Last two hours of 24skate #1
Tallin had two terrible hours on Saturday and no weather improvement was in sight.
With perfect weather forecasted for Munich, I decided to cover the last two hours of
the first 24skate by myself. After the - for
my standards - quite speedy hour #9 on Saturday evening, I planned to shift one gear lower
in order to have enough energy left in the second hour of the set.
I skated the usual 10 minutes from my home to the Octoberfest site again. The streets were
almost completely deserted. The sun yawned its first rays to the highest balconies of
four or five-story buildings and threw its rosy nightgown over the roofs.
Two warm-up laps and off went the bells of nearby St. Paul, giving me a resounding starting
sign. First lap times were a little bit to fast for my taste - with two hours to go - but
sometimes it is not easy to slow down your feet. Finally I managed to stabilize the lap
times at 3:05-3:10 (One lap is a little bit less than 1,5 km).
The sun climbed up its stairs in the sky and a few passers-by wondered about the wheeling
guy in the Sunday morning light. A photographer with expensive equipment took shots of me
with all imaginable and photogenic past-Octoberfest backgrounds. Rolling by I asked
him for his business-card, but he regretted. Some laps later he joined me for some hundred meters on his bicycle
and I asked him to have a look to the 24skate website. But unfortunately he had not contacted
me up to now.
After the first hour, my legs got tired. It was not possible to keep my heart rate at the
usual endurance level: My heart was willing, but my legs were weak. It really was an act of
will to keep a non-embarrassing pace. Humming Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive" during the
last half an hour helped a lot.
Finally the rings of St.Paul's bells liberated me. Here you can see the difference:
Before: 
After: 
In the final laps, I had planned to take another picture of St. Paul and me with a visible tower clock to proof
the final time of 24skate #1 and to make some shots of the Octoberfest "ruins", but not
only my legs, but also the battery of the borrowed digital camera was flat then.
So I skated slowly back home, filling back up my energy reservoirs with the friendly autumn
light and warmth of a - both weather-wise and skating-wise - record week-end.
Thanks to all who made it possible!
Clemens Suerbaum