Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Buzzing Along: Sherry Cardona on Ultra-Endurance, Unbreakable Bonds, and Adventure

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Buzzing Along: Sherry Cardona on Ultra-Endurance, Unbreakable Bonds, and Adventure · Zone2Speak Podcast

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All right, let's dive into the episode now.
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Welcome to Zone to Speak. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome the incredible Sherry
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Cardona, a passionate cyclist, accomplished endurance athlete,
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and the host of Buzz Along Podcast.
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Sherry has made her mark in the ultra-endurance cycling world with some incredible
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achievements, including Badlands, a grueling 800 kilometers race through southern
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Spain, and conquering the transcontinental race,
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an over 4,000-kilometer self-supported adventure across Europe.
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Her resilience and determination shine through every challenge she takes on,
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inspiring cyclists around the globe.
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In this episode, we will dive into Sherry's cycling accomplishments,
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the stories behind her epic rides, and how she uses her Buzz Along podcast to
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celebrate the cycling community.
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From her toughest moments on the bike to her most rewarding adventures,
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Sherry shares insights into what it takes to thrive in ultra-endurance racing.
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Get ready for an adventurous conversation with Sherry Cardona.
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Thank you. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's really nice to be here. Thank you, Sherry.
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Again, I'm starstruck. Been following you. Love your YouTube channel and the podcast.
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So thank you for making the time to be on Zone to Speak. So you are Colombian.
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You live in the Netherlands.
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And you started cycling when you got to the Netherlands, but Colombia is also
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a birthplace of so many amazing cyclists.
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Can you tell me a little bit like what brought you to Europe and how you got into cycling?
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Yeah, so it's quite a story. So I moved from Colombia to the Canary Islands
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when I was a child, nine years old, because my parents got divorced.
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But I wasn't into cycling back then. I mean, it's the perfect place for cycling.
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And then I moved to London to work there. And I met my husband at that time,
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and he was really into cycling.
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And I borrowed his bike, like two sizes is bigger than what I will have used.
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And then I was like, oh, I actually like it. I was really scared at the beginning,
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to be honest, especially in London with all the traffic.
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So I was just starting to take the bike and then it really kicked off when I
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moved to the Netherlands, perfect cycling lanes to practice.
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And it was during the pandemic, so there was nothing to do.
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So we decided to explore the Netherlands by bike and then it went on from there.
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Wow. Yeah. Wow. So I didn't realize just from the pandemic about five years
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ago, and you have conquered so much.
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Is that your husband that you pair with?
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Yeah, indeed. That's why we finished the races. We cannot abandon each other.
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Well, you guys make a great team because I saw your record and you guys are
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number one pair. I think in every race.
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Incredible. So what is the dynamic?
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Because I see the races and I told you this already on Instagram,
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you always look so cute and so fresh.
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And I don't know how you do it. Tell me, what's the secret? I think what I've
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seen in the different races, normally the pairs that make it to the finish line
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is because they have a really strong connection.
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They're normally partners or brothers or father and son.
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So I think it's very tough, not physically, but mentally.
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It's like racing solo. Plus you add the mental challenge of having to not only
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cope with your pain, but the challenges of your partner, being together, the struggles.
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But it's a very rewarding experience. I think the race is really brought us closer together.
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And we share so many experiences. Like sometimes in races, you are in amazing
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places, you experience things, but you don't have anybody to share it with.
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Nobody can understand what you went through. But when you do it together,
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you laugh after together.
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Like even the toughest moments, I think, are the ones that we remember the most.
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Like, oh, you remember when we were hiking over the mountain and we thought
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we'd never make it out of there.
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So it's a really rewarding experience. But I think you really have to have a
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strong bond before deciding to go into pairs racing together.
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Yeah, no, I think you said something absolutely right. And it's good to talk
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to you because I race as a pairs.
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I did solo, I think, once or twice.
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And I didn't enjoy as much exactly because of the reasons you said.
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First, it feels good for you to push somebody else that you have a bond with
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to be like, come on, you can do it.
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You got this on those lowest moments, but it's so nice to share the good moments as well.
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It's just also another level of comfort when you are in tough situations,
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but some people swear they would never do it as a pair and they do so well solo.
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So it's good to have someone else to talk to that has been through the pair experience.
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Yeah, exactly. I think it has a very different experience.
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So I will say the races we decide to do as a pair is not because we want to
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really compete, it's because we want to have the experience.
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So we don't take it as a competition, we take it as an experience.
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So I remember during transcontinental race, number one, that I was struggling
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a lot and Gary, my husband, kept repeating, don't worry, no matter what,
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it's our adventure together.
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So that really reassured me like, okay, it doesn't matter if I'm slow.
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It's just like, it's our adventure. So it doesn't matter the results.
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But when you are solo, it's more like a challenge. I also like it because it's
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not, let's say, I still enjoy the experience, but it's more proving to myself
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that I can do something, especially things that scare me.
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It feels so rewarding when you overcome challenges.
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And I think sometimes it's good if you're planning to do races together to first
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test your limits by yourself.
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So you know, OK, if you're feeling bad, it's not your partner's fault.
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It's like, OK, I experienced that before, even solo.
