So how do you feel? How was it?

Feeling accomplished, awesome, and happy it is done 🙆🏽‍♂️🫣😁.

Race around Rwanda (RaR) is one of the hardest things I have done in my life. I cried at times, I was whining at some of the climbs I had to ride in some gravel sections during the night, I was in the jungle, it was dark.... I slept in unusual places like bars, rode in rain for hours and got soaked to the bones.

Reaching the finishing line of RaR was one of the best moments of my life. (real) tears of Joy that left me speechless even now. It is so rewarding.

More importantly it gives me confidence that anything is possible in life. If I could do this, I could do anything.

You need to be able to cycle/pedal for long hours and complete 1000 KM with 18000 m of climbing within the cut off time of 7 days. But what is more important is managing the whole ride. It's more than simply riding a bike even following a GPS becomes hard and shows OFF COURSE at times.

Yes, you get the route map with clear markings of villages and towns where you can get your food and hydration, there are potential places for hostels, motels etc.......but.....

Running out of food and water in a self-supported race in Africa (or anywhere, for that matter) is not recommended and means you must plan well. I wasn't aware of this until Eddie shared his planning.

Eddie was at RaR for the 2nd time. The lessons he shared with me were so valuable.

Without Eddie and Niel’s guidance I would have not planned well my first ultra race.

It also made me realize that most of the time, things don't go as planned, at times you are ahead of schedule BUT most of the time you are way behind, so you need to always have a plan B or look for an alternative while on the course.

While I was moving between CP3-CP4, nothing worked as planned. A section of gravel followed by jungle followed by more bumpy gravel (total 75K) took more time than expected. Then I hit the luxury of tarmac and was greeted by heavy rains and thunderstorms. Welcome to Ultra Cycling!!

I was so tired and had no legs but, to my luck I found a Rwandan style bar, where I sheltered myself until 4am. This gave me the opportunity to recharge my legs and my other essentials before moving on.

Staying in the bar was never in the plan, it was spontaneous, I was acting in the moment and it reminded me....... knowing oneself, what you can do and what you can’t?

Where did it all begin, why RaR in the first place?

I always think of pushing my boundaries, so the love of gravel came into my mind in early 2022 but what made me choose RaR was Eddie and Bruno. They completed the race in March of 2022. They inspired me. I knew it was hard but wanted to give it a try.

Instead of jumping straight into the RaR, I took the chance to join a group of friends from Edge Cycling and ride the Gorilla Gravel event in June 2022 and I'm so glad I did. It opened my eyes to the challenge that lay ahead for the RaR.

How was your preparation?

After two years of cycling, I realized the importance of a coach. I came across Niel Copeland who is a renowned ultra-cyclist and a coach who specializes in Ultra Cycling. We started working together in July 2022 in preparation for the Tour of Nilgiris in December 2022, followed by Race around Rwanda.

Our training plan included short and moderate pushes during the week and long hours of riding on the weekend.

What kept you going Jai? Were there any moments?

At 6 days and 10 hours I had several moments and 100 times I thought of scratching/quitting the race. It was vivid. I felt empty…. but…...

I kept remembering the start line…. I was the only newbie to ultra-cycling and I felt I had no option other than finishing. I had trained hard for this and no way, I'm turning back now.

I had a cue card on my phone with all the cut-off timing, so I was working towards achieving these mini goals. This kept things simple - to complete the race within the cut-off time, friends like Chris, Bart, Sunshine, Team CCH were tracking me throughout and pushing me too.

t’s amazing how much power your legs can find when lots of support through my Instagram and Facebook stories are cheering…. “Go Jai”, “Go Jai”, “you have got this”.

I was truly blessed. Thank you so much!

At one point, I texted Niel, saying I have a mixed feeling, it is tougher than expected I remember he said,

“Just remember it is supposed to be hard. You are not alone finding this the toughest thing you have done”. “

What did you eat Jai? How did you manage your eating?

