3.DEN
(EDIT 22:40) The timer shows 2 days and xx minutes, which is a bit confusing because it's actually Sunday and that's day 3. And that's usually when most of the action happens. So I'm going to try to refresh all the shared experiences from participants into text form, which is a growing problem as vigilance is dropping here too.
Before I went to bed late at night, I used a complicated mathematical equation to calculate the probability of Tomáš Brabec's arrival, because he was the last one moving at that moment on the road to Maršov. It worked out to be 6am, and so I could safely work for a while. But Tomas was thinking about us too, so he pulled up a few kilometers before the finish line to keep us awake. At 5:57 I received a text message from him: “No one can sleep before checkpoint after checkpoint, otherwise they won't play. I'm going to sleep. My water's frozen, I'll thaw in my sleeping bag between my butt cheeks and I'll be there for a late lunch. Thanks for JIBE, I'm enjoying myself to the fullest, having a great time and very free...” Lovely. I was going to get up in an hour to see the night riders off - Martin, Vitek, Honza G. and Gustav, but when I woke up, they were all gone. They were even gone Lenka F. and Vilma, ...they set off at dawn. The boys had been on their feet since about three in the morning.
Most of the skiers strapped their skis to their backpacks for the journey from here, there is snow here, but at least around Metuje it was not possible. Hopefully they took a little ride through Broumovsko and down to Náchod. According to the photos from the Orlické Mountains it was a beautiful sunny, though cold day on the ridges. Even here in the morning it was -10 °C and windy. On the hills it was even -15 °C somewhere.
Honza Kopka sent a message from Ceske Petrovice, behind Orlicky: “Another great day, probably better for the bike than for the skis. From Náchod to Orlice in the dark. Fog, a lot of wind and frost, but even that has its own atmosphere. The bivouac in the entrance to the church. Excellent! Except for the fact that they were banging every hour and in the morning people were almost climbing over me for Sunday mass. Beautiful today in Orlice with great views. Great for a bike ride again. Now I'm approaching the Jeseníky Mountains and I don't really know how to do them yet.”
The CP was quiet in the morning, so we went to chase the competitors into the field. The frosted landscape of sandstone rocks made a beautiful scenery and we just caught Tomáš Brabec, ...coming out of the bivouac. There we also met Martin Šilhán. I could tell from his look that he was not well at all. His chest wound from the fall was treated first with beer, the second night at the bus stop with vodka, but his tried and tested treatment didn't help. He said he'd be happy to crawl to CP and end the route there because he couldn't breathe at all. He is now in the ER in Nachod and we hope all will be well. But everything bad is good for something. Martin is the first person who got the so-called Triptych at JIBE. He completed all three tracks and added a bonus: once he didn't finish at all, to make it really complete. That's as far as it goes. So congratulations to him for this great triptych and we wish him a speedy recovery. (EDIT 20:40 - We got a message from Martin from the hospital that he has broken a rib three times. So it was really a great and admirable feat to walk and breathe 90 km through the Krkonoše and Adršpach. Respect)
He arrived at his CP at noon Petr Horsák. He survived the freezing night, thanks to luck, not with friends, but with an old man who runs something like a boarding house. Thanks to this he gained strength and did not have to stay with us for long and is on his way to the Orlické Mountains. Shortly after noon the winner of the ski category arrived Petr Synek. If we had told him before the start that he would win, he would have laughed at us a lot. In the morning I met him at Tomas' bivouac and he laughed in disbelief too. Only at the finish line did he believe it. Peter didn't finish last year because of health problems, but he couldn't leave it unfinished and this year it worked out. And it didn't take much and he ended up in the emergency room too. Right at the fourth kilometer during a short downhill he fell off and when we saw his brutally purple elbow, bruised head, we were surprised he didn't give up. He gave a wonderful performance full of determination and that makes us very happy.