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So you know how to cope with it. So it's good to find your strengths alone first,
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and then because it adds challenges, then maybe try racing as a pair.
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Yeah, that's a very good point to know yourself, know what works,
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know what doesn't work, your weaknesses.
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Yeah, and yeah, I think I had that feeling once I went solo on Badlands,
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not the race, but I did the rally.
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And yeah, that was exactly my feeling. I felt really accomplished because I
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did everything by myself.
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And I'm like, okay, maybe I can do this solo, but I do just prefer to have,
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you know, someone with me.
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And Juliette Eliott, she's been on your podcast and we partner.
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And we're going to partner this year in a couple of things. But our first time
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together, we, you know, we didn't have this bond.
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We met each other on one race and we're like, oh, let's do this together.
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And we were both like, we're going to be best friends or never talk again after this.
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That's normal. But she has a little bit of the mentality, like you said,
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from your husband, where it's always positive. It's always like, this is our adventure.
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Forget everything else. And it's good when you find that chemistry with a partner
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and also someone that is always positive makes a big difference. Yes, indeed.
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Yeah, but you guys go for the adventure, but you finish first.
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I have here, well, Badlands you did solo, you did really well as well,
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was a very strong adventure.
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Group of women in 2024, but you did as a pair transcontinental,
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twice, transiberic, be hard, ultra race.
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So, and you're doing transcontinental again, right?
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This year? No, no, no, actually, I'm doing transiberica solo.
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I'm coming back, but solo. I think there was an unfinished shop there.
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It's a really nice event and I really enjoyed as a pair, But I think it's an
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event that suits me as a solo rider.
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So I'm very excited. It's also shorter than the edition I did.
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The edition I did was double the distance.
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And this time it's going through some really iconic places.
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And I have them in my bucket list, but I know I wouldn't do it outside a race.
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It's like, I'm not going to this pass outside a race. But when you are in the
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moment, it's like, okay, let's do it.
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So I thought it would be a nice change this year. They're also doing a lot of
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initiatives to support women, bring more women into ultra cycling, adventure cycling.
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So I think it's really cool what they do there.
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That's great. Yeah, it's great
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to see more and more races trying to get more women on the start line.
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I'm doing Gravel Birds, which is it's shorter, it's 750 kilometers in Portugal,
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but they also really wanted to also to get more women there.
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And they were waiting for all registration to try to see if they could have equal number.
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So it's good to also, yeah, yeah. I don't think they have equal numbers,
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but it's getting closer and it's great.
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And you said about maybe exploring South America.
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Do you think that will come on the calendar anytime soon?
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Well, that's really my bucket list. I'm from Colombia, but I will say one of
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the most remarkable things is that I discovered more of my own country,
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my own culture on a trip with my husband there by bike than in my whole like 10 years there.
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So it was really nice to, because by bike, you are exploring places you wouldn't go otherwise.
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And you are, when you are self-supported, like bikepacking or doing an ultra
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event, you are forced to interact with the locals, understand the culture.
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So that really is an aspect that I love about this kind of events and the sport.
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And I would like, yeah, to explore more South America, maybe in my bucket list
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is definitely like the Carreteras Austral.
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The one that goes to Patagonia. To Chile, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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That's definitely something I want to do depending on our schedule and work.
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If we can make it maybe next year or the following one, it will be something
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super cool to do and maybe exploring other countries like Brazil, Peru.
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It all depends on time, really. Yeah, I know.
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We all want to do so many things. We have to conquer little by little.
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But let me know. If you go to Brazil, let me know.
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I'll let you know. Yeah, definitely. A very beautiful country.
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There's also some ultra events happening there. Yeah, it's growing.
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My husband and I just went. We did the Biking Man Brazil. I didn't finish,
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but we're thinking about coming back this year. It's still in the area.
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Today, they are changing locations. They're going further south with different
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vegetation and also calmer.
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Should be a good one to explore as well.
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And in Colombia, were you in adventure or you did the Transcordilera?
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We were just doing our own adventure, but we actually did parts of the route
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of Transcortilleras because it passed through my area, the Quindillo area,
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which is the coffee region.
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So it's in the middle of the cordilleras. So they actually went to one of the
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high passes in the area and we did part of the route. I think it's beautiful.
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It's like so many landscapes and it changes so much from rainforests to unique
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ecosystems stems and then floodlaces, like you find everything there.
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And it's so nice to go to these remote villages. For example,
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something I really appreciate, when I was growing up in Colombia,
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there were places you couldn't go because it was maybe not as safe.
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And now you can go there and explore by bike. And I felt so fortunate to be able to do that.
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It's like going to, you feel like an adventure or like going to new places and
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everything. So it's really nice.
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Yeah, it's on my bucket list as well. So hopefully I get there one day.
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Yeah, definitely. I think it's a hidden gem. It is for sure.
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Yeah, it's a beautiful, beautiful country. I really want to go.
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So tell me, let's talk about the podcast. What was the inspiration?
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Because, or I don't know which, I think you had already the YouTube,
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then you started a podcast. How did that start?
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Yeah, I think it's because of ultra cycling. I think what I enjoy the most about
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the ultra races is the community.
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So you meet all these amazing people and they have such a crazy story sometimes
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because everything can happen in ultra races.
