I stepped out into the street and was assailed by the aroma of baking.  Just around the corner was a bakery and at 5am in the morning it was open to customers.  I bought the most enormous sugared doughnut. I should have bought two (at least!). It was delicious and helped me start the day.

It was another ride into the dawn but I had to suppress the thought I was going to finish. It was overwhelming and if I didn’t catch it I choked.

And then I saw it: a sign for Etna!

On the Garmin I think it showed 4 climbs left to do. One of them took me into a village where I was able to have a second breakfast of a cappuccino and a sticky, toffee coated twisted pastry.

The views continued to be wonderful.

I was ticking off the hills even if my physical and mental state was beginning to resemble the building I briefly parked Rocinante next to.

And then the Garmin simply showed one climb remaining.

I was on the last climb up Etna.  The last climb of the ride.

Now, previously, every climb over 16 or so km had sections that were flat or even downhill.  Juliana had obviously kept the best hill to last. Etna never relented. There was no easy section.  

I was out of food and still had several km to climb when I turned a corner and saw this stall, selling honey, laid out.

I stopped and was offered a taste of every type of honey on sale. I decided to buy a small pot of pistachio laced honey and some boiled sweets.  

It was only as I cycled away I realised that handing over 20 euros for that was insane!

I had fallen for a honey trap!

About 2km from the top of the climb I saw a waiting cyclist who greeted me with a cheer and a smile. It was Winnie. An Italian, an industrial chemist living in the Netherlands, she had started the 2VS but after some terrifying incidents with dogs (surrounded by 8 huge snarling sheepdogs and then getting bitten by another dog) she had scratched.  She escorted me the last bit of the climb to the cafe at the top of the road and near the summit of Etna.

She also took some great black and white photos.

I think this one sums up the ‘effort on Etna’.

After a nice cup of tea and a slice of Margherita pizza and having pulled on warm clothes for the descent we started down through the lava fields passing the very dramatic scene of a house, half submerged in the solidified lava.

Then I was in Nicolisi, greeted by half a dozen or so participants, cheering and thrusting a delicious Arancini into my hands and a wonderful cold beer.

It was all over.

Race stats:

1600km

36000m of climb

Total Racers: 74

Scratched: 31% ( 23 )

Finished: 47% ( 35 )

My stats:

Postscript.

I spent the next 24hrs in the company of other finishers, Fuzz and John who were the only pair to finish, Winnie, Eric a French rider from the pyrenees who had got t-boned by a car at the Ferry terminal and Laurent, the lantern rouge, who explained that he rode to enjoy it and therefore started after breakfast at 8am and rode until 8pm when he would find a hotel and dinner.  To be honest he wasn’t that far behind me! 

I was in a daze of wonder at having completed the route and in a state of intense hunger. For the next few days I ate and ate finding it hard to satiate my hunger. I must have  built up a massive calorie deficit and when I got home, after a week of massive eating, I was exactly the same weight as when I left for the event.

Physically I was also extremely tired. 

x

I flew back from Catania on the Saturday night, arriving at Paula’s, my sister in law’s house, around midnight.  Linda joined me on Monday and on Tuesday we went to Malvern to a Spa for two nights.  It was exactly what I needed.  I was worried about getting the bike home as it was all boxed up and wouldn’t go in the car with all the passengers – until Linda said, “it is a shame you don’t have the bike rack on the car”.  Of course I did!  All I had to do was assemble the bike and lock it on the roof of the car and that is how me and Rocinante made it home.

“Why?”

It is hard to explain the motivation to do such events and I have found it difficult to answer the questions, “why do you do it?”, “don’t you get bored?”, “what do you think about?”.  Then I saw this post and it brilliantly summed it up for me:

Appreciations.

Joe Whittaker has been a source of bikes, advice and repairs for two decades. Jim Sutherland has been a source of encouragement and support for even longer.  Jerry Clough and Jim Forrer sent me motivational messages (although the WhatsApp from Jerry did cause me some consternation!). Niel Copeland in a short space of time got me to a place which I firmly believe made it possible for me to finish. Most of all I owe everything to Linda, David and Alice. 

This was the biggest challenge I have ever undertaken on my own and I am immensely proud to be a 2VS Finisher.

The infamous Clough WhatsApp

Martin McShane 

November 2022