Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => Freewheeling => Racing => Topic started by: quixoticgeek on 18 December, 2017, 11:23:20 am

Title: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 18 December, 2017, 11:23:20 am

Looks like The Transcontinental Race will run in 2018. They've put up a message on the website announcing that they will announce more details soon.

http://www.transcontinental.cc/

Anyone Yacf'ers going to give it a go?

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 21 December, 2017, 09:55:54 pm
I'll be having another crack if a spot is made available. (cap 81)
Hopefully I'll find a little more tarmac this time round  ;D
Its a tricky one as my heart is set on TCR but my back up race in the event of not securing a spot would be NC4000. Registration times are reaching the crunch stage.
I'm also really intrigued by the new on the calendar Gravel Tro Breizh. Timing doesn't work for 2018, but if its a success and they repeat the event I'll hope to have a go in 2019.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 23 December, 2017, 08:18:13 pm
Registrations opening 12th January.
https://www.facebook.com/transconrace/photos/a.437025669700640.1073741825.415996748470199/1477531068983423/?type=3&theater
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: PeterB on 09 January, 2018, 05:57:21 am
I’m going to have another go too if (!) I can get a place (cap 208).
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mattc on 09 January, 2018, 10:38:39 am
Roughly how oversubscribed was the last one?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 09 January, 2018, 12:28:27 pm
North of 1000 entries for 280ish slots.
Good luck Matt. :thumbs:
you too Pete.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mattc on 09 January, 2018, 03:12:58 pm
<splutters>
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Manotea on 10 January, 2018, 01:15:04 am
You know you want to....
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 12 January, 2018, 08:27:42 pm

Registration is now open. The check points have been announced:

Start: MUUR VAN GERAARDSBERGEN
CP1: BIELERHÖHE PASS, AUSTRIA
CP2: MANGART SEDLO, SLOVENIA
CP3: KARKONOSZE PASS, POLAND
CP4: BIELAŠNICA, BOSNIA
Finish: METEORA, Greece

Those are some brutal climbs, but it looks utterly spectacular.

Good luck to everyone who has a go at signing up!

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 12 January, 2018, 10:02:09 pm
Yep a very climby looking edition.
 Grimpers to the fore, TTers buckle up for some pain.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: joy of essex on 12 January, 2018, 10:30:34 pm
So not last year's  route?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 12 January, 2018, 10:57:03 pm
So not last year's  route?

Nope, changes every year. And each year the routes tend to be unique for all riders too, as each rider gets to decide their own route between the controls/parcours.

J

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: joy of essex on 13 January, 2018, 12:17:32 pm
So no risk assessment?

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 13 January, 2018, 12:21:06 pm
So no risk assessment?

Each rider does her own risk assessment of her own route.

Have a read of the race manual, it's a really interesting read. Page 32 answers your question.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: joy of essex on 14 January, 2018, 10:24:04 pm
So no risk assessment of the new routes..

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 14 January, 2018, 11:49:22 pm
So no risk assessment of the new routes..

Who does the risk assessment when you do your Saturday morning training ride ?

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 15 January, 2018, 09:13:28 am
So no risk assessment of the new routes..
There is no fixed route, only fixed checkpoints. What is hard to understand about that?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivan on 17 January, 2018, 12:22:45 pm
There is a risk assessment carried out, with the explicit banning of particular tunnels and roads, even when some of these are prohibited to cycling anyway, to make it clear to participants that these should not be used.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 20 February, 2018, 08:08:27 pm
The offers of places have gone out.
I was lucky and am in again.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 20 February, 2018, 08:11:01 pm
The offers of places have gone out.
I was lucky and am in again.

Congrats!

Good luck!