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So I was doing the YouTube videos and I could share my experience,
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but I found it difficult to share through the videos, somebody else experiences
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or somebody else stories.
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So they were like the untold stories, let's say.
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So I decided, okay, it would be cool to invite them to something like a podcast
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where we can share the stories in their own terms and they can interact with the audience.
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And I already had the YouTube channel, so I decided to go for it,
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but also doing some things that might be interesting for the audience.
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I do my research on nutrition, on gear, or with people from the industry.
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So I thought it would be nice to share also this knowledge.
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Oh, no, you're doing an incredible job. I love it. So keep going.
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Both YouTube and the BuzzAlong. And the BuzzAlong, you also have the BuzzAlong Coffee.
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Yeah, indeed. That's because I'm from the coffee region of Colombia.
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So I decided to do after that trip, I wanted to do something that brought me
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closer to my country, my culture, because as I grew up abroad,
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sometimes it's difficult to find your identity, let's say, because every time
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I go to Colombia, people ask me where I'm from.
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Every time I'm in Spain, people ask me where I'm from. So it's kind of a way
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to connect more with your roots, because I've been living nearly all my life abroad.
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So it was nice to explore, go to the Fincas where they produce the coffee and
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get to know my area, also the history.
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And yeah, it's a way also to show people, look, there is something great from
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Colombia, coffee, and also link it up with cycling. So people,
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if they want, they can visit the farms where I went, and there's links in the video.
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So also a way to encourage people maybe to explore the area.
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Amazing. I love that. Because, you know, so many people now younger,
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you know, your generation and younger than you, like my daughter,
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for example, are so international.
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You know, there are so many international families, and there is this question,
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where am I from? So it's good that you're creating that connection and sharing
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with all of us. So that's great.
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Yeah, I think, yeah, sometimes it's something also I like from ultra cycling.
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Sometimes it's hard to feel where you belong.
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And in ultra cycling, everybody is so different. That is not like in other parts
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of the sport where like road racing is like the same kid or the same, you know.
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In ultra cycling, it's like you can be everything you want and you have the
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freedom to be who you want and explore new places.
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So I think that's something I really like. you feel like you belong without
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having to change who you are.
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Absolutely. Couldn't have said better. I think that's one of the beauties of
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our community. I think everyone is welcome.
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You can be whoever you are and you're always going to be celebrated and you
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can just enjoy, you know, yourself, who you are and your bike.
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Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
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Any impactful episodes that you remember from BuzzAlong that stayed with you or moments?
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Yeah, I think there's a famous moment in one of the transcontinental videos, the it's over moment.
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It's like, I think that's been one of the most challenging parts I had in cycling,
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like just being out in the middle of nowhere, not knowing if I would get out of there for hours.
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I think I really had to like convince myself to keep on going.
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But after it made me stronger, like then it kind of sparked this desire to explore off-road.
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Funny enough, I thought I was like, I will never do this again.
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And then I started doing off-road races and I really enjoyed them.
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And then I looked back and it was like, okay, it's not that I didn't enjoy the place.
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It was that I was not in the right mindset. it.
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But then those are the moments that really have an impact on you, I would say.
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Yeah. I mean, it's so good to see those moments.
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Because just looking at your results and coming first, and you don't think someone
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like you would have moments of like, I don't want to continue.
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I don't want to do this anymore.
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And how do you overcome those challenges?
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Whether if it's physical or mental or logistical, how do you overcome those
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challenges and go back to, okay, no, I'm not going to scratch. I'm going to continue.
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Yeah, I think sometimes I can get competitive. But for me, races are not races, are adventures.
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So I always like to feel like an explorer. And I always remind myself how lucky I am.
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Like coming from Colombia, sometimes you don't have the opportunities to travel
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as much as here in Europe, for example.
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So I have this freedom to go and explore all these places.
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So when I am in a bad moment, I just remind myself how lucky I am to be there.
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That is my choice to do this event. and no matter what, I will find a way.
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So worst case, you just make it, you know, you start by packing it or you take however long you need.
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So for me, it's always about like, okay, reach the finish line,
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enjoy the adventure no matter what.
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And then you are a winner already when you reach the finish line of this kind of event.
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So that's always what I tell myself, just try to enjoy and you are lucky to be here.
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Yeah, absolutely. I need to overcome that. I have had a few DNFs and I'm trying
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to, I'm getting better at it of like taking more time before making that hard decision.
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So hopefully I'll grow as a cyclist as well.
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But having, you know, seeing moments like those of you struggling are helpful because.
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Yeah, I think that is what I wanted to share. When I started cycling,
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I didn't see, I saw a lot of people that seemed like they were pros and they
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had everything under control.
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And I was like feeling a bit frustrated, like nobody falls, nobody does know how to change a diet.
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Holy Christ, am I the only one? So I wanted to share like, you know,
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what it's really like for me. And if somebody else has these struggles to know
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that it's okay, you know, you can overcome it or not, you know,
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there will be another chance.
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So just knowing that you are not alone there is really helpful just to find
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also some tips and ways to cope with it.
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For example, as a beginner cyclist, I never thought I would be able to do this
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kind of events. So it's really rewarding when people write me,
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oh, I sign up for this race because of your video.
