Episode 62 - Badlands 2021 : What Happened?

The Zero Lemon Podcast

This one was a bit of a tough race for me. Badlands is a 750-kilometre (466-mile) gravel race taking in three of the deserts in Spain: the Sierra Navada, Gorafe and Tabernas. These are considered officially to be the only desert in Europe.
The race is mainly off-road on gravel, beaches and singletrack, with rocky climbs and descents. Temperatures in this area range from 25-50 degrees Celsius and extreme weather conditions do occur from the odd rare flash floods to extreme heat. This year some of the best racers internationally lined up such as Christian Meier, two times Olympic Gold Medalist Alistair Brownlee and former pro (and eventual winner) Mattia De Marchi to name a few.
Badlands is a race that would suit either a gravel bike or a MTB, with racers battling needing to race self supported, finding their own food, water and also repairing everything themselves if they have any issues.
For me, the goal of this race was about finishing it and enjoying the experience. It certainly became type 2 fun, with temperatures hitting the high 40s and low 50s! I went into this race struggling to recover from an injury so I was under no expectation that it was going to be tough but, I maybe was not quite sure just how tough it would be. Like I mentioned before, the heat became a huge factor on this race.
When I reached the end I was, to be frank incredibly emotional, exhausted and relieved. I went into this race with no expectations and I was so pleased to have finished.
In this episode, Emily from Attacus and I discuss everything that happened during the race and also some bikepacking tips and hacks I have learnt over the years.
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