PEDAL POWERED ADVENTURES
  • Blog
  • About John & Jenn
  • Media
  • Contact

Pedal Powered Adventures Blog

Jenn: Al Adaid Inland Sea Challenge 2017

3/3/2017

0 Comments

 
My fourth Inland Sea Race (now Al Adaid Desert Challenge) and I finally came away $800US richer (the cheque says $750 but I actually got $800) with a first place finish in the toughest race in the Arabian Gulf! And more importantly, smashed my previous time (2:31:30) by more than 35 minutes with a time of 1:53:45! The event was well-organized and gets better every year.
Picture
So proud of John and his amazing 4th place finish (up a spot from last year!) in a strong men's field! His recovery continues and he is getting stronger all the time.
Picture
This year, we were all thankful for a tail-wind for the first part of the race - normally it's a strong head-wind nearly the whole way. So our times were already faster this year, but I also saw big improvements in my approach and skill. Thanks again to coach Szymon Wasiak and all the support from our Cycling Academy friends. My training this year has helped me immensely!
Picture
My #RockyMountain Thunderbolt with 27.5" wheels helped me ride up (almost) two of the dunes, which saved a lot of energy. I was also spurred on by my race-within-a-race with Carbon Wheels Bike Shop teammate (in the UCI cat) Julie Melville who challenged me on the flats and overpowered me in the end to place second in her category against former Olympian and MTB World champion Pia Sundstedt. As usual, pushing the bike up the dunes was the hardest challenge, and the headwind we eventually encountered was a major obstacle for me at a point when my legs just wanted to rest.
Picture
I always love crossing that finish line to see John Henry Hancock waiting for me with a proud smile and a hug. He has helped motivate me to get to this point, and without his dedicated bike maintenance, I would be lost 🤗
Overall, an exciting day with lots to celebrate! Thank you to the UCI, event sponsors, organizers and volunteers! It was very professional and still kept the nice casual vibe with the majilis and hanging around the desert for a few hours getting to chat and socialize.
Also, thanks to all the photographers who help document the event! It's amazing to see the pictures and get a sense of the whole event outside of your own piece of the experience.
Can't wait for next year!!
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • About John & Jenn
  • Media
  • Contact