What is the Seven Serpents? <\/h2>
The Seven Serpents starts in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and squiggles its way into Croatia before crossing the islands of Krk and Cres. The route then zig-zags through Istria before returning via Slovenia and finishing in Trieste, Italy.\u00a0<\/p>
The route is the brainchild of Bruno Ferraro, a seasoned ultra-racer\/sadist with multiple Transcontinental, Badlands and TransIberica finishes.\u00a0<\/p>
If the 850km route sounds torturous (and believe me, it was), a shorter \u2018Quick Bite\u2019 version is held a week before the Seven Serpents. This steps down to 500km with a not-insubstantial 10,000m elevation, bypassing lots of the more technical sections of the main race.\u00a0<\/p>
I finished the Seven Serpents in 137 hours and 1 minute (plus a three-hour time penalty for skipping a checkpoint).\u00a0<\/p>
I placed 62nd out of 95 solo riders. In addition, 24 riders competed as pairs in a separate category. While my result is nothing to write home about, I was simply glad to finish this epic adventure.\u00a0<\/p>
This year’s race was won by ex-pro Rob Britton, who finished in a barnstorming 53 hours and 4 minutes (a course FKT<\/a>), all on only 50 minutes of sleep. <\/p> Antonio Dell’Ava finished in second place at 66 hours and 30 minutes, with Maya Christofori this year’s women’s winner. <\/p><\/div><\/div> I rode my own Niner RLT 9 RDO \u2013 a familiar bike and my main testbed for anything gravel-related I review.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Excluding some boring replacement consumables, the only change I made to the bike for this race was to stick on some 40mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC X<\/a> tyres, ignoring the 45mm minimum width recommendation for the route.\u00a0<\/p> I ran Apidura Expedition<\/a> and Backcountry bags and a frame-specific Niner frame bag.\u00a0<\/p> I also wore an Apidura Backcountry Hydration Backpack with a two-litre bladder, in addition to two 750ml bottles.\u00a0<\/p> With the exception of the top tube bag sitting lopsided for part of the first day after it interfered with the frame bag bolt (bodged later with a cable tie), most of the equipment worked perfectly.\u00a0<\/p> I strongly suspect the action of my right leg temporarily pedalling lopsided to avoid the bag is what caused my knee injury.\u00a0<\/p> The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar<\/a> I used was a real highlight. Its battery life was vastly superior to my Edge 830<\/a> and its solar charging meant it only needed infrequent juice \u2013 ideal when my salty sweat rendered my USB-C charging cable useless on the third day, meaning I had to rely on a power bank for the rest of the route.\u00a0<\/p> Sticking with familiar equipment reduces the risk of injury or unexpected mechanical issues \u2013 given my experience, I would never advise attempting an ultra-race with equipment that hasn\u2019t been tested thoroughly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> After much deliberation, I chose to carry sleeping equipment with me, with the aim of bivvying one night and sleeping in a warm bed the next.\u00a0<\/p> Not only would this save cash but it would mean I wouldn\u2019t have to rush to a hotel every night. This was one of the lessons I learnt from a training ride leading up to the Seven Serpents, where I had to shortcut a route before the hotel check-in closed.\u00a0<\/p> With dawn just before 5am, bivvying would mean I\u2019d be up early, resulting in more mileage.\u00a0<\/p> My sleeping equipment consisted of an Alpkit Hunka XL bivvy bag<\/a>, a Sea to Summit Spark Ultralight sleeping bag and a Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated Sleeping Mat<\/a>.<\/p> While confident in my setup, before the race, we were warned against sleeping on the grass on Slovenian soil due to ticks. We were also told to avoid resting on the 130km remote section after Cerknica and into the Risniak National Park in Croatia because of brown bears (apparently if it\u2019s brown, lie down<\/em>)\u00a0<\/p> On the first night, I bivvied by the side of a gravel road and had a somewhat peaceful three hours’ sleep. My bivvying experience on the second night wasn\u2019t as luxurious, as you\u2019re about to discover\u2026\u00a0<\/p> Before settling down for my second night out, I\u2019d had a bad evening with my knee beginning to play up, arriving at Kraljevica late into the night. I struggled to find food but after some desperate persevering, I tracked down a place 2km off the route.\u00a0<\/p> I was tired, in a foul mood and turned in to the first spot after leaving town, knowing I wouldn\u2019t have a warm bed. The place I picked looked like a nuclear wasteland, with an abandoned storage cabin full of rubbish next to the road, preventing me from sleeping inside.\u00a0<\/p> With a clear forecast, I got into my bivvy bag, but 40 minutes later, it bucketed it down. I tried to get back to sleep, clutching the bivvy shut, but everything was quickly flooded.\u00a0<\/p> In a delirious state, I hallucinated there was a garage on the road next to the layby. Once back in reality, I mustered the courage to quickly pack everything away, clear a space inside the squatter\u2019s hellhole and wait for the rain to pass.\u00a0<\/p> If the storage cabin wasn\u2019t there and I didn\u2019t have my down jacket to keep me warm, I\u2019d have been a goner with hypothermia.