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: zigzag on 20 February, 2018, 09:10:20 pm
The offers of places have gone out.
I was lucky and am in again.

great news Frank!!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyUncle on 21 February, 2018, 10:17:13 am
I have been lucky too and have a place.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Karla on 21 February, 2018, 10:19:05 am
Congratulations both, I'll look forward to dot-following the yacf grudge match!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: clarion on 21 February, 2018, 01:35:00 pm
Hurrah for our riders!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: iZaP on 22 February, 2018, 08:46:50 pm
I am coming too! can't wait now!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 24 February, 2018, 03:59:58 am
Lucky enough to have snagged a spot too. Looking forward to making your acquaintances "in the flesh" prior to the gun and perhaps also on the road if our paths cross.
I'll be with Mrs Morbihan at G'bergen so please forgive me if I'm distracted during the build up.  We are a tight unit.
Good luck with the preparation :-)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 18 May, 2018, 07:37:24 pm
Final draft of the route done. It comes in at a little under 3,900km and slightly less than 40,000m of climbing.
I'm almost certainly riding on wide 44mm compass tires this time (roubaix 32 last year) After an initial faff to get them properly sealed, the level of comfort has been a revelation and speed doesn't seem to be adversely affected.
Other changes from last year are an "extra" gear on the cassette allowing for 34/34 and a lighter set up of around 17kg with water.
I've done a lot of boning up on map software too that caused so many issues last year.
Looking forward to seeing the starting line up in the near future.
 
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hippy on 25 May, 2018, 12:10:47 pm
<<< This idiot is doing the TABR and TCR double again.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hatler on 25 May, 2018, 09:38:50 pm
I just found out today that a colleague has secured a place for this.

You're all barmy I tell you.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hippy on 26 May, 2018, 10:48:27 am
You're only crazy if you keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome...


Oh...
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 29 May, 2018, 01:34:43 am
You're only crazy if you keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome...


Oh...

You crazy man, but good crazy. Good on ya Hippy.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 11 July, 2018, 07:38:19 am
The starters list is up for TCR.
https://www.transcontinental.cc/riderstcrn06/
Some serious racing snakes for the sharp end but no Kristof.
I managed to fracture my pelvis 11 days ago and on crutches, so its going to be tight for #81.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hippy on 11 July, 2018, 10:16:54 am
> under 3,900km and slightly less than 40,000m

Is that with the required parcours included?
I think James said his route was 44k climb so I wonder if he's going more direct or you're on better (/banned) roads :)
I need to add mine up.

#142 back in the house
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 11 July, 2018, 10:48:40 am
> under 3,900km and slightly less than 40,000m

Is that with the required parcours included?
I think James said his route was 44k climb so I wonder if he's going more direct or you're on better (/banned) roads :)
I need to add mine up.

#142 back in the house

It is. My route was plotted on komoot though so not sure if the elevation it gave me is kosher.
Its good to see you back. Kristof isn't on the start list so you might win :-)
Did you finish TABR? I lost track of proceedings half way through when I went off to fracture my pelvis in Tanzania.
Mountain bikes. Dangerous things.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hippy on 11 July, 2018, 10:53:13 am
> under 3,900km and slightly less than 40,000m

Is that with the required parcours included?
I think James said his route was 44k climb so I wonder if he's going more direct or you're on better (/banned) roads :)
I need to add mine up.

#142 back in the house

It is. My route was plotted on komoot though so not sure if the elevation it gave me is kosher.
Its good to see you back. Kristof isn't on the start list so you might win :-)
Did you finish TABR? I lost track of proceedings half way through when I went off to fracture my pelvis in Tanzania.
Mountain bikes. Dangerous things.

Ah, yeah, I tested that before TCR4 - Strava vs. RWGPS gave massively different elevations. I wonder what your route is in RWGPS.

Yeah, I'm definitely going for the win, what with my easy lead up, lack of injury and huge power to weight advantage over the others... erm...

Yeah, I finished 8th, a bit faster than last year with an ok ride (issues at the start with wrong saddle height so almost quit at Lolo with bad knee/Achilles).