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So it's like, okay, it's nice. You know, you see that you don't need to be a
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superhuman to do this kind of events. You can do it on your own terms.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. So keep on sharing with us.
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So one question I usually ask so many people, especially high performers like
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yourself, how do you manage this leap?
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Because to come first, you're not taking a lot of breaks.
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Yeah, I think there's different sleep strategies. There's people that sleep
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less and maybe go slower because you also, you know, your body doesn't have time to recover.
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So they just keep on going. They are super efficient.
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I try to be efficient during the day. So not many breaks or not sit down for lunch or anything.
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But I like to take my four hours of sleep if I can. or if I can't sleep in hotels,
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I find it's better for recovery for me.
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I did sleep outside in the first transcontinental and then everything went south.
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So I realized it doesn't work for me because I started to get subtle sores from
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the hygiene or not sleeping in a hotel for like two days that I couldn't take
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a shower or anything or I didn't sleep, I didn't recover.
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So I found that for me, sleeping in a hotel works better.
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But of course, there's races like now I'm preparing for Atlas Mountain Race
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that you cannot sleep in a hotel there.
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So it would be, I think, quite a challenge for me.
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Also an experience to force myself to sleep outside.
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So let's see how it goes. So it depends what works for you.
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For some people, sleeping outside works really well and they can recover.
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But I find personally for me, I prefer to invest the time and stay in a hotel
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and get some proper recovery and just earn the time during the day.
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So not stop for lunch, not stop off the bike if necessary, just resupply and
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try to be as efficient as possible.
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And actually, I end up riding faster when I get a good recovery than when I
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just sleep outside and don't recover as well.
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Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I hear this more and more.
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Unless it's a race that you can do it in two days, you know,
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48, 55 hours, and it's someone that can manage no sleep, fine.
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But if it's something longer, I think you do need the sleep.
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And I also need at least three, four hours. And that makes sense on just trying
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to be more efficient than,
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you know, if you're going to take that big break to sleep and just try to be
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more efficient during the day of non-stopping, just keep on feeling and keep going.
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Yeah, it's very interesting what you say. For example, Badlands is quite a tricky
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one because a lot of people do it without sleep.
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But I was looking at the race statistics and actually I stopped to sleep like
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four hours on the second night and everybody that overtook me when I was sleeping,
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I overtook them back during the day because I was much more recovered.
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I was looking, And I was like, everybody.
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So it was super interesting to see, like, you know, just because you are recovered,
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then you see people stopping in cafes or on the side of the road and you just
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keep on riding more energized.
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And I actually, I must say, I enjoyed much more the event by having these four hours of sleep.
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I was super energized when I reached the finish line.
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Yeah, yeah. And also the other thing, at least for me, I mean,
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I'm not chasing top spots, but I also want to see as much as I can.
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If you sleep four hours, you're still going to be riding in the dark,
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but you at least see more than not stopping at all.
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You have, I don't know, depending where you are in the world,
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six to 10 hours of darkness.
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But I agree, if you get a little bit of sleep, you can perform better. I try not sleeping.
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Actually, I did not try. I was planning to try to not sleep to see.
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But when I got to CP1, it was 11 p.m., 270 kilometers.
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And I was just like, I feel that if I could continue, but I feel like if I continue, I,
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I think once I stop, I'm going to have to sleep 10 hours and it's just going
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to defeat the purpose of not sleeping.
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So yeah, I think you need to know yourself and see what it works for you.
25:15
Yeah. And actually what I find during races, there's certain like a sweet sport,
25:20
four hours is good because your body recovers, your mind recovers,
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but you don't enter into recovery mode.
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The problem is if you sleep eight, nine hours during a race,
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then your body goes, oops, it's recovery time. So then your body shuts down
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and it's actually sometimes worse.
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Yeah, yeah. And that's how I feel if I stop and have a big lunch and sit down,
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game over. Then I'm going to need two hours.
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Yeah. And if I just grab something and can keep going, it's ideal.
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But not every time you can do that. But yeah, I agree.
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Yeah. Yeah. There's so many aspects of this kind of events.
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It's not all about power. It's your efficiency strategy.
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Sometimes route planning, like in Transcontinental, it can make all the difference in the world.
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Oh my God, I'm terrified of route planning. I need to explore that.
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If I'm alone, I'm okay-ish, but I'm always afraid if I'm with someone,
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I'm responsible for the route and then we're going to be bushwhacking or hiking
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a bike for too long or something wrong is going to happen.
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That happened to me in the second Transcontinental because my husband was really
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busy with work, I took more charge of the route planning.
26:33
And in the first part, we mess up the GPX and we end up going the wrong direction.
26:38
Oh, I saw that. You ended up in France.
26:41
Yeah. And I was blaming myself. He's like, oh, so stupid.
26:45
Why did I mix the GPX? And then we hike unnecessarily.
26:48
We didn't film it, but we hiked unnecessarily through a horrible road in Germany
26:53
and you could just take the big main road.
26:57
And I was like, just blaming myself is quite hard.
27:00
Yeah, if you're alone, you say that, whatever.
27:03
Yeah, if you're alone, it's like, okay, this sucks, but I'll get through it.
