Author Topic: Transcontinental 2016  (Read 61879 times)

simonp

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #25 on: 22 October, 2015, 10:48:33 pm »
Anyone want to talk about the race?

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #26 on: 23 October, 2015, 07:33:09 am »
Yes me

Definitely me

Even if it is just to stop me actually considering it seriously  :hand:
Does not play well with others

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #27 on: 23 October, 2015, 09:44:59 am »
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

simonp

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #28 on: 23 October, 2015, 11:00:16 am »
Also this.

https://instagram.com/p/5pZLv6IF2e/

Of course as the 2016 route is still under wraps, none of this may be relevant. It might be worse.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #29 on: 23 October, 2015, 11:35:32 am »
Some more OT-but-inclusive bollox:
(click to show/hide)

Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #30 on: 23 October, 2015, 12:03:35 pm »
Also this.

https://instagram.com/p/5pZLv6IF2e/

Of course as the 2016 route is still under wraps, none of this may be relevant. It might be worse.



That sure is pretty!  I'd fancy a bit of that some time. 

Going to be fascinating to see what the next route iteration will be.  I share some of the concerns of Byronius in that adding more hoops to jump through, or turning them into flaming hoops, whilst interesting and challenging; riding 4000+km in a couple of weeks is plenty enough of a challenge for the vast majority of us out there!

As a small aside - I think Mike has something to do with this (200km race, alleycat style (4 controls to be hit in any order you want)) - http://valleycat.cc/ - there are a couple of YACFers on the start list.  Good luck to all the riders!
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #31 on: 23 October, 2015, 12:46:53 pm »
Yup, that gravel road, that's just up my street and the kind of shizzle I love  :thumbsup:
Does not play well with others

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #32 on: 23 October, 2015, 04:25:55 pm »
Anyone want to talk about the race?
Soz! (I actually find the Transcontinental far more interesting to follow than, say, PBP or TdF)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #33 on: 23 October, 2015, 04:34:38 pm »
Some more OT-but-inclusive bollox:
(click to show/hide)
(click to show/hide)

But talking of pedantry generally: I note the absence of a 'what colour valve caps for Transcon' thread!
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Aunt Maud

  • Le Flâneur.
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #34 on: 23 October, 2015, 04:45:11 pm »
Really!!......It's good to get that bollocks out of the way.

I'll admit to being a keen TCR follower and it's the only cycling related "thing" that I have ever followed on a daily basis.

So Go rabbit and Go simonp.

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #35 on: 23 October, 2015, 08:50:27 pm »
thoroughly recommend it - a great adventure across many different countries! these days it's even more exciting as due to higher numbers you'll bump into more riders along the way. it was a fairly lonely race when i did the first edition in 2013, learned lots about myself and how kind and helpful people are when they see you all knackered and vulnerable - grateful for such moments!

simonp

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #36 on: 23 October, 2015, 10:44:39 pm »
Was unaware you'd done it. Another yacfer. I have to admit to having major doubts about entering as I am pretty much done by the end of PBP and LEL in terms of mental reserves.

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #37 on: 23 October, 2015, 11:22:31 pm »
your brain recalibrates to the distance in the same way as it does in audaxes (after 200 audax even a 50km trip home seems far, but 200k into 600 those same 50k aren't a problem at all). it was around 1200k when i reached stelvio pass - i thought to myself "it's a pbp distance and i'm not even tired", still twice as much left to go. i wonder if teethgrinder also feels that each day as not big of a deal when compared to the monumental task ahead.

my tcr account fwiw.

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #38 on: 24 October, 2015, 07:09:04 am »
I'd love to do TCR, but the time off / parenting pass required is a big barrier. One of the guys in my LBS made it to Turkey in 2013, but not the finish due to 2 x rtas. The "busy roads" zigzag mentioned sounded hectic.

I'll be very jealous of any of you doing it.

BTW, If you want navigation challenges and adventure closer to home http://www.highlandtrail.net/ might suit. I'm doing at least a couple of MTB ITTs next year getting a lot out of them, whereas was feeling a bit stale about audax.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #39 on: 24 October, 2015, 08:47:28 am »
https://twitter.com/transconrace?lang=en

30th july 2016 - entries open in Nov
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #40 on: 24 October, 2015, 10:09:35 am »
I'd love to do TCR, but the time off / parenting pass required is a big barrier. One of the guys in my LBS made it to Turkey in 2013, but not the finish due to 2 x rtas. The "busy roads" zigzag mentioned sounded hectic.