Tanzania? You made that place up right? *googles* :)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 12 July, 2018, 10:00:51 am
Alas I'm not able to ride.  I had to drop out when doctors kept finding blockages in my cardiac arteries.  I had an operation a couple of weeks ago to fix them.  I'm now back on my bike for short, steady rides, but this would be way too much, too soon.  So I'll have to be content to dot-watch again.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: iZaP on 13 July, 2018, 11:22:40 am
Cap number 134 reporting in, eager to start now!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: zigzag on 18 July, 2018, 04:24:36 pm
Alas I'm not able to ride.  I had to drop out when doctors kept finding blockages in my cardiac arteries.  I had an operation a couple of weeks ago to fix them.  I'm now back on my bike for short, steady rides, but this would be way too much, too soon.  So I'll have to be content to dot-watch again.
blimey, glad to hear you are on the mend. although heart surgeons jokingly call themselves plumbers, the prospect of heart surgery always seems like a big deal to me.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 19 July, 2018, 08:38:45 am
Sorry not to be meeting you in GB Frank. Thank goodness your condition was discovered before any serious problems arose.
 Maybe you will be feeling supercharged once you have had your pipes blown out.
Zigzag I thought you were racing again this year but didn't see you are not on the start list?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: zigzag on 19 July, 2018, 09:57:34 am
not racing the tcr this year, but have a vague plan to pop over to cp1 to meet and greet some of you!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 23 July, 2018, 11:02:36 am
not racing the tcr this year, but have a vague plan to pop over to cp1 to meet and greet some of you!

Hope to see you there Zig Zag.
Managed to lose the crutches this week and knock out an epic 30km ride.  Getting on and off the bike was tricky/painful but funny enough cycling wasn't too bad. I'll hang off the back up the Muur to get out of everyones way.
Will you still be at CP1 in Mid August? :-)

See you in GB cap 134.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 23 July, 2018, 12:12:50 pm
Good to hear you are better.  With pelvis fractures I understand that it depends on exactly where it is as to how compatible it is likely to be with cycling.  I recall Nick Jackson (Flatlander) did most of PBP 2011 with a broken pelvis but LWaB had one more recently and wasn't able to ride.  However, it goes without saying that you wouldn't want to start something like this unless you were pretty well mended.

Congrats on your 30km ride.  I've done slightly more than you - I've managed 40 - mostly round Richmond Park (avoiding the hills) and am doing 30km to and from work most days.  On a good day I've been putting out more power than I would on the TCR....  But I'm definitely out.

The doctor reckons I should be fully recovered by mid-September and then I should be able to do whatever I want.  Although the number of pills I'd have to carry would be a definite disadvantage in an ultra-race!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 25 July, 2018, 12:28:02 am

I'm not riding the TCR, but I am planning on cycling down to Geraadsbergen for the weekend to watch the start and enjoy the festivities.

Is anyone else from these parts who isn't racing planning on attending?

Anyone got on thoughts on where best to watch the race start from?

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivan on 25 July, 2018, 11:02:18 am
I'll be at there on freeroute duties, freaking out at the lack of feeds from TL.

The start is from the main square, up the Muur as part of a neutralised lap around town before climbing the Muur for a second time in racing mode. Head to square in good time, grab a wooden torch, light it with the others and make your way somewhere up the Muur for the best experience I would say.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyUncle on 25 July, 2018, 11:35:01 am
I got cap 23.

My website http://www.lison.co.uk (http://www.lison.co.uk) has links to my GPS Tracker, Strava, Twitter and Instagram.

I finished my route yesterday. Still working on the bike setup.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: bludger on 25 July, 2018, 11:45:15 am
Wow good luck mate  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 26 July, 2018, 09:17:51 am
Glad to hear you are getting it sorted Frank. Thank goodness they found that out and addressed the issue. Time to plan for the next one at leisure.

I had some back and forth with my orthopaedic surgeon before I decided whether to compete or not. He concluded that as the fracture was stable and (where it was located) I was unlikely to do any further damage. He says pain will be the guide of whats possible so I'll stay off the painkillers and just use AI to keep tabs on things.

My first drama will be getting up the Muur with all the other riders.  I plan to hang off the back and try to spin up seated out of everyones way. If I have to dismount on the steep sections I wouldn't be able to remount and get going again.

We are heading across to Belgium tomorrow (currently in Brittany)
See some of you soon.


Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 26 July, 2018, 09:29:18 am
Good luck, J.  Not a bad idea to hang off the back on the Muur in any case.  It sounds like your handicap will discourage you from having too many breaks, so may be helpful!  As you say, pain is the final arbiter and you'll know clearly enough if you have to stop.

