Black Stubborn Derby™ – Zebegény-Budapest late night speed race in the dark on Steyr-Puch Waffenrad
Black Stubborn – is a from town to town veteran bicycle race in Hungary including the Zebegény-Budapest distance being covered late at night with a maximum - possible - speed in complete darkness. It was first done on a Steyr-Puch Waffenrad in July 2018
Hartnäckig Schwarz – dies ist ein von Stadt zu Stadt Veteran Fahrrad Wettrennen welches in Zebegény in Ungarn startet und in der ungarischen Hauptstadt Budapest endet. Dieses geschwindichkeits Distanz Nachtrennen wurde zuerst im Juli 2018 auf einem Steyr-Puch Waffenrad bewältigt
Fekete Makacs – Zebegény-Budapest éjszakai sebességi veterán kerékpár verseny, melyet első ízben 2018 Júliusában egy Steyr-Puch Waffenrad típusú kerékpáron hajtottak végre
Details in English below. Folgende Details auf Englisch. További részletek alant angol nyelven.
Hereby I'm foundig the first modern night race of Hungary for veteran bicycles!
On 26-27 July 2018 I saw the opportunity to cycle a rather (by day) doable distance willingly dealing with unusal circumstances. I was heading into the woods in pitch dark night time to test certain limits. I took off from Zebegény after a concert by Kinetic Erotic – contemporary Hungarian fusion jazz band – only to race down stream along the river Danube to Budapest.
Note that I don't have a professional bicycle race past and had no preparations done for this particular distance ride. Most of the track was along farms, fields, horse stables or in forests without any sort of light to help the orientation. Often the rarely occurring direction markers are covered by branches or entire bushes; in some cases they are broken down (stolen perhaps). From time to time the road quality changes within a few meters! From bad to generic to mediocre and sometimes to even smooth.
The experience:
Noticing a swamp on your right or being surrounded by an old forest for an hour! Riding along beaches or through a residential area! This track has it all! Don't be alarmed, the official bicycle road sometimes vanishes! In these cases you have to improvise, ride through the suburbs or find your way within a block house area! An alternative route around is also an option. In some cases you have to use the nearby highway. In the end of the tour changing of terrain mostly means you get a glimps of the former – Soviet period leftover – industrial outskirts of Budapest.
The Hungarian capitol's downtown World Heritage sights and Prime locations such as Andrássy avenue with it's decorative lights are the highlights of Black Stubborn Derby!
Additional info:
I lost track of the official EuroVelo 6 bicycle road - called EV6 The Rivers Route - on 3 occasions, was followed by a variety of wild animals, ran into a fallen tree in the middle of the forest along the Danube and had the chance to meet very weird people… hiding, fishing, having sex, camping or chasing each other in the dark.
Difficulty level of the race - visibility:
Lights on the bicycle were intentionally primitive. I used cheap Chinese rubbercase types – and not the original veteran lamps – to make the challange harder. Visibility was approx. 2 meters. This is how you speed up and rely on your reflexes in the dark! Haha 
Difficulty level of the race – the gear:
I was wearing long black jeans, heavy boots and had a lightweight backpack with me – 20-25 kg – with a sleeping bag, a tent and extra clothes in it just in case. During this first „pioneer ride” I didn't had tools with me, technically I wasn't prepared for any accidents and I only lost a screw and a metal piece of the mud guard due to a difficult – bumpy – section of the race track.
Environmental notes:
Along the river a bit of fog was often a recurring phenomenon, but we had no rain that day and the sky wasn't all too cloudy. I also have to admit, I benefited heavily from a near full moon – as I took off –, which turned into a perfectly rounded full moon by my spirghtly, but tired arrival to the final destination in Budapest - City Center! In some cases during my trip I turned off the front lamp to not be disturbed by it's spray!
The track is not crossing the Danube in any form, but includes multiple little bridges!
Hydration and other topics:
During the race no stops were made and no nutriants or water were consumed; I ate two Cornetto ice creams and drank 0,5 liters of Soda (sprakling water) to provide the needed energy and to avoid any hidration issues till the finishing line. I covered the full distance in one stroke. I didn't use any phone, smartphone or GPS devices to find my way (and in the rules of this analogue race these will be striktly forbidden!)
Details on the pioneer ride of July 2018:
Participant: BikeInfantry
Name of bicycle: „Wingtip”
Type of vehicle: 1971 Steyr-Puch white wing Waffenrad, veteran bicycle
Official take off point: Élesztő Plázs - Krokodil rét, Zebegény, Pest county, Hungary
Official location of arrival: Zsivágó Café, Paulay Ede utca, VI. district, Budapest, Hungary
Distance: 60 km
Start (time): 23:30 / 11:30 pm
Arrival time: 03:40 ( 03:40 am
Time needed: 4 hours 10 minutes
Time not including delays: 3 hours 35 minutes
Average speed: around 20 km/hour
Maximum speed: 30-35 km/hour
Minimum speed: pushing the bicycle up a hill in the most difficult needle curve – where you cannot build up momentum –, which is very steep!