I'll be very jealous of any of you doing it.

BTW, If you want navigation challenges and adventure closer to home http://www.highlandtrail.net/ might suit. I'm doing at least a couple of MTB ITTs next year getting a lot out of them, whereas was feeling a bit stale about audax.

 :thumbsup:  looking at that myself
Does not play well with others

Andrew

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #41 on: 24 October, 2015, 11:40:48 am »
I have total admiration for anyone that does it. Total.

I first heard of it maybe 3 years ago, and I've seen pics and reports etc. I can honestly say that whilst it's a challenge that I feel is within (one helluva) reach, there is no way I'd even kid myself into signing-up. I just haven't that kind of dedication and fortitude - hence my admiration for those that have.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #42 on: 24 October, 2015, 12:05:39 pm »
An interesting feature of 2015 was the sizable minority who plugged on to the finish waaaaaaay outside the official cutoff. Some were riding at what I'd call "touring" pace - 100mile-a-day stuff, possibly slower.
This is well within the ability of ... well, most healthy cyclists with a winter/spring of reasonable mileage behind them. Possibly even less than that.

It seemed like folks were still getting their cards stamped; I'm not sure if anyone failed to be classfied as a finisher. It all seemed quite a fuzzy area :/ I'm also not sure if any entrant vetting occurs.

Anyway; there does _seem_ to be scope for less "elite" riders to just give it a go. Assuming you have the TIME budget to trudge to Istanbul at your own pace! (although I guess you could always just stop when your annual leave runs out and head for the nearest station/airport).

(two big things currently stop me - I'm not a sufficiently good loner, and there seem to be some long unavoidable stretches on verrrrry dull (and sometimes quite scary) roads. Some folks seem to have different wiring and are more suited to these things. It has certainly inspired me to take a trip at some point to some of the roads they use :) )
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #43 on: 24 October, 2015, 04:38:03 pm »
Ooops, didn't mean to start a debate here. All I meant by 'inclusive' was that all competitors seem to be held in the same high regard by the competitors, but I guess you have a point, Cudzoziemiec, in that the barrier to entry is still pretty high!

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #44 on: 24 October, 2015, 04:38:58 pm »
my tcr account fwiw.

Looks good, I'll have a read at some point. My first thought is that you appear to have travelled impressively light!

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #45 on: 25 October, 2015, 12:20:08 am »
my tcr account fwiw.

Looks good, I'll have a read at some point. My first thought is that you appear to have travelled impressively light!

riding/racing such a long and hilly way and carrying lots of stuff makes little sense, so i only chose what i thought i'd need, and took half of that (and still could go lighter but did not want to tempt the fate).

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #46 on: 25 October, 2015, 03:50:29 pm »
There's an entertaining and informative 2-hour interview with two German riders here.  In German.

Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #47 on: 30 October, 2015, 04:58:43 am »
Have also taken the tentative step of signing up for the newsletter - in truth though, I'm unlikely to enter for 2016 due to personal and work time constraints. For 2017 though, assuming it keeps to roughly the same format, I'm very keen.

TBH - if they do make it a bit more "rugged" for want of a better term, I might actually almost relish that. I'm half way towards thinking of a Road+ or CX bike anyway, and that would make it a definitive decision. The Burls Ti has been superb for Audaxing, but who doesn't want an excuse for a new bike now and then!
The other Robw, not the wobbly one

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #48 on: 30 October, 2015, 10:38:39 am »
Yes me

Definitely me

Even if it is just to stop me actually considering it seriously  :hand:
+1

Re: Transcontinental 2016
« Reply #49 on: 30 October, 2015, 12:20:08 pm »
my tcr account fwiw.

Looks good, I'll have a read at some point. My first thought is that you appear to have travelled impressively light!

riding/racing such a long and hilly way and carrying lots of stuff makes little sense, so i only chose what i thought i'd need, and took half of that (and still could go lighter but did not want to tempt the fate).

Completely agree - but saying that you'll travel light and actually managing to do it to the extent that you did are two very different things! Impressive.