm Chocolate Oat explosion, yuuuuum) are awesome for a ride like that - broke it into eatable pieces and just chucked them into my back pocket, no wrapping needed as they don't stick to the jersey or crumble appart. Chooooice.

Keep salt handy and put it into your drinks when you feel a cramp coming.

Die Gailtalerin, my ride, rules.

No-doze rules.
Chocolate rules.
Coke and lollies rule big time. See the pattern? Check out the last pic, that's me on a super-sugar-high...

Don't fluff around as long as I did in the evening part when getting changed and eating 'dinner'. It can cost you a placing.

Bring on next year!

Possum left/right and Rotorua Trails A - Z

or - how to keep yourself entertained during training sessions.

Lets admit it - some of those training sessions are a wee bit boring at times...okay, I'll regret this sentence big time if Coach Yoda reads this, so let's reword this thought...some of those training sessions leave you a bit braindead at times (better?) and strategies to keep yourself entertained are in high demand...

Tonight I had to do big chain reps up Tarawera Rd, 8 times...woahooo...keeping count of whatever is not one my fortes.
So what better to do than using that dead possum on the white line at the top of the climb as a lap counter! Choice, even numbered reps - we pass the possum to the left side, uneven numbered reps - we pass the possum on the right side! All counting problems sorted!

But wait, there's more - Sunday is a 7hr ride in the Forest. What to do in 7hrs....??? The German in me likes sorting things, so I thought it would be a pretty smart idea to ride all the trails of Whaka Forest in... A to Z order! Looking at the list I don't anticipate to get any further than letter L. For those that know, check out the order below and think about it.

Anyone keen for a challenge - how long will it take you to ride through the MTB alphabet?

A Trail

Ball & Chain

Be rude not to

Billy T

Bunny Jugs

Challenge

Chestnut Link

Chop Suey

Corners

Creek Track

Dipper

Dragons Tail

Exit Trail

Frontal Lobotomy

Genesis

Grinder

G-Rock

Gunna Gotta

Hot X Buns

Huckleberry Hound

Jeffs Link

Lentil Link

Lions Trail

Little Red Riding Huck

Mad if you don’t

No Brains

Old Chevy

Pig Track

Pondy downhill

Pondy new

Rock Drop

Rose Bank

Sidewinder

Soak Hole

Split Enz

Springroll

Sweet & Sour

Tahi Trail

Tickler

Turkish Delight

Yellow Brick Road

Ridin round Lake Hawea

For Anzac Weekend I went down to lovely Queenstown to hang out with Seano the Porno and do a wee ride around a Lake...The Lake Hawea Contact Energy Race was on, so we thought we'd do it...it's also called 'NZ's Ultimate Mountainbike Challenge' and as we found out, it's called that for a reason!

I won't bore you with race details, the short version is this: with all the fluffin around and a flat tyre it took us 7.45, it's got a whollodda nasty little climbs in it, I had a shit start to the day, came alright (took a package of painkillers though...) and bonked again 30k out to the finish, lesson learned, don't forget your Ensure and eateateat!!!
Even though it's a flippn long day in the saddle, it was a superstunning ride and race - tough tough tough, but wicked scenery and worth every K of pain! Go and do it!
Pic's are below, as you can see, I'm the champ at rippin pics, hope I don't get bitten in the arse for that? Anyway, if you want a photo of me or the Pornmeister, go to Studio5.co.nz....aehem....