27:06
But when you are bringing someone with you, it's like, oh my God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
27:12
I had those moments, but at the end, we made it there. Good, yeah. Yeah.
27:19
And what's one of your most memorable races or bike rides? I mean,
27:24
you've been so many places.
27:26
I mean, one of my bucket list destinations you've done, which is Taiwan,
27:30
not Taiwan, you saw Taiwan as well, but Japan, I would love to go there.
27:34
I mean, you've been all over Europe.
27:36
What's like your top destination?
27:39
A top destination is hard to say, but I will say I think among them is like
27:45
Taiwan because I didn't know much about it besides Taiwan KOM.
27:50
And then I was blown away completely by how amazing the roads are.
27:54
The people are super friendly, the infrastructure.
27:57
I mean, I never had cars that are so respectful. They will wait an hour behind
28:02
you instead of overtaking you and cheer you on as you go up the mountain.
28:07
I was like, wow, that's a change.
28:09
And everybody made such an effort to speak to you, to introduce you to the culture.
28:15
It was like, really, I was blown away because I thought it was just the Taiwan KOM and that's it.
28:20
But the whole island is so beautiful.
28:23
And I think, yeah, probably Taiwan.
28:26
One of my epic moments, I think. Because also this element of surprise.
28:31
I really like when you don't know anything about the place and all of the sudden
28:35
it's like, wow. So like, for example, when we reached Turkey during this year, I mean,
28:41
I actually thought it would be tougher, and it was super nice.
28:45
I just felt like going into a movie.
28:47
All of a sudden, we were on the top of a gravel climb, and the whole ocean opened
28:52
up on the sunset, and there was some music playing, and I was like,
28:57
wow, this feels like a movie, like surreal.
29:00
And then the gravel roads in Turkey were really nice, and the people in the
29:04
villages were super friendly. It was really a contrast from my experience as
29:11
a tourist in Istanbul. It was completely different.
29:15
It was like a complete different country. So that's something also I love about the bike.
29:20
You really learn because as a tourist, you are in your own bubble.
29:25
You go to the same places as everybody else.
29:28
And you don't really interact with the locals much. You're just there with your
29:32
friends and you just stay in your bubble. But when you cycle through a country,
29:36
you really get to see the real country, you meet the real people.
29:41
So that's something I really enjoy.
29:44
Yeah, that's one of the things that I love about bikepacking or ultra races
29:48
because you really are emerged in the country and the culture.
29:53
And good to know about Turkey. I'm planning a bikepacking trip there this year
29:58
with Juliet and I'm terrified because I'm responsible for the route.
30:03
So hopefully I get it right if I
30:05
was to ride there I would go on gravel they have such a
30:08
nice gravel roads I mean it's not like a patches of
30:11
land that you patch together to make a gravel route like in
30:14
some other countries there is like country roads so it leads somewhere and you
30:19
can link them up and it was so nice it was just a pity that I was on a road
30:23
bike I was like if I was on a gravel bike I will enjoy it oh nice no we're planning
30:27
on taking the gravel bikes I was just researching to see if the terrain was
30:31
too hard and needed mountain bike and I don't mountain bike.
30:34
So yeah, I think gravel bike is good. It's like gravel roads a bit.
30:40
Sometimes it can be more chunky, but most of the time it's quite, quite good.
30:45
Awesome. And the joys and challenges, we talked a little bit,
30:51
but maybe we can unpack a little bit more the joys and challenge between solo versus fair.
30:58
Yeah, I think solo, the good thing is that sometimes you can just completely disconnect.
31:03
I think, for example, I really enjoyed in off-road races because my husband,
31:11
he's really good off-road and I cannot keep up. So sometimes I feel the pressure,
31:15
you know, it's like, I don't feel comfortable doing that descent.
31:19
I'd rather walk it, but because there's somebody there with you,
31:22
you feel like, it's like, okay, I have to go downhill, but maybe I'm not comfortable.
31:27
So in the solo races, I did like Bohemian Border Bash or Badlands.
31:32
I was like, I was like, no, I don't want to do this. So I just walked down the
31:36
descent and I could learn on my own terms.
31:39
Then slowly I started to gain confidence and I started doing some of the sense
31:44
that scared me just because I was tired and I was like, okay, let's just roll with it.
31:50
I think tiredness makes you overcome your fears sometimes because you're just
31:54
so tired that you're just, okay, if it rolls, let's go.
31:58
That's true. I think that's one of the good things. You learn about yourself
32:02
and you can overcome the challenges on your own terms.
32:07
And also it's quite like a meditation. So sometimes you can just disconnect
32:11
from everything and you hear the sounds of nature and your music or,
32:18
you know, you just have so much time to like just be there in the moment without
32:23
worrying about anything else.
32:25
It's quite nice. So you don't have to talk with anybody or anything.
32:30
And yeah, I think it's really like self-searching. searching,
32:35
I will say, you realize things about your personality or yourself you didn't know about.
32:40
So it's good in these terms. But what I was saying as a bear is added challenge.
32:46
I think a lot of the times I hear people saying, oh, people are raising bears
32:49
because they are weak. No, you actually have to be stronger.
