Becca Book, the first woman to win the Across Andes 2024: “It's important to chase things you're not sure if you can achieve”
With no experience of ultra-marathons abroad, the American cyclist made her debut by finishing 8th overall, despite having faced failures in all her electronic devices in the middle of nowhere.
Written by Fernanda Castillo Á.
“I didn't know exactly how far I had come and kept overestimating how close I was”, she tells The Sendit Mag in an interview.
Ten months ago, Becca Book, an American Seattle cyclist, decided to test herself by signing up for one of the most important gravel events in Chile: the Across Andes 2024. What she never imagined was that she would complete the challenge in 61 hours and 34 minutes, taking first place in the women's category.
“Across Andes is the longest race I have ever done, and the first ultra I have done abroad. I have done well in 300-mile races, but when you are out for multiple days there are many more things to think about!”, she says to The Sendit Mag.
With a great deal of work behind her, she decided to start out on his journey without knowing all the surprises she was in for.
It's just Becca and her thoughts
For Becca, each race day was very different from the next. The 114th-ranked cyclist had to overcome too many obstacles, from the changing weather to the non-functionality of her electronic devices to little sleep. “I rented a room in La Junta and slept for two hours from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM. Waking up at 7:00 AM like I normally do, made it easy to keep going even after such a short rest”, explains.
Although the conditions were extreme, what helped her enormously was the huge variety of landscapes she rode through, from the mountains to the dry pampas across Queulat Park.
“The views kept the ride very interesting, and that took my mind off any aches and pains that were forming”, says.
—How would you describe the Across Andes race days?
—The second day was very hard for me. It rained for the entire day, with thick clouds obscuring the scenery I relied on to keep me positive on the first day. I have never liked out and backs, and the route to P2 was 40 km down to the ferry where we immediately turned around…. I saw a Pudu though!
The climb up to P3 was exhausting, but so worth it cause of the scenery! The descent from checkpoint three was a highlight for me. The rain stopped, and the sun was setting as I wound through the river valley. I slept for another 2 hours in La Junta again.
The third day for Becca was more serious and challenging than the rest of the days, as all her devices started to fail. The first to fail was her Garmin watch, which froze, she used a backup watch to fix it, but it only lasted for a short time because it needed a cable, which she didn't bring. Later, it was her phone that stopped charging, so she couldn't listen to music, only Becca and her thoughts remained.
“Without a computer to look at, I didn’t quite know how far I had gone and kept overestimating how close I was. The last send took forever rough road hurt every muscle in my body”, she explains.
—How did you manage the lack of your electronic devices? What strategies did you use to not get lost and to keep up?
—I noticed that people put little hand-painted signs up all along the road, sometimes every six of a mile! This is crazy to me living in America where everything comes out of a machine, but very useful.
The infinite route
The most difficult section for Becca was the last climb from Villa Mañihuales to Villa Ortega, where her mind and body were challenged:“I kept thinking I was on the top, but there was always one more climb, and after my computer died there was no way to know how much further I had to go”.
Becca, just kept telling herself to think of all the people who believed in her: her boyfriend, who was waiting for her in Coyhaique; her mum, who thinks ultracycling is crazy and doesn't understand why her daughter does it, she supports her anyway; and all her friends, who followed her on the GPS.
“The media crew was also amazing! I saw one of them at the beginning of the send and their energy refocused me from my pain at the moment to how lucky I am to be able to pursue these types of adventures”, she reflects.
—What was going through your mind while you were climbing the most difficult sections?
—I doubted I could finish if my third and final derailleur battery totally died. On the last 124 miles, I knew I was almost out of derailleur battery, but couldn’t check the battery level. I spent much of the day obsessed about it. I tried to use the derailleur as little as possible to keep the battery charged, which really hurt my knees, but I guess it worked because I was able to finish. There were many times that day I wished it would just stop working, so I would have an excuse to scratch- and many other times when I did everything in my power to keep going.
—Do you remember a moment when you doubted you could finish the challenge? What did you do to keep going?
—I spent a lot of time reminding myself how lucky I am to have the means and the physical health to be able to pursue these types of adventures. A lot of times I hear people talking about endurance events as some terrible suffering they have to conquer, but I appreciate more this in the way of how they make me vulnerable and open me up to a whole range of emotions, sometimes just within minutes. Modern life can be so sterile, that I think it is important and exciting to pursue things you aren’t sure you can achieve.
It’s just a matter of attitude
After covering more than 590 miles on her Otso bike and becoming one of the first women to cross the Across Andes 2024, Book reflected on the technical aspects of her equipment and also how this experience changed her as a person and an athlete.}
—Would you have changed anything on your bike?
—I rode an Otso Waheela C with carbon mountain bike wheels set made by HiFi Cycling Components laced to a dynamo hub in the front for power, and 45 mm Continental Terra speed tires. This all worked great! I had Sram AXS shifters paired with an Eagle derailleur. Obviously, I needed to bring a charger or more batteries for it. I think I would have put a slightly bigger chain ring on for the long pavement sections (40T vs. 38T) I don’t know if any saddle is comfortable for these long races, but I would try almost anything besides what I have on there now at this point!
—How did this experience change you as a cyclist and as a person?
—Confidence to know that I have all the strength and tools to meet whatever challenges that life throws at me. Also, a growing understanding of how important the attitude is to face your obstacles.