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| The trusty steed getting a well-earned wash after 45km of chasing down E-bikes.
I’ve discovered the best summer fitness training regime ever! And it involves finding an E-bike.
Not riding one though, no, chasing them down!
The Zillertalradweg is a 30km track that goes from Strass in Zillertal to Mayrhofen. It is mostly tarmac with a few sections of gravel and no cars, though an abundance of walkers, in-line skaters and cyclists. It is a pretty easy ride, so to avoid laziness and complacency the rule is if you see someone in front you have to chase them and overtake.
Mostly it’s do-able and it’s a way of forcing a change of pace and speed, as well as a small confidence boost as you go zooming past.
Then there are the others. You spot them in the distance so you pick up the pace. You start gaining on them but not as quickly as you expected. You get closer and you see that the cyclist isn’t really using a lot effort. You pedal faster and gain a little more. You pedal harder, you get closer, you feel like you’re going to explode, you step up into another zone, you finally pull up alongside and… you see that the cyclist is lazily turning the pedals, as cool as a cucumber with not a hair out of place and the E-bike is doing all the work. That’s ok, a small, silent cheer to celebrate catching them, you pull in front… and then you realise you have to keep up this level of performance until the E-bike riders decide to have a rest or until they’re out of sight! The only option available to prevent spontaneous combustion is telepathy to persuade them to stop and take in the scenery.
All in all, a very effective method of pushing you to your limits and beyond!
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