Checkpoints: (mark: 1. sequences between checkpoints have different lenghts;
2. anyone who finds a faster route is welcome to post it!)
ÉLESZTŐ PLÁZS – Krokodil rét (outdoors bar on the river bank)
Zebegény
Nagymaros
Nomad bar
Kismaros
Verőce
Vác – Csillagbörtön (Star Prison)
Sződliget
Gátőrház, Felső-Göd
Göd
Dunakeszi
/// crossing the city limits of Budapest ///
Megyeri-híd (Megyeri bridge)
Váci út
Árva utca
Balzsam tca
Újpalotai út
Göncöl utca
Röppentyű utca
Pap Károly út
/// crossing Róbert Károly körút (main road) ///
Kassák Lajos utca
Lehel tér (Market hall)
Bulcsu utca tunnel / railway underpass
Bajza utca
Russian Embassy
Andrássy út
Kodály körönd
Oktogon
Liszt Ferenc tér
Paulay Ede utca
Zsivágó Café – Vintage venue and meeting point of Waffenradforums.net
Basic rules of Black Stubborn Derby:
- Launch after sunset
- Don't be drunk or drugged
- Travel only at night
- Do not stop or pause
- Don't use lights, which are spreading fotons past 3 meters
- Allowed vehicles are pre-1980-s veteran bicycles
- GPS is not allowed
- 3 gear bicycles are welcome
- You don't have to mount the extra weight (approx. +30 kg), which I carried
If you do the race in a group and travel in a convoy, always know, safety comes first!
(but) IT'S SO AWESOME TO SPRINT FULL SPEED INTO THE NIGHT!
Looking forward to all who'd like to beat me in this game and would like to set up a better score!
This race is supported and is supervised by WAFFENRADFORUMS.NET – the international association of Waffenrad fans in Hungary (all rights reserved).
Comments
Official poster of the race (2018)
This is most excellent HOS.
Launching
From A to B
Starting point (remember to launch at night)
Finish line location
BLACK STUBBORN DERBY™ ‒ SECOND RUN 18th August 2018
The experience this time:
The weather was somewhat different from last ime. More windy, less hot, but the time of launching was approximately the same and taking in consideration it's still summer in Hungary, conditions were quite similar. I launched just past midnight, while last time about 30 minutes earlier.
Additional info:
I lost track on two occasions this time, but at other checkpoints as before. Bushes and trees can grow covering signs or narrow entrance points and folks camping here and there with their tents or vans / caravans can cover certain paths.
Difficulty level of the race – visibility:
Lights on the bicycle were primitive again. Same cheap Chinese rubbercase lampions – the original veteran lamps being removed –, so the challange was given again. Visibility was approx. 2 meters as said in my previous entry, but we had more fog this time, so it was quite interesting.
Difficulty level of the race – the gear:
I wasn't wearing long pants, heavy boots and 25 kg of extra weight. During the second „control ride” I tried the leight weight outfit. Cordury shorts, T-shirt, sneakers, baseball cap. That's it.
Again I didn't take tools with me, and had no accidents either (except a flat tire already in Budapest… arriving through stag party infested alleys and avenues, where thrown away broken glass covers the streets around the Jewish Quarter, the Party Area of town). I lost a screw once again and the same metal piece of the mud guard section flew away as well, since the given roads with this speed are just too much for an elderly bike such as mine.
I haven't switched any gears, and completed the given distance by using the same gear, the heaviest.
Environmental notes:
As said the fog was more present, but the sky was clear and a beautiful Milkyway skyline was presenting itself from above at the start. The light pollution of the Hungarian capitol only reaches till about 15-20 kilometers, further away you can enjoy a tranquil star sight. Of course in the 3 sections of the race running under a thick forest cover you don't get to see too much of it. Besides enjoying our galaxy, as before in some sections of the trip I turned off the front lamp to orientate better.
I have met some wild animals again; it's normal for running between towns on roads abandoned.
The biggest surprise was presented by the black pitbull, which awaited me outside a house standing along the track next to the gate. The open field on the opposite side was surrounded by a fance, no chance to flank the beast. Dogs from kilometers away still barking in the distance must have alerted him, so he broke loose. I saw him first. My T-shirt was black, my pants brown, the bicycle – as most Waffenrads do: pitch black – and the flickering lights on the front were unusual for him as well. As I passed by he was panicing and made his move to attack almost immediately. After a while he backed off, the short chase he didn't continue, as I disappeared in the dark with 25-30 km / hour. The aggressive red lights on the back must have helped too. Not much of a duel, but with my naked legs and no heavy boots as protection I felt a relief when he finally gave up.
Tip: In case you have a dog whistle, take it with you!
