#ThisIsMyRide - Patrik Ericsson, Argon 18 Sales Agent, Sweden
“This Is My Ride” is a series where we share the most memorable, unique, or challenging rides from our community. Maybe it’s a first century ride, an epic climb, or a regular Sunday ride with friends: we want to hear about that special something which makes this particular ride epic for you – and your Argon 18. Want to share your ride? Email us at marketing.web@argon18.com.
"My Ride" is in the mountains. Ever since I was young I’ve loved climbing, from small hills to major mountain passes. When I was around 10 years old I did my first real climbing in France and since that day I have been in love with cycling in the mountains. I was born into a cycling family and as a 4-year-old rode 30km on a small racing bike. When I was a kid, I used to ride to a hill 10km from home and do hill repeats for the entire day - for fun! However, I left the bike behind for many years in favour of the swimming pool before I again found my love of the road and the mountains, which took me and my bike to Italy and the USA where I lived for a while.
When I saw the Swissman triathlon in 2019, I fell in love immediately – an Ironman-distance triathlon in the mountains. After the race was cancelled twice due to the pandemic, I finally had my chance this year. I was first out of the water, and started the bike leg in the lead on my Argon 18 Nitrogen. In my opinion, this was the perfect bike for the competition. It is aerodynamic, stiff and has fantastic road handling. Some distance into the bike course, Hans-Christian Tungesvik caught up with me with his Argon 18 E-119 Tri+ Disc. Hans-Christian is an Argon 18 ambassador and it was an honor to be in the lead with him - two different Argon 18 bikes in the lead! Our positions remained the same throughout the bike leg, with Hans-Christian in the lead and me second. Hans-Christian held his lead impressively on the run to take the win, and I fell over the finish line in third.
The surroundings and the challenge of overcoming the countless meters of altitude gain was as memorable as that third-place finish. Getting to fight up three big mountain passes on your Argon in magical Switzerland is hard to beat. It was also something special to ride on cobblestones on the way up to Tremola. When you think of cobblestones you probably think of flat roads in France, but in this case it was the road to the first pass of the day.
So whether it's for fun, competing at a higher level in cycling or doing an Ironman in the mountains, "My Ride" is always about the climbs. Feeling the resistance on the way up and the speed on the way down makes me feel alive!
