In winter, I usually have some breathing space, to realise some crazy ideas. These projects are usually quite spontaneous and at short notice, and this time was no exception.
Since in summer during the day everyone paddles, I wanted to turn things around and paddle through a winter night, which of course can only be realised properly with suitable external support. Wolfgang Leeb and Günther Mossier were immediately keen on the idea, even though they had only heard about it a few days earlier, and promised to support me in every way possible. My main goal was clearly defined: to paddle the entire night and cover at least 100 kilometres, which on a very small lake with hundreds of turns is a challenge for both man and material. Our planned location,the Sulmsee was unfortunatelyfrozen and so we had to switch to the Röcksee, which is not exactly an ocean with a length of around 460 metres and a width of just under 120 metres.
Set Up: We met at Röcksee early on Saturday afternoon, 19 December, to make the final preparations. The JP tent was covered with a carpet, furs were spread out on folding chairs, a large fire bowl was set up to keep the fire burning.freezing cold foggy nightfor the carers. Beach flags, buoys and torches were of course also included, along with an electric cooker, a kettle, lighting and music. The JP-Australia Flatwater Raceboard in 14 feet was equipped with GPS systems, which unfortunately did not work as planned for a number of reasons, spare clothing and catering was provided.
Start At 4.15 pm, as the sun was setting, I set off on one of my toughest adventures. One big advantage of the very small lake was that you definitely couldn't get lost despite the fog and poor visibility; the most you could do was crash on the jetties or the shallows and fall headfirst into the ice-cold water, but thankfully I was spared this time, although it was very close a few times. The first few laps were completed at a good speed and I was able to maintain an average speed of just under 9 km/h for the first few hours, which is normally not a problem for me. As an 11 City experienced paddler (5 day races with 40 to 45 km paddling stages) I am used to this and usually have my body relatively well under control, but on this particular day it was different. From the third hour onwards, it was anything but normal and I had to really push myself to keep paddling. I didn't have any problems with the temperature of around 0 degrees Celsius, but I did have problems with the extremely high humidity, which put a strain on my airways and lungs.Apparently I had paddled off too fast after all.
My planI was now trying to get into a state of flow by simply paddling at a reduced speed and at a steady pace, but this never materialised during my laps, so this time it was a mental overload for me from start to finish, which I had never experienced before in this form.
I have given it to my "support team" alonethat I didn't cancel after 3 hours and throw in the proverbial hat. The motivations of the two supervisors also differed to some extent. Whilst Wolfgang cycled alongside me on the bank and motivated me, Günther gave me the lap times. Perhaps Günther's comment "If you finish before midnight, you pay for the room" also helped me and so I reeled off lap after lap until my first break after about 6 hours, where a vegan vegetable soup with non-vegan fritattas (pancakes) awaited me. My average speed gradually dropped, but I was at least able to keep it above 7.5 km/h. The hardest part was accelerating the board after the turns, where I almost came to a standstill and had to reach my average speed as quickly as possible, which I did around 216 times in 58 laps.
That on this dayI realised relatively quickly that I wouldn't last 24 hours, and even reaching dawn in the middle of the night seemed absolutely impossible. I was dreading the morning more than anything else. It's important not to think about the perceived impossible, but to reel off lap after lap, focussing on the moment and the immediate future.
After 116 kilometres and 14 hours 10 minutes later, my endeavour came to an end as dusk turned night into day. Satisfied, we took a few more photos and then it was off to the shower for me after my carers had helped me out of my many layers of clothing.
I had my inner bastard Once again, I was relegated to the ranks and still recognised my body. I can now decide quite well when it is really harmful to my body and when, on the contrary, only my pain body is speaking up and complaining.
My equipment: Board JP-Australia Race 14 Flatwater Paddle:Hippostick AL 7.5 186 cm Fin:Peter Bartl Race Carbon
Clothing:Dador Dry Pant with 2 leggings including 1 pair of sports socks, 2 pairs of neo socks, 1 pair of Camaro booties (size 46) 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 short sleeve shirts, 1 race gilet, cycling jacket rain jacket JP bonnets and caps Speed Coach for timing