About the road:
Don't expect proper West European bicycle roads or surfaces, such in Germany, Holland or Denmark. The signs of bourgeois cycling slowly deminish as you cross the Austrian border towards East. The road can be broken, bumpy, full of roots pushing from underneath and breaking the asphalt apart. Watch out for metal poles at entrance and exit points of village bicycle roads narrowing down your path; as well as small boulders along the path in most forests! Gravel is very common, especially if you are driving through areas where there are actual quarries nearby (the particular village uses what's easiest) or along meadows. As said you also end up in the forest on multiple occasions for many-many kilometers without any lights while the road is full of branches broken off by previous storms. Important to note are the sudden curves. It's up to you how much risk you take speeding up while dealing with such conditions. To negotiate difficult terrain is part of this race. Never forget, the name „Black Stubborn Derby” is no coincidence or a product of vagary, but the essence of designated strenght, highlighted by your curage to do something unusal. From the first few meters your immediate future is part of a small risk, it's not about typical extreme sport emotions, rather the journey of confidence and sharpened senses.
Hydration and other topics:
During the race no stops were made and no nutriants or water were consumed; I ate a carrot cake with ice cream and drank 1 liter of Soda (sprakling water) 2 hours before the start so now the sugar shock was already absorbed by the time I got to the start line. I covered the full distance in one stroke as set in the rules. I didn't use any phone, smartphone or GPS devices to find my way.
Participant: BikeInfantry
Name of bicycle: „Wingtip”
Type of vehicle: 1971 Steyr-Puch white wing Waffenrad, veteran bicycle
Official take off point: Élesztő Plázs, Krokodil rét, Zebegény, Pest county, Hungary
Official location of arrival: Zsivágó Café, Paulay Ede utca, VI. district, Budapest, Hungary
Distance: 70 km
Start (time): 00:03 / 00:03 am
Arrival time: 03:18 / 03:18 am
Time needed: 3 hours 15 minutes
Time includes delays.
Average speed: 25 km / hour
Maximum speed (downhill): around 45-50 km / hour
Minimum speed: pushing the bicycle up the same hill in this specific needle curve – where you cannot build up momentum –. Even if the bike and my outfit were both light weight during the second run, it was still difficult.
Checkpoints: (mark: 1. sequences between checkpoints have different lenghts;
2. anyone who finds a faster route is welcome to post it!
3. shortcuts without additional transportation help – car, van, trailer etc. – are allowed)
ÉLESZTŐ PLÁZS, KROKODIL RÉT – outdoors bar on the river bank
Zebegény
Nagymaros
Nomad bar
Kismaros
Verőce
Vác – Csillagbörtön (Star Prison)
Sződliget
Gátőrház, Felső-Göd
Göd
Dunakeszi
/// crossing the city limits of Budapest ///
Megyeri-híd (Megyeri bridge)
Váci út
Árva utca
Balzsam utca
Újpalotai út
Göncöl utca
Röppentyű utca
Pap Károly út
/// crossing Róbert Károly körút (main road) ///
Kassák Lajos utca
Lehel tér (Market hall)
Bulcsu utca tunnel / railway underpass
Bajza utca
Russian Embassy
Andrássy út
Kodály körönd
Oktogon
Liszt Ferenc tér
Paulay Ede utca
Zsivágó Café – Vintage venue and meeting point of Waffenradforums.net
I executed the same route to make sure the results of heavy gear (las time) and light version (now) can be compared! It shows in the run time immensely!
Basic rules of Black Stubborn Derby:
Looking forward to all who'd like to beat me in this game and would like to set up a better score!
This race is supported and is supervised by WAFFENRADFORUMS.NET – the international association of Waffenrad fans in Hungary
How to train for this race?
What I can advise is too make conditions harder as those expected during the race itself.
You can use a 2 or even 3 times heavier bike (even training in the city). Additional 45kg backpack helps with building up strenght in the needed muscle groups. Ride 3-4 hours a day like that. Do this for about 4-6 months prep time on a daily basis or at least on 3-4 occastions per week.
What about maintenance after each run?
After each race the tires are damaged. The wheel can be deformed (in case of old bicycles) and the dust can kill your chain. If you ride through rain and mud, clean your vehicle right after the derby is completed.
NEXT DERBY THIS YEAR THIS MONTH ON 22ND NOVEMBER!!!
For details please check the following highlighted event link:
https://www.waffenradforums.net/index.php?p=/discussion/418/next-meeting-november-22-stubborn-black-derby#latest
NEXT DERBY THIS YEAR
BLACK STUBBORN DERBY 2019 SPRING
https://www.waffenradforums.net/index.php?p=/discussion/504/black-stubborn-derby-2019-spring#latest
NEXT DERBY THIS YEAR
BLACK STUBBORN DERBY 2019 SUMMER
https://www.waffenradforums.net/index.php?p=/discussion/604/black-stubborn-derby-2019-summer#latest
BLACK STUBBORN DERBY has been posted on a private page: August 22, 2018
https://zarandok.tumblr.com/post/177271700262/black-stubborn-derby-zebegény-budapest-late
Note on the page: Határfeszegető bicikliseknek = for cyclists pushing the limits