32:53
I mean, that's why a lot of the bears don't even reach the finish line because
32:56
you have to not only be physically strong, but also mentally because it's not
33:01
just dealing with your pain, your challenges, but the other one and understanding.
33:06
Putting yourself, when you are in pain, you go for self-preserving.
33:10
So you always in your pain or difficult situation, you are in the survival mode.
33:15
So first thing you think about yourself and then you have to think about another
33:19
person like, okay, I'm not going to be mad at this person for going slower, you know?
33:25
So then on top of that, you are in an extreme situation and you have to think
33:29
about the other person, on how to help them, what can I do?
33:33
So you have to almost forget about you as a person and just think about there's
33:41
no me as a person, there's no Sherry, there's only the team because that's how
33:45
you will overcome these challenges.
33:48
So you have to, I always think, I cannot leave my arm behind, even if it's painful.
33:54
So it's the same. It's like you cannot leave your partner behind no matter what.
33:59
So I think that that's one of the main challenges, but the rewards, as we were discussing,
34:05
is you have somebody who is there to support you or to share the experience,
34:12
and that is priceless for me.
34:16
Yeah, I like what you said about, you know, the team spirit,
34:20
you know, it's not Sherry anymore, it's us, and you can't leave without your arm behind.
34:26
I also love what you said. No, go ahead, go ahead. I think you need to establish
34:30
certain rules before starting.
34:34
So you have to say, for example, second TCR, I say, I'm not doing it again if
34:37
we don't sleep every single night in a hotel. And he kept the promise.
34:42
So your promise is like, OK, you can push me, you know, just if I stay five
34:48
minutes too long in a gas station, you can start pushing me.
34:51
I think it's good when you have certain rules pre-established.
34:54
So, you know, it's not a surprise in the middle of the race.
34:59
Absolutely. That's another very good point. Yeah. I think it's important to
35:03
have a few rules set out as well as maybe be open about some of the way you ride.
35:11
I get very quiet when I ride.
35:14
Most of the time it's just because I'm also controlling my breath because I have asthma.
35:18
And I always say, listen, I am quiet. It's not personal.
35:22
So I think those characters' risks, it's good to discuss as well,
35:27
just so you don't get weirded out, especially when you get to low points or
35:31
you're tired. You don't want to have those conversations at those moments.
35:36
Yeah, yeah, that can be tricky then.
35:39
A lot of emotions comes out. I mean, sometimes even in my solo races,
35:44
I just like, I don't know, I start crying.
35:46
It's like I see a sunset and I start crying. I mean, you sometimes like,
35:51
I don't know, there's emotions that surface that you cannot control.
35:55
Yeah, I saw one of your videos, I think actually it was the TCR as well, that you're like,
36:00
I'm getting to Greece and I'm crying. I don't know why. I'm just crying. I'm arriving in Greece.
36:06
Yeah, it was like, I don't know. It was because we were coming back into a place
36:10
I knew was familiar to me. So it was like, I just felt so happy.
36:13
I wasn't even greeting the police. It's like, Greece, Greece.
36:18
And the policemen, the police were looking at me like I was crazy.
36:21
But they've seen many crazy people before me. Yeah, good.
36:27
Moving on to cycling trends and
36:30
and gear what is one of your
36:33
favorite cycling gears or a tech piece
36:36
that you can't live without oh that's
36:40
that's an interesting one when i think one i
36:43
just discovered was the drop bar mountain bike that's maybe
36:47
my favorite cycling trend i've been just
36:50
testing it in spain and i was like wow that's so nice
36:52
people think sometimes it's a we concept but
36:56
when you have like some off-road areas and
37:00
also a mix of like light gravel it's quite nice to have
37:03
different positions and something that is more closer to
37:06
your gravel bike I found it really nice but then you
37:09
can just go over like big stones and
37:12
everything and maybe more technical descents
37:16
with it with the suspension so I thought that
37:18
was like oh it was a concept I didn't know much
37:21
about and then I wanted to try it and it turned out I
37:24
really like it yeah cool yeah I
37:28
I saw a couple as well and I want to try I
37:31
haven't tried but it looks like you mix the ride much comfortable yeah
37:34
yeah sometimes if it's not like a smooth gravel or you know you have a lot of
37:39
mix or off-road sometimes it's even more enjoyable I was like whoa this is quite
37:44
nice especially when you get into unknown areas just having the flexibility
37:48
You'll take whatever trail path you find is really nice.
37:53
Yeah. How about new trends in cycling? Anything you're excited about or expect go of? Skept go of?
38:02
Excited about? I think more aero gear tailored to long distance.
38:07
I think sometimes people think because you're doing the long races,
38:12
you don't need to be aero or the aero doesn't matter. So there's not many things tailored to this.
38:19
And I really, I saw this, I don't know if you've seen it, the Decathlon concept bike.
38:23
It has even an aero shield and everything.
38:27
So you see that brands are looking more into this.
38:30
And for me, it's really something really important because what people underestimate
38:33
is when you don't have power, you don't have energy.
38:37
It gives you passive speed. If you have a headwind, it's like,
38:41
okay, you know, I'm not doing any extra effort and I'm going faster.
38:45
And it counts over like thousands of kilometers. It really makes a difference.
38:50
I noticed it in some of my races, especially also off-road gravel.
