Phew, that was hard! Difficult to encompass in a post, but as I mentioned on FB, I discovered during TCR that I'm really a randonneur at heart rather than an ultra-racer, preferring to stop every few hours instead of spending 24h on the bike eating on the go. In the end, all my audax experience came into play - targeting control closing times, self-sufficiency (having to replace & rotate my tyres after a sidewall gash plus breaking my seatpost clamp) and the relentless search for supplies.
Those breaks allowed me to handle the heat in the first few days, as I find I can drink a lot more off the bike, consuming ayran and other cold drinks at every stop. Reckon I took in around 10 litres of fluids on those days of which I sweated out at least 75% - I was monitoring my urine for signs of dehydration, if I didn't want to pee after an hour or so, I would drink more and check the colour. Got through my 3 Nuun tubes in 6 days leading a wasteful, fruitless search for replacements in Zagreb, wish I'd packed more - maybe my only kit list error, so not too bad. Time off the bike was also good for managing any contact issues, not suffering problems at all apart from my hands which were severely blistered by the end and still sore - my climbing technique requires me to be out of the saddle pulling on the bars will all my might to get that 66" gear round, and that twisting action on my hands has turned them from a soft computer-operator's to more like Monty Don's!
Having planned countless DIYs helped with the routing as well, and I'm really happy with the result, only spending maybe 100km on roads with uncomfortable levels of traffic, of course this comes at a price of a longer, slower and grimpieur route, but it's not like I was ever a contender for a fast finish. Made extensive use of OCM to pick cycle routes which varied from the crappy to spectacular - the disused railway path from Tarvisio to Moggio Udinese was a particular highlight, descending through countless tunnels and over bridges without encountering a soul - the only downside was not having time to stop at the station buildings converted to bars. Definitely on my list to re-visit, and made even better by finishing at an Albergo in Tolmezzo that let me take my bike into the room and help myself to the breakfast buffet they were setting up the night before for a pre-dawn departure.
I was pretty gutted when it dawned on me that I wasn't going to make the finishers party as that had always been my goal, but then realised that was only one evening of 'fun' and finishing the TCR would stay with me forever, so I re-focussed on getting into GC and I'm still elated that I did make that cut off, as I had to ride the last 36 hours with almost no sleep, stopping for roadside naps whenever the hallucinations got the better of me - it was like Inception at times, with my visual field almost folding in on itself, and haunted by imaginary people in the shadows.
I also feel like I've achieved closure with the loss of Mike, I thought about him a lot on the ride, and completing it has somehow helped me draw a line under this. I'm so proud of what Anna has done, keeping this incredible event running and can't fault any of the organisation, though maybe I'm biased. Of course it's incredibly tough and far harder than I expected but that's the whole point, and now there are people complaining on FB that the parcours are getting too difficult with hike-a-bike sections, but if I can get round with a couple of gears I don't see what the fuss is about - it is truly audacious that will push you to the limit with the expectation that there is a high chance of failure and you have to accept that. At Mike's mum says, just getting to the start line prepared to do the event is a massive achievement in itself and something to carry with you if you have to scratch for whatever reason.
Would I do it again? Maybe in 10 years for my next milestone anniversary, it requires so much preparation (plus riding) time to do properly that I can't really afford - I'm lucky in that I could take a 3 month sabbatical from work this year which helped immensely but unlikely to repeat that, and having done it once don't feel like I have anything to prove now. But hey, maybe I'll be retired at 60 and with have all the time in the world to do it!