\u00a0<\/p> After this horrific experience, I made sure I didn\u2019t finish at silly hours and booked hotels from then on \u2013 lesson learnt.<\/p> As on every bikepacking trip<\/a>, I carried a first aid kit, but the 200mg ibuprofen was useless when my knee started to inflame.\u00a0<\/p> Two painful days later, I almost scratched on the ferry between Krk and Cres, but a call with my dad convinced me to continue.<\/p> Unlike the UK, where pain relief can be bought in a supermarket, you have to visit a dedicated pharmacy in most of mainland Europe. I was enraged when the sign on the pharmacy door in Cres read it opened at 6pm \u2013 what kind of pharmacy opens only at night?!<\/p> With all hope seemingly lost, I crossed paths with Alex Aloha and Michi Pirker (caps 122a and 122b) \u2013 Michi a physiotherapist and Alex a nurse.\u00a0<\/p> They very kindly donated their punchy 600mg ibuflam and diclofenac, a muscle relaxant for arthritis, supply to my sorry self.\u00a0<\/p> I cannot thank them enough \u2013 I\u2019d have been toast otherwise.\u00a0<\/p> I wasn\u2019t the only person to be riding on an injury. Regan Wilkes (cap 81), Tatiana Myk (cap 8) and Dennis Stern (cap 71) all scratched on account of their injuries and poor Keith Wallace\u2019s (cap 80) tongue and lips inflamed after drinking contaminated water.\u00a0<\/p> Humorous in retrospect, Keith told me he couldn\u2019t buy mouthwash at a store so (intelligently) bought vodka to treat the infection. All of this on top of being flooded in his sleeping gear at the Cres ferry port, where he missed the final boat that night by minutes. Perhaps my knee wasn\u2019t so bad after all\u2026\u00a0<\/p> What have I learnt for my next race? I need to convince my doctor to sign off a potent pill prescription before I leave.\u00a0<\/p> Although, in all seriousness, while it’s important to be prepared for niggles and injuries, it’s also key to listen to your body \u2013 and to strike a balance that works for you between fighting on and avoiding long-term damage.<\/p> Many riders joke that an ultra-endurance race is essentially an eating competition.\u00a0<\/p> The raised eyebrows on the staff\u2019s faces in every shop, cafe or restaurant whenever I ordered double portions of food or drink never failed to amuse me. I had quite an audience watching over me as I chowed down a sizeable double portion of calamari and chips in a roadside restaurant on my last day of the event.\u00a0<\/p> The route, however, threw a spanner in the works with the aforementioned 130km bear-infested section. I strategised by finishing my first day close to Cerknica, the last town before this section, so I could stock up on supplies and get it out of the way within daylight hours.\u00a0<\/p> Despite stocking up on food and drink at an excellent bakery (the pistachio croissants were a real highlight), 4.5 litres of water over 130km still wasn\u2019t enough and I felt I was playing catch-up throughout the rest of the race.\u00a0<\/p> I felt every single one of the 16,000 metres of climbing, especially once my knee injury flared up.\u00a0<\/p> The route handbook says you\u2019ll walk at least four times \u2013 I walked more than that on the first day.\u00a0<\/p> Four of the seven checkpoints are at the tops of mountains, with three effectively an out-and-back from the route.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Checkpoint 2 was particularly memorable. This 4.5km diversion included 300m of climbing\u2026 and 2km was unrideable.\u00a0<\/p> I was rewarded with views of the Slovenian forest I had spent that day traversing, with Krk and Cres islands visible in the distance at the summit\u2026 but I could also see the foreboding mountain I had to climb waiting for me on the mainland.\u00a0<\/p> By far the worst climb of the ultra-race was the Krk hike-a-bike. Just after the town of Ba\u0161ka, this 4km mountain hike with 400m of elevation gain, over steps, meant there was no option but to carry your bike.\u00a0<\/p> I\u2019d be reticent to walk up the punishingly steep inclines for leisure, let alone with a loaded bike. My heart was racing in the blazing heat as I struggled to find the energy and willpower to crest this godforsaken thing.\u00a0<\/p> Like a Saw<\/em> trap victim who survived their game with a newfound appreciation of life, it was at this point I became determined to finish. The hike was just comically daft and I wasn\u2019t going to let Bruno\u2019s foul route defeat me.\u00a0<\/p> You\u2019re going to want your best bib shorts<\/a> on an ultra-race and my trusty Assos Mille GTC Kiespanzer C2 bib shorts<\/a> were once again called into action. I carried a pair of Velocio Luxe shorts<\/a> as a backup.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> I wore the Kiespanzers for three days in a row and washed them in the first accommodation I stayed in (top bikepacking tip \u2013 carry a Travel Wash).\u00a0<\/p> I washed them again at the end of day four, but they hadn\u2019t dried by the morning.\u00a0<\/p> I then switched to the Velocios, which also rank among my favourites.\u00a0<\/p> While I loved the fresh-feeling and luxuriously smooth fabric, my behind became pretty uncomfortable as the day progressed. I think this is because I had become accustomed to \u2013 perhaps even symbiotically connected to \u2013 the Kiespanzers throughout the race.\u00a0<\/p> I switched back to the Kiespanzers on the final day once they had dried, but the damage had been done \u2013 I suffered with a saddle sore.