38:55
People were telling me, oh, why taking aero bars in Badlands?
38:58
But not only gives you the aero advantage, but also positions for your hands.
39:03
And sometimes my hands were so numb that I was like, okay, just resting there
39:06
on the tarmac sections and just like rolling because sometimes you run out of gear.
39:11
So if you can get into aero position, you can save some time there.
39:15
So I'm really excited to see these new developments like the performance gear.
39:21
Yeah, every little bit counts. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:26
Yeah, I agree. It's skeptical, maybe not with the drop bar.
39:30
I think the suspension on the gravel bikes, I don't know what to think about.
39:34
It's like, I know why would you go for that instead of a mountain bike, I think.
39:38
So if it's that technical, I think a mountain bike will make more sense in this regard.
39:44
So there's where I have a bit of mixed thoughts in like a lot of the gravel
39:49
bikes are nearly like mountain bikes with the suspension fork,
39:52
with the dropper pose, but then you have more advantages with a mountain bike.
39:56
So that's something that may be a bit more skeptical. If you go for gravel,
40:01
it's like, you know, you want the speed of the bike and you are able to handle
40:06
it or the terrain is suitable for that.
40:08
But if it gets that rough, maybe it's better to go for a mountain bike.
40:12
Yeah, that's exactly how I thought. But I didn't want to sound stupid.
40:17
But I also thought like, OK, if you're getting all this, why just don't get
40:21
a mountain bike? What's the point?
40:24
Yeah, yeah. You see, even in Badlands, there were more people also racing mountain bikes.
40:30
And I think, to be honest, I would have been, now with my experience cycling
40:34
in Spain, I think I would have been faster in a drop bar mountain bike because
40:38
there were so many descents I walked that I could just have rolled.
40:43
And with the new, the new mountain bikes are so light that you don't really
40:48
lose much in terms of weight and then drop bars, you can still go fast.
40:52
Yeah, yeah.
40:56
Any funny or most unexpected thing that's happened on a ride?
41:02
Oh, unexpected. I think, yeah, the most unexpected thing was our first race as a peritransiberica.
41:10
We decided to take a shortcut through the Pyrenees and end up in a hiking trail
41:15
for like three, four hours.
41:16
I mean, we thought it was like, oh, everybody's going to do it.
41:20
That's a no-brainer. And then we started hiking and we didn't see any tire tracks or anything.
41:26
Then we found out after that we were the first ones doing it. It took so long.
41:31
And I was like, how do we get out of here? You know when you are too deep to go back?
41:38
And you are at the same time like, what do I do?
41:41
So you just said the only option is to keep on pushing.
41:45
And it was actually one of the most binding moments of our races.
41:49
We cried at the top of the mountain when we made it out.
41:53
It was like a hallelujah type of experience.
41:57
Yeah, I'm sure when you saw a road, you were like jumping for happiness.
42:03
Yeah, especially I think when you get the experience, it doesn't impact you
42:07
as much, but when it's your first race, it's really like, whoa,
42:11
it really hits you. It's like the first transcontinental.
42:14
It was so hard for me.
42:16
I don't know how I managed to finish it because everything was so overwhelming,
42:21
like mentally, physically.
42:23
And the second time, it was like we actually ended up in the same place.
42:28
We went all so fast, but we took it easier than just the experience.
42:32
I didn't have the anxiety, you know, I knew it's like, okay, we took a wrong turn.
42:36
Okay. We will make up for it. We will find a way for the checkpoint.
42:41
Let's make sure we mark everything. So you know what to do in these kinds of situations.
42:46
Border crossings can be very stressful. So once you've done it a few times,
42:52
then you know how it works, what to expect.
42:55
So there were things that really were really overwhelming because there were
42:59
a lot of logistical challenges in the first one.
43:02
And then the second one, because I had the experience, I was not as worried anymore.
43:06
I was like, just like, oh, well, we will fix it.
43:09
It gets easier for sure. Yeah. But you said the border crossing,
43:13
and I didn't even think about that because a friend of mine, he did the TCR.
43:17
He's Brazilian. And he said it was such a logistical nightmare,
43:22
if you will, just getting visas as well to get into all these other countries.
43:26
So So, yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, I think we were always really stressed.
43:31
I think that's why I was so happy when I reached Greece.
43:34
It's like no more visas, no more border crosses because we were racing for the opening time.
43:40
So the border crossing was just like hoping that we would not have any problems
43:44
because sometimes it can be a bit tricky, especially late at night.
43:48
So I was always like every time we were like after a border crossing,
43:53
I was like, check, just four more to go.
43:56
Yeah, there's so much logistics that...
44:01
You don't know until you're in it and start to get experience. Absolutely.
44:07
Yeah, indeed. And looking ahead, you talked about Atlas Mountains in Morocco,
44:14
that you're going to be part of it.
44:15
Transiberica, Solo, anything, any other goals or projects for 2025?
44:22
Yeah, I think I want to do some like shorter road races, not far from here.
44:27
So I'm doing Utrek Ultra here in the Netherlands in May just to prepare a bit
44:33
and it's a really cool event.
44:35
The community is really nice and then race across Belgium. It's also like something
44:39
a bit more local and a really nice experience.
