From the Volcanic Desert to the Rainforest 

"Five islands, 600 km, 14000 m elevation gain, almost no sleep, no preparation and no idea whether we can do it. Who could resist that?!" Annika Vossen & Till Schenk thought. 

You might already be following one or both of these ultracycling athletes on Instagram: Annika from Munich and Till from Freiburg. "Let's try it" appears to be their guiding principle. Till says, “I’m really motivated by the chance of failing.”

Lining up for the GranGuanche Audax Road was a spur-of-the-moment decision .It’s a non-stop race across five Canary Islands, from Lanzarote to La Gomera. Two weeks before the race, Annika and Tim read about it in a post by Ulrich Bartholomoes who is known for his extreme long distance challenges. One quick email later and, Matteo, the Race Organizer of the GranGuache, had made two places available.

“It’s always the moment when you’ve committed yourself to an event that you think, ‘Hang on, can we even do this? What might we need?’”

But if you have Ulrich Bartholmoes living close by, everything can fall into place. After a cup of coffee and some motivating words, the plan was set. Annika and Till minimized the pack list (I mean, who needs a sleeping bag when sleeping outside?!), and they booked the flights.

"No risk, no fun"  

This is Annika's approach, who only started setting ambitious cycling goals in July of last year. At her first ultra-marathon, the Gran Guanche, where she finished as the first female participant, taking a risk paid off.

"Knowing I could finish as the first woman gave me an additional boost of motivation. I know now that I can handle such challenges. Next time I'll push myself even harder."  

The race wasn’t without challenges. Right on the first island, Till developed stomach problems. And then his disc brake started rubbing so much that Annika – 20 kg lighter - could roll downhill faster. Also, roadworks closed the route from the ferry, and the two of them (together with two other competitors) had to turn around and take a detour with an additional 6 km climb.  

And then, roadworks closed the route from the ferry, and the two of them (together with two other competitors) had to turn around and take a detour with an additional 6 km climb. 

It was a setback in their race for the ferry. At first, the riders felt resigned, but then Till rose to the challenge and charged ahead for a 25 km full-throttle 'time trial.' Only Annika could hack his pace, and, at the last moment, the pair managed to jump onto the ferry to Fuerteventura, the second of the five islands.

While they overcame most challenges, they still ran into some problems: like the moment after getting to the top of Mount Teide on Tenerife, a brutal climb that was a battle against rain, storm, and single-digit temperatures. Just as the downhill 45 km frenzy to the last ferry of the day began, the battery in Till's gear shift gave out. This mishap scuttled their chance of reaching the final of the five islands in one go.  

They felt exhausted at that point in the race, having ridden for forty hours without sleep, covering 500 kilometers with an elevation gain of 11,000 m in temperatures fluctuating by 30 degrees.

Why good equipment is crucial

Till said, "Under these conditions, you must be able to rely totally on your equipment. I reckon the failing battery in the gear shift was my fault. However, choosing good lights was much more important than the gear shift on this trip. When you're chasing the next ferry in the pitch dark on an unfamiliar route at up to 80km/h, you must be able to trust your light fully.

For the Gran Guanche, we chose the SUPERNOVA Airstream 2, as we knew we'd only be riding through one night and – with an elevation gain of 14,000 m – keeping our weight low was crucial." 

According to Till, a dynamo headlight such as the DY PRO would also be an excellent choice for a more extended event. Or, with regular access to power outlets, you could use a battery headlight such as the B54 with a battery pack. 

"The fork of my BMC Urs is actually designed for internal routing of dynamo lamps, and I'm already looking forward to the first real endurance test," said Till with a glint in his eyes.

Missing the ferry brought certain benefits. As they had to wait for the morning ferry, they spent the night in a hotel, which may have contributed to their surprise finish: "I would never have believed it, but the last day was the best! My legs just gave up fighting back and felt amazingly fit!" said Annika. 

And the future?

"This was just a little test for us both to see how a bikepacking race works. We won't approach the next races so cautiously," said Annika and Till with a grin as we said goodbye.

If this was their first bikepacking race, I'm sure we can look forward to many more amazing adventures from these two in the future. This year, they want to explore Scandinavia by bike and participate in the 2800 km long "Morocco Traverse" gravel adventure.

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The equipment Annika and Till carried:

• No sleeping mat and no sleeping bag 
• One bib and one jersey, a down jacket and a rain jacket 
• Homemade saddle cream and a disinfectant spray for wounds and "as a substitute for washing," according to Till 
• The SUPERNOVA Airstream 2 
• A portable 10,000 mAh battery for the Garmin and mobile phone
• Amino acid supplements for muscle recovery
  

What they ate: 

• Whatever they could get at petrol stations - especially lots of sweets :-D