One of the questions I remember repeatedly asked by Niel is What did you eat? So eating is something that was highlighted from the day 1 of my training and this is one of the topics that was neglected by me as well.

There is a very good podcast by Niel and Dawn on ultra-eating and it gave me an idea of what to eat as well. I carried almost 5000 calories with me(thanks to Niel), including Dates, Haribo’s, Kopikos, Mentos, Scottish Walker biscuits, Werther's originals, Salt tablets, Savoury biscuits as well. I ate 90% of what I carried with me plus local food like Mandazi (fried doughnut) and Chapati kept us going.

Time to time bottle of cola or fanta, as I was craving for carbonated drinks too.

As a T2 diabetic I need to watch my sugar intake, so I used a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) from Freestyle called Libre, which worked fantastic, thanks to my good friend Nick Glover who gave me some tips on food/sugar intakes based on the CGM monitor. Many thanks Nick.

What about your bike and spares?

Third to mental strength and nutrition, you have mechanical needs. I carried some vital spares like:

2 X brake pads.

2 X tubes

Tyre Boots, cable ties, sealant, chain links etc.

I also went for two days of training with the legendary bike shop in Dubai - Wolfi’s to understand the basic maintenance.

Wolfi’s performed a complete pre-race check and the bike performed like a charm and was truly blessed that all went smooth. As bike issues are the last thing you want to be worrying about.

I did have one challenge on the last night in one part of the gravel sections. Julie and I rode side by side from CP4 to finish, in fact she was ahead of me. We got stuck with mud (peanut butter they claim) all over the tires which in turn went on our chain ring and the bike was non-rideable. I literally thought the race was over. We knocked on the door of a local house to get some help with water. Fortunately, very kind people supported us by cleaning the chain ring, tyres etc. We spent almost two hours but it was worth it so the bike was back to normal 90%.

Also managed to get a couple of hours of sleep in a Rwandan hostel so I could be a little fresher when heading to the finish line at Kigali.

What is one take away from this race?

If you put your heart and soul, you can achieve anything. I have done one of the toughest things in my life, so If I could do this, I can do anything, it gives me a whole new perspective.

What are your learnings Jai?

Better kit list - it is very personal, so now I understand what is required.

Better kits too - already working on it for my next event. For example, I didn't test my rain jacket and lessons learned.

Better bike set up - Will have a smaller frame bag, better top tube bag with charging units connected to charge various essentials while riding, organized storage of essentials, additional hydration units or bidons or packs.

Always keep moving - it is not about how fast you ride; it is about how long you ride. Slowly but steadily. Need to work on reducing breaks and keep moving.

Acceptance - to be mentally ready to accept it will be tough, going to be tougher, rain, thunderstorm, cold descents are ahead of us. But my goal is to keep moving.

Bike maintenance - I need to spend more time on the bike maintenance, I should be able to put my bike together before the next event.

Any interesting stories?

Too many - however one to mention: I was running out of hydration from CP3-CP4, our first gravel stretch was 16 KM distance with 1800m of climbing. I had two bidons full plus two additional bottles in my back pocket. I was out of water and craved for fizzy drinks. I saw a motorbike passing me in the opposite direction, to my luck the gentleman spoke very good English, politely asked him if he could help me with some water and Fanta. He took my mobile number, he located me and provided me with what I wanted in less than 20 mins.

This makes Rwanda so special. The Rwandan people are so kind and hospitable.

Would you go next year?

The answer is 100% yes but will aim to reduce the finish time between 4-5 days

Would you recommend this race to others?

Answer is yes,

If you are a seasoned ultra-racer yes but do a bit of studies when it comes to logistics.

If someone is trying RAR as a first ultra-event, then definitely would suggest a proper structured program that can mold you or build your aerobic base before the race with proper planning.

What next Jai?

Looking out for the next ultra-race in the last quarter of 2023. I’m going to have a minor surgery in March and that requires me off the bike for 3 months. I signed up for Northcape 4K in July however I won’t be able to attend this year, looking at exploring next year.