So what an experience HLC was!!! I am still blown away by it all and it went way beyond my expectations, physically and emotionally very draining but ultimately very rewarding. With temperatures tipping over 40 degrees in heat of day and up to 120km between water stops the 10 days has seen me race my way across Israel as part of the HolyLand MTB Challenge event. It offered a physical and mental challenge with such huge variety in terrain but with welcome consistency in the welcoming nature of everyone we met in Israel.
Just a very special journey that I look forward to trying to capture in words, as I start a series of blogs over the forthcoming weeks that I hope will encapsulate the whole experience as acurately as possible.
To kick things off I can look back at how I got prepared. Strangely it was to be on two ski's rather than two wheel's as I trained for the massive Birken Ski race. This, however, was to end in dissapointment as they cancelled the event on the morning of the race. I soon overcame this by quickly refocussing on a new challenge, one which soon quashed all plans of staying firmly in the UK this year. As soon as I had signed up for the Holyland MTB Challenge it was Preperation Time.
Running through what I felt to be essential for this new bike packing adventure. As with every event I've done, I find each one leading me along this "Process of Constant Refinement"
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