We hadn't even finished the celebratory toast to Peter's victory and he had already crossed the finish line Martin. He also gave an incredible performance, especially because he had his injury from the 60th kilometer, but he wanted to give it his best so he knew it was really time to call it a day. We are glad that he was able to make a good decision and that we have our first Triptych.
It took Tomáš a while to get to the CP because his phone died, and so, like a good orienteer, he got lost in the forest and had to return from the Ostaš hill back to the trail. This broke him a bit and it was not a good start to the day, but he takes it with a smile, like everything else. We even got him inside the cabin to warm up, but he didn't last long, recharged his electronics so he wouldn't get lost again, and headed on. Unfortunately, he became the last moggy on the 600km route, which won't be easy for him, but we'll see. Hopefully he'll get over it.
Two dots appeared on the fields above Maršov around 1:30 in the afternoon and they were the winner of the ski category Lenka Látová a Jirka Nedas, he has 150 km to Jeseniky to go once again. Lenka broke her cane before Trutnov, and so she scrambled to get one. She approached a lady who had just come from skiing to see if she could sell her poles, but it didn't work out. In the end, she and Jirka had to go to the centre of Trutnov to look for new poles, and while they were there, they took advantage and stayed straight under the roof overnight. Neither of them had skied much, but their pace was still good. Lenka said at the finish line that for someone who originally thought she wouldn't finish, that was a surprising feat. It's a great performance and congratulations. She was even thinking that she might even want to keep going. So maybe next time, we know how addictive it is. That's what he said. Petr Synacek, ...just in between talking, he wondered what it would look like on the route...
And then we were looking Michal Polák. He settled into a shelter near Stachlberg for the night, but due to the wind and cold he didn't get much sleep and had to continue on. And thanks to that he was here in great time. At the finish line, he said that he had finally finished a race that we were running. And we are very happy for Michal. The year before last, his skis went off the ridge into the eternal hunting grounds. Last year he signed up and got injured in a wild dance, so it didn't work out, and this year he finally completed the challenging 150 km. Hats off to him.
As darkness fell, we welcomed the second woman at the finish line. Radka Prošková. And we are very happy for her and she is even more happy. Last year she was fighting mainly with her head, fear, but in the end she went for it and gave up in Spindleruv Mlyn. She gathered the basic experience, stood on the start again and showed an absolutely beautiful performance worthy of admiration. She even coped with a peeling sole on her boot, from the downhill skiing. Most importantly, she overcame her head and that ranks among her greatest achievements.
Simon Brázda arrived after 8:00 p.m. His achilles are bothering him a bit, but we believe they will stop by morning. Health first. He enjoyed a great bivouac in the gazebo by the dugout, thanks to a good sleeping bag, as the night was freezing. Simon is no greenhorn, having done the Pacific Crest Trail on foot. He admitted that he should have prepared for JIBE by walking with a backpack and not running, but hey, the body adapts to everything. He is going to take advantage of the comfort of the bed and if his achilles don't creak he will start in the early morning.
Petr Bat Havelka started night vision and arrived at the finish five hours earlier than last year. And in much better condition. Last time, he was knocked out by walking and his back, so he was barely sitting at the finish line. Today he stood upright, poised, smiling and happy. His best performance yet. The first thing he asked at the finish line was if we had the green light. We only got a red, but even that's good and well deserved. The bat's journey ends here because he must stay fresh for his next venture. Congratulations, Bat, you're the man!!
And the finale of the day was topped off Tomas Lovas. He also arrived at the CP with a smile, a bit tired, but in a positive mood. Tomáš went hiking and according to his habit he wore proper hiking boots, but such proper boots are not so suitable for such long marches, so his little toes look like Smurf's little toes. But he's a dude, he's not gonna let the weight of his pack throw him off. I dared to discreetly give him a shake and he definitely won the competition for the heaviest baggage of this year. All the more impressive.
So we get in the car and move towards Jeseníky, where Honza Kopka will probably be waiting for us soon. For today howgh.