50x Mt Faber Biking Madness!! :)

"I ride because being on my bike is being in the most peaceful place on Earth........when my mind is blank and I just hear the 'humming' of the tires of my bike.....that's paradise! It's just me, my bike and the roads of life. I lose myself in the thoughts of going faster and faster. It's the only place where I don't 'have to' do anything. I do it because I want to. Feeling an immense satisfaction of achieving what was once just a dream.....being fit, going fast, living to the fullest....not just exisiting."
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I have always admired those 15 guys who did the first Ironman triathlon in 1978. They were the pioneers of the sport. They were a bunch of fit people who wanted to test the boundaries of human endurance. They had no idea what the day would bring; it was just a long adventure out there, finishing was good enough.

I have always wanted to do something crazy for the first time as well. So when I chanced upon the "Faberx50" post on trifam forum late last Wednesday, it got me really excited! Hey, this is some event that I can probably do well in! I should be able to complete 50! I know that I can climb relatively well, and I still have some residual fitness from Langkawi. The only problem was that I have never done more than 10 loops of Faber, and that was done almost 10 years ago! The last time I did loops there was during the December holidays, where I did at most 6 loops, albeit in a big gear. Somehow, despite all these question marks, deep inside me, I knew that I should be able to finish it if I pace myself well, and watch my hydration and nutrition - key rules for any endurance event.

I finally decided to commit to this event on Friday evening. The only special prep was to eat my favourite pasta at Anchor Point food court, followed by a 6-inch Italian BMT sandwich meal at Subway:)

At 5am on Sat morning, 15 cyclists gathered at the base of Mt Faber for a short brief by the event organizer. And thereafter, we were led on a familiarisation lap by Gary Harvey. Gary was singled out during the briefing as the guy most likely to complete it the fastest. He must be some experienced biker, so I decided to follow his pace and keep him close to me.

I was able to ride easily at the front with Gary in the initial laps. The pace was not fast at all. I was watching my HR and trying my best to keep my effort low; no surges, just constant steady effort as I din want to burn off energy unnecessarily.  I was riding my new bike and have only recently dialed in my position, so I was really surprised at how good I was feeling. I followed him for around 5 laps and then he just took off. I wanted to follow but at the back of my mind, I really wanted to complete the 50, so no crazy moves for me. I got to find my own rhythm and set my own pace. The thought of becoming the first Singaporean to complete 50 laps of Faber was a constant motivation!:)

Honestly, I did not find the climbing tough at all till 30+ laps. By then, the sun was up and the 15 that had started had dwindled to a handful. I was reduced to spinning slowly through sections where I had previously stood up to pedal. I was taking longer and longer to complete each lap. My left adductor was getting a bit tight and there were times where I felt like cramping in the hamstrings, but a subtle shift in position here and there or a change in pedalling technique helped ease things out a bit. It also helped that there was a fast downhill to look forward to at the top of the hill. I have got bad bike handling skills normally, but I can descend down Faber relatively fast!:)

I provided some excitement for the guys manning the aid station when I caught up to Gary on the 47th lap . Somehow, he had slowed down dramatically during the lap. I remembered seeing him going up while I was coming down at the end of my previous lap. I had caught up like 400m on him within that lap. I actually passed him when he was about to stop to refill his bottle at the bottom of the lap; I could hear him unclip from his pedals. But once he saw me passing him, he quickly clipped back on and stood up and rode away from me. Me? I did not respond. I just did not want to risk cramping big time. Finishing was good enough for me that day.

After 6 hrs 40+mins, I finally made it 50!! Total distance travelled was around 138k, with 80+k of climbing!! And I finished around 3 mins behind the champ! We were the only ones who made it! It is an experience that I will always cherish!! :)

The Champ

5am start