Evidently excessive sports activities resembling extremely distance biking or Ironman triathlons entice some exteme personalities. There are individuals who have turned dependancy or psychological well being points round via sports activities. For instance, Jack Thompson, an Australian bike owner with substance abuse and melancholy in his background, rode the route of the 2021 Tour de France, chasing the professional peloton. We reviewed his ensuing video right here: pezcyclingnews.com. Within the meantime, Thompson turned, in 2022, the primary individual to journey a million vertical meters in a calendar 12 months.

Within the video “Three Peaks and In Between,” about Jana Kesenheimer’s 2020 participation within the self-supported race from Vienna to Barcelona (reviewed right here: https://pezcyclingnews.com/options/pez-goes-to-the-movies-three-peaks-in-between/), we noticed the grit and confidence wanted to journey over 2,000 kms alone and in opposition to the clock. What we didn’t get was a lot about who Jana Kesenheimer is.

Final week a brand new video that includes this German rider based mostly in Innsbruck was launched. As anybody following her Strava actions is aware of she has continued to be lively within the extremely biking scene. That is an increasing one, with many new approaches. “Lifeless Ends and Dolci/Cake” (the identify is a bit inconsistent in English) started in 2021 and could be thought of a way more subtle and much more durable model of the “Donut Races” beloved in America, the place your time on the course is diminished by the variety of donuts you may stuff down (and maintain down).

The 2022 model of “Lifeless Ends and Dolci” took riders on a course to 5 chcckpoints (which order it’s important to plan your self), every on the high of an Alpine climb and equipped with superb native truffles, whereupon riders flip round, go downhill and off to the following pastry cease. Jana Kesenheimer is up for this problem, figuring that will probably be an excellent day’s driving. Placing this into perspective that “good day” can be 500 kms lengthy and with almost 9,000 m of climbing!

We see Jana at house discussing what biking means to her and her strategy. She enjoys a protracted journey by herself, however as she says, her thought of “lengthy” is now what most of us would take into consideration. Her coaching plan will not be a lot a plan as driving by really feel and whereas she doesn’t do particular preparation for these occasions she does arrive within the situation essential to do them.

Using excessive distances appears to be a method that she has put apart the extremes of her previous life. Till she was eighteen she suffered from anorexia, the place “success” is measured by victims as the power to keep away from consuming. Overcoming this, she then switched to a different excessive, turning into a celebration animal, consuming closely and up all evening at golf equipment in Berlin. Biking, as one sees with Jack Thompson or Canadian Ironman triathlete (and nationwide One Hour Document holder) Lionel Sanders is a substitute for self-destructive tendencies. Jana Kesenheimer is clearly happiest driving alone and measuring herself in opposition to the challenges of those lovely rides.

And there are many challenges in “Lifeless Ends and Dolci,” with gravel segments, brutally steep sections, the potential for navigational errors, and the risks of evening driving. And naturally there’s all that cake to devour, a problem which (spoiler alert!) Jana has some issues with close to the conclusion. As somebody whose thought of the Finest Bike Journey Possible is to cruise from bakery to bakery within the Swiss Alps in summer time climate, I discovered a lot to savour on this great video however the distance and climbing make this considerably goofy occasion into one thing epic.

One benefit of the Digital Age is that movies like “No Lifeless Ends” might be produced to such an expert impact at low price and minimal crews. The credit record solely two individuals in addition to Jana concerned within the venture. There are very good photographs taken all through the day, together with drone pictures and ones in darkness, underscoring the fantastic thing about Japanese Switzerland.

For these eager to take pleasure in extra Swiss surroundings (and desserts), “Lifeless Ends and Muffins” has produced their very own video, which yow will discover right here: www.youtube.com. That is one other German language video however can be subtitled in English. German audio system might wrestle a bit with the Swiss German!

And if you wish to do the journey your self, enter the lottery for 2024 in January on the occasion web site: www.deadendsedolci.ch/ It’s also potential simply to journey sections of the course anytime because the organizers encourage this as effectively and supply route info.

“No Lifeless Ends—The Journey of the Extremely Biking Athlete Jana Kesenheimer”
Launched October 7, 2023 on YouTube, 36 minutes in size
In German with English subtitles
Directed and Photographed by Vanessa Blankenagel and Hannes Hohfeld
In cooperation with Specialised and supported by Komoot.

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