Everesting Cycling Challenge 2021

On June 6, 2021, three young “pandemic cyclists” from our town Irosin, Sorsogon, Philippines attempted the Everesting cycling challenge and were able to finish with impressive time results. They trained hard for the event and were fully supported by the local cycling community. As we fed, hydrated, encouraged, and monitored the progress of Vicson A., brothers Airru E. and Lucky E., I silently committed to myself that I would also attempt this vertical cycling challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic was still out there, and I have nothing else better to do.

The Everesting Challenge for cycling is simple: pick any hill anywhere in the world and complete repeats of it in a single activity until you climb 8,848m – the equivalent height of Mt Everest. For the uninitiated, read more at the Everesting website and at Wikipedia. 

With Ed B, 70 years old, and completed the Half Everesting.

For our attempt: pick a hill - Bulusan Lake climb with 114.1 meters elevation gain, complete repeats - 78 times, until climbing the equivalent height of Mt. Everest - 78 repeats X 114.1 meters = 8,900 meters. In a single cycling activity.

We did the Half Everesting (4,424 meters) on July 11, 2021 with the following riders: Noel M. (me), Kareen M. (my wife), Tyrone O., Roberto E., John Paul M., Melbert B., Keana T., Teody H., and Julia Kiana C.  

And on July 25, 2021, a six-man team composed of Noel M. (me), Tyrone O., Roberto E., Franklin E. John Paul M., and Sermanity B. completed the Full Everesting!

It was physically and mentally hard! Every pedal stroke must bite gravity - no drafting or spinning away to the finish like in Audax 600. It took me 28 hours – 19 hours on the saddle and 9 hours eating/resting, burned almost 10,000 calories and lost two kilograms of body weight.

Here is my take and some tips for those who will be attempting the full Everesting.

CHOOSE THE HILL WELL

Your chosen hill’s gradient and length must suit you. 

A very steep incline and your knees would give out eventually, and too gentle slope would result to spinning and slow elevation gain. The distance from the bottom to the hilltop would affect your pacing – the downhill part is your rest time. Other things to consider are lap elevation gain, the number of laps (or repeats), the total distance, vehicular and pedestrian traffic, road lay-out, accessibility and ambient temperature.

Here is the comparison of three suitable hills for Everesting near of town which we chose from:

At 51 years old, I opted for the gentler 6.3 gradient but longer route of the Bulusan Lake road climb. The younger riders from our town chose the steeper Valley View Climb.

Additional considerations are: the lake was closed due to the pandemic and thus the traffic was very light, the road was inside a natural park and was tree-lined and thus very cool, the route was just eleven kilometers from our town, and the Mayor and Barangay Captain were biker-friendly.

The Bulusan Lake road was winding but concrete. But the road was very slippery due to rainy weather, so I did not use a road bike but instead opted for a hybrid bike with disc brakes, 27.5er wheelset with a 1.75 width tires. There was a temporarily closed resort at the start of the climb which we rented out as base camp and rest area.

Turn around point of Bulusan Lake road, Kareen during Half Everesting.

REMEMBER: My hill may not be best for you and your hill may not suit me. It all comes down to your physical condition and preference.

PREPARE AND TRAIN

Train as you would for a marathon (or a half-marathon). If you are an avid cyclist and can do a 200-kilometer ride at any time - then the training time would take less. But you must train in climbing hills, lots of hills. Cross-training with running would help build cardio strength. 

Our base training is cycling as we regularly do weekend and long bike tours. But we scheduled a 2-month training program which we followed religiously:

TIP: Do the Half Everesting as the training for the Full Everesting.

Half Everesting Team.

PACE YOURSELF

The same advice I got from Audax rides: Do not rush and attach the hill! This is an endurance event and not a race (unless you are trying to break some record). Upon evaluation of my physical condition and performance during the Half Everesting, I set a personal target time of 28 hours to finish the challenge. 

Massage time.

I followed my pre-determined scheduled and my actual time was 27 hours and 56 minutes:

Rest, eat and hydrate as needed. The time at rest is equally important as the time in the saddle.

SUPPORT TEAM

A good support team is a must. A rider doing the Everesting will not have time nor energy to prepare foods, brew coffee, set-up tents/hammocks, sort through spare cycling kits, fix and adjust bike parts, keep track of lap repeats, and other mundane things. With a good support team, the rider is focused on the single thing that matters – finish the ride.

My wife Kareen, the lead Sherpa, during the Full Everesting.

Riders and support crew.

Base camp.

The support team give encouragements and lifts the spirit of the rider – especially during the dark late-night hours when the rider is nearing the physical and psychological limit, the monotony of the repeats sets in, the absurdity of the situation sets in, and during the “Why am I doing this?” moments.    

TIP: Have a tracking board with all the riders' names and have the support crew tally the lap repeats to keep track of rider's progress. 

Tally board with visualization of Mt. Everest.

WHY DO THE EVERESTING?

For no reason at all. Same answer when asked why I climb mountains: because it's there. Why do long distance cycling? I like the challenge. Why do the Everesting? Because I believe that I can do it. 

Challenge done, with pure grit and some efficascent oil.

By Noel Mercado