Finally it happened:

Off to the sunny Spanish town of Valencia.
As an orderly member of the Mad Crew, of course, I had my Rotor Propaganda Bike always at hand. After 3 weeks excessive biking it has been time to check what the body really can do in practice.

Said and done, thanks to the very nice invitation of the local bike club, we were off to the MTB marathon in Requena. Arriving there, some 700 Toreros and 20 Amigas were standing ready, waiting for the sound of the firing gun with their steal-oily calfs. I should not have been impressed by this view and looked for an optimal place to start from. Then, after a deafening Bang followed by the clicking sound of an endless number of chains and pedals, we were starting a race over a muddy and technical very demanding track of about 51 km directly across the mountains. On this day especially, it was very windy and there easily developed some smaller or larger groups. To show the hard conditions of the track, in the end there were only 580 finisher left.

With my Rohloff hub I was perfectly equiped for a region and unusual weather conditions like this. This advantage I was able to play out at one of the largest mountain tracks, as being the only one who could remain seating. This was "Spanish" for most of the Spanish riders. Comments like: That's not a derailleur gear system, that's a motor engine. It should not be permitted to use it! - were some of the angry reactions. It seemed logical after that moment that all others of this group were uniting against me and tried to get rid of me. I used this disharmony to get me another power thrust via power-gel and went off to the next group in front. Once arrived there, I felt a lot more comfy, not only because of power reasons but of sympathy, so I stayed in that group till finish.

Happily arrived at the finishing line, I instantly was asked extensively about my mysterious hub. After the questioning was over, I was allowed to enjoy a nice warm shower. Refreshed and wrapped in woollen warm clothes, I was ready to feel glad about the result of a 21st place. Now, the Spaniards are warned and the way for the next Rohloff rider is smothed.



Regards to all 14-gear fans and those in future.

Your's Frank of the "Mad East Crew"