44:43
And maybe, I don't know if I have time, another race, but I'm not sure.
44:47
I would like also to go more into bikepacking because we realize together we
44:52
enjoy more bikepacking because we don't have the arguments of the race.
44:57
And to be honest, a lot of the ultra races as a pair, we take it the more competitive bikepacking.
45:02
So why not enjoy it in bikepacking?
45:04
Because I feel sometimes you rush through places, as you said, you don't see them.
45:09
And there were like places where I stayed or places where I passed by.
45:13
I was like, really? That's a pity that I cannot like just take a few moments
45:17
and just enjoy this coffee, enjoy this place, have a look at the views.
45:22
So that's why I want to do more like bikepacking in places I really want to
45:28
visit and really enjoy the full experience and take my time.
45:33
Yeah, yeah, I really enjoy the bikepacking as well. And that's my plan for this year.
45:37
It's nice to have, for me, it's nice to have race that the route is planned
45:42
and I can just show up and then meet like-minded people.
45:46
But yeah, the bikepacking is so nice. Like you said, you just stop when you
45:51
want most of the time and enjoy a little bit more. It's a different type of enjoyment.
45:56
You know, the races are also enjoyable, but it's different.
45:59
Yeah, it's like type two fun, you know, you enjoy stuff there. Type two.
46:04
Yeah, yeah, when looking back. I think it's also nice, as you said,
46:08
the races, because you have sometimes if it's a race course in an unknown place.
46:12
So that's the main reason why I signed up for Atlas Mountain Race.
46:15
I wanted to go bikepacking, but there was not much information,
46:19
so I wasn't sure where to go.
46:21
And, you know, you procrastinate. It's like, ah, you know, I don't find routes.
46:25
I don't know what to do. So you never end up doing it.
46:27
So that's why I decided to sign up for the race.
46:30
It's like, okay, I just sign up and I do it and I go to these places no matter what.
46:34
So it's a good way to explore because it's the same as in Turkey.
46:38
I went there as a tourist and I think I didn't grasp what it's really about,
46:45
you know, the culture, the people. I was just, again, in my bubble.
46:49
You just go to a resort and that's it. You don't see much of the country.
46:52
I'm watching the videos of Atlas Mountain Race. It's like, wow,
46:55
I didn't see any of that. It's like, I would love to go there.
47:00
Yeah, it'd be amazing. I'm excited to, you know, dot watch you on that race.
47:06
I think it will be an interesting one.
47:09
Are you doing solo that one or with your husband? Solo, solo.
47:13
Yeah, we don't do off-road races together because it's just like it doesn't make sense.
47:18
Different skills, yeah. Yeah, I think on road you can like compensate a lot.
47:23
You know, you can draft or you can wait or it's easier. You don't lose as much
47:28
time, but off-road, the gaps just get too big.
47:33
Yeah, yeah. No, I paired with my husband once, and it was good.
47:36
I would like to do it again.
47:38
It pushes me, and it slows him down.
47:43
But it's good for me. But yeah, it was all road.
47:47
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, during the first TCR, my husband told me he had so much time to film.
47:54
That's why there was a lot of footage for the film.
47:57
I mean, I was like the second TCR, he was suffering more because we didn't get
48:01
a bike fit and he got saddle sore.
48:03
So he didn't film as much. And I was like, hey, you didn't film as much.
48:06
The previous one, he did drive-bys. Wow.
48:10
Close-up of flowers and everything because he had so much time.
48:14
It's like, oh, you also got better than descending, so I don't have to wait as long.
48:19
Nice, nice. Yeah. That's actually also a perk I have that once we're together,
48:24
he will go, you know, I'm so much slower. So he stops on the front,
48:27
takes drive-bys, takes pictures, and I'm dying.
48:35
Oh, wonderful, Sherry. Anything else you'd like to share with us about anything
48:39
coming up on the podcast or on the YouTube channel? Yeah, so I want to,
48:44
as I said, I want to focus more on trips.
48:47
So I will be sharing more trips and guides.
48:50
So a lot of people ask me about my routes on Komoot. So I will share more of
48:54
that, of the whole experience. For example, I went to Spain,
48:58
to Castellón, Benicazim, and then Girona.
49:01
So there will be a video about it and the trips and everything.
49:05
Something more like, I think I want to also do something that is more like daily life content.
49:12
So closer to what happens, what I do to prepare for the races, etc.
49:18
So it's not like just the races, but the whole journey.
49:23
That'll be fun. So I'm really excited about that. something new to try out.
49:28
And yeah, on the podcast, like continue doing interviews with interesting people
49:33
in the world of cycling and maybe sharing more like the questions of the people,
49:40
like, you know, a bit of feedback, et cetera.
49:43
So engaging more with the community.
49:45
That sounds cool. I like that idea. Well, I'll share with everyone on the podcast
49:51
episode description, your website, the podcast, and the YouTube channel in your Instagram.
49:57
And I want to thank you so much for taking time of your day to share here on Zon2Speak.
50:03
Thank you so much. It's been great.
50:07
And that's all for today's episode. I want to thank the listeners for tuning
50:11
in. Your support means everything.
50:14
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider following, leaving a review, and sharing it with you.
50:19
Music.