\u00a0<\/p> Next time, I\u2019ll carry two pairs of the same shorts \u2013\u00a0I guess that means the credit card\u2019s reluctantly coming out for a second pair of Kiespanzers\u2026\u00a0<\/p> The route\u2019s sheer difficulty and my painful knee meant I rarely appreciated its beauty \u2013 I\u2019ll readily admit I had more low than high moments.\u00a0<\/p> It\u2019s in these low moments that you contemplate scratching, looking for any excuse you can not to carry on.\u00a0<\/p> On advice from the chairman of my first cycling club (a seasoned ultra-racer himself), I learned to try to find comfort in anything.\u00a0<\/p> That could be anything from a stunning view to spotting an animal or thinking about an achievement.\u00a0<\/p> I also really appreciated the encouraging messages I received from my dot-watching friends.\u00a0<\/p> In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about the sheer remoteness of the loop and how if I scratched, it wouldn\u2019t be straightforward to get back to Ljubljana. Whether I liked it or not, I had to keep on keeping on \u2013 and I\u2019m glad I did!<\/p> When I was planning my cycling calendar for 2024, I naively thought I\u2019d enjoy the Seven Serpents and proceeded to secure a place for Badlands in Spain at the end of August.\u00a0<\/p> Although the route changes each year, Badlands is typically around the 800km mark with 16,000m of climbing \u2013 worryingly similar stats to the Seven Serpents.<\/p> The problem with Badlands for my UK-weather-accustomed body will be the heat, given it heads through the Gorafe desert.\u00a0<\/p> As soon as I finished the Seven Serpents, I looked up Badlands\u2019 refund policy and discovered I would only get half my entry fee back \u2013 and I\u2019d already booked the flights.\u00a0<\/p> I suppose once I\u2019ve fully recovered, I best start looking forward to it if I’m going to have any hope of success. At least I now have a flavour of the torture that\u2019s in store and a bank of hard-earned experience to draw from.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n How did Oscar fare in the 850km Seven Serpents?\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63861,"template":"","categories":[1,36],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"14"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race.jpg",1713,1142,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/05\/hallucinations-injuries-rain-and-gladiatorial-hike-a-bikes-9-lessons-from-my-first-sadistically-tough-ultra-endurance-race.jpg",1713,1142,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How did Oscar fare in the 850km Seven Serpents?\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/63860"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Stick with familiar equipment\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Niner](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09607-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Pirelli](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09616-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Apidura](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09612-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Apidura](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09613-scaled.jpg\")
Learn when to bivvy and when you need a warm bed<\/h2>
![\"Alpkit](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09804-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Niner](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09685-scaled.jpg\")
Always take a waterproof and a down jacket with you\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImagepJOPWG-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Storage](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageaknUjj-scaled.jpg\")
Embrace ‘doping’<\/h2>
![\"Ferry](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09710-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Ibuflam](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageg2Qsvw-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/IMG_6879-1.jpg\")
Always overstock on food and water\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Calamari](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageJ0Sa8u-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Food](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageXUymWO-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageG39eSy-scaled.jpg\")
Be ready for the climbs<\/h2>
![\"Sveta](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09676-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Slovenian](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09689-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Hike-a-bike](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/tempImageJhbnyT-scaled.jpg\")
Stick with the same bib shorts (or buy two pairs)\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/08\/assos-mille-gtc-4-449c7ec.jpg\")
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09679-scaled.jpg\")
When you\u2019re feeling low, try to find comfort in anything\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Predjama](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09674-scaled.jpg\")
![\"View](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/DSC09714-scaled.jpg\")
Beware your own naivety\u00a0<\/h2>
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/IMG_6818-copy-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/05\/7S_DAY2-9696.jpg\")
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"