Cycling 300 kilometers (and more) seems to be the new normal for professional cyclists in corona times. Remco Evenepoel, among others, did it. Oliver Naesen too. Ultra cyclist Maxim Pirard cycled 1,001 kilometers around the border of Flanders in April, but Matthieu Bonne came home on Saturday morning from an even tougher blow, he tells Sporza .
By his own admission, Matthieu Bonne - who you may know as a participant of Camp Waes on Eerste - arrived in Bredene on Saturday morning around 5.50 am. His GPS indicated a distance of 1,224.7 kilometers and 10,733 meters of elevation.
On Tuesday morning he left the Belgian coast around 11 am for his feat. About 91 hours later he had to chivalrously admit that he had grossly underestimated his adventure. "I brought a hammock with me so I could get some sleep along the way and eat for 48 hours," he tells us.
"I seriously underestimated how long it would take me. After 200 kilometers I had to climb enormously in the Ardennes and for the first time I thought "fuck!". After two days my body also refused to absorb food and I had to constantly forcing myself to eat. In the end, that was no longer possible."
"The most difficult moment came on Friday. Then it started to rain. The journey from Antwerp to Bredene was endless."
"Cycled to places that mean a lot to me"
Anyone who looks at Matthieu's route will literally and figuratively see some strange twists on the map of Belgium. His journey was emotionally rather than rationally driven. "My first plan was to cycle down the Belgian border."
"But in the end I chose to cycle to different places that mean a lot to me. Places and roads I visited when I was younger, such as Namur and Durbuy. Or also Bütgenbach, where we were with Kamp Waes and the Lac de la Gileppe where in the program we had to fall backwards into the water."
The Wall of Huy was also on Mathieu's route. Ultimately he climbed 10,733 meters in altitude. "According to my GPS I burned 22,000 calories, but in reality it would be more like 30,000 due to afterburn during recovery and the cold along the way."
"Seen things that weren't there, just like in Camp Waes"
Before you think about trying to equal or surpass this tour, this is a warning. Matthieu Bonne is not ready for his test piece. In addition to Camp Waes, he also participated in the Marathon des Sables, swam the Channel and climbed Mont Blanc.
"I was actually preparing for a climb in May, but due to the corona crisis that was not possible. Two months ago I started cycling. Whether swimming, running or cycling, I always ask myself how far I can go ."
"The biggest similarity between this bike ride and Camp Waes was the lack of sleep. Just like then, I got so tired after a while that I started to see things that weren't there, but then I thought of Fly (the camp leader of Camp Waes), who told me that was normal."
"I took an occasional nap during the day, but I also cycled non-stop for 4 nights. That's what I like best. There is no traffic and you hear nature and see animals that don't show themselves during the day. In August I'm planning another challenge for myself. You'll see what happens."