Best of luck to everyone else riding, too.  I am most envious!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 30 July, 2018, 07:15:40 am
Several dots are in my town now. Parky taking the flat fast section along the canal while Mark Townsend makes a long stop at the local Mc Donalds. Several others are now on the main road to Aachen, a horrible time to be there. It'll be interesting to see how they cross Aachen, one of the worst towns for cycling in the whole area.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 30 July, 2018, 11:26:26 pm
Several dots are in my town now. Parky taking the flat fast section along the canal while Mark Townsend makes a long stop at the local Mc Donalds. Several others are now on the main road to Aachen, a horrible time to be there. It'll be interesting to see how they cross Aachen, one of the worst towns for cycling in the whole area.

There's been a lot of discussion about the small group that went north, obviously wanting a flatter, if longer route. Will be interesting to see if it actually pays off.

I watched the start from the Muur. Utter madness and crazy. Was wonderful. I spent the weekend in Geraadsbergen and had a number of really good conversations with many riders. I'm now 99% certain that I shall apply to ride next year.

Good luck to everyone riding number 6!

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 31 July, 2018, 07:18:43 am
Several dots are in my town now. Parky taking the flat fast section along the canal while Mark Townsend makes a long stop at the local Mc Donalds. Several others are now on the main road to Aachen, a horrible time to be there. It'll be interesting to see how they cross Aachen, one of the worst towns for cycling in the whole area.

There's been a lot of discussion about the small group that went north, obviously wanting a flatter, if longer route. Will be interesting to see if it actually pays off.

I watched the start from the Muur. Utter madness and crazy. Was wonderful. I spent the weekend in Geraadsbergen and had a number of really good conversations with many riders. I'm now 99% certain that I shall apply to ride next year.

Good luck to everyone riding number 6!

J

the whole group then blew it by going via Aachen which is a situated in the crater of a former volcano. Aparantly no one checked if the bridge near Stein has a bikepath, Stein-Geilenkirchen-Düren would have been the fast flat route.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 31 July, 2018, 08:26:13 am
It's not worth the extra distance - probably even with local knowledge. 

I ran the numbers on lots of different variations for this section when I was planning my route.  The shortest option is what James Hayden has done, which is through the Ardennes and Luxembourg.  I would have gone a bit south via France, which would have added about 20km but saved c.1000m of climbing. 

The extreme routes, like tracking the Rhine from Bonn, or going South to track it via Basel are much longer and have other bits of climbing which mean the benefit is less than you would expect.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 31 July, 2018, 08:30:08 am

I watched the start from the Muur. Utter madness and crazy. Was wonderful. I spent the weekend in Geraadsbergen and had a number of really good conversations with many riders. I'm now 99% certain that I shall apply to ride next year.

Glad you enjoyed the start, it's a lot of fun.  I was kicking myself for not going over.  Loads of other ex-riders did so it would have been a great reunion, and able to drink beer without having to worry about doing the ride! 

Good luck for next year!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 31 July, 2018, 01:40:25 pm

Rider 197 had a crash during the night and is in hospital with a Broken leg. No other vehicles were involved.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 31 July, 2018, 02:03:47 pm
Yes, that was a shame as he was going well, challenging for the lead. 
Bad news for any rider to get hurt but particularly unfortunate for the race to lose a podium challenger
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Graeme on 31 July, 2018, 11:18:27 pm
CrinklyUncle is doing well...

Rider 23 (https://trackleaders.com/transconrace18i.php?name=Mark_Lison)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: rob on 01 August, 2018, 08:21:22 am
Bernd, Bjorn and James within about 10k of each other after leaving CP2.

Hippy's tweets have descended into sweariness within 3 days.   Not bad going.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Deano on 01 August, 2018, 11:00:35 pm
As well as Crinkly Uncle, I'm keeping an eye on Stockton lad Chris Murkin, who's currently in the Italian Tyrol en route to CP2.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 02 August, 2018, 10:56:23 am

Looks like the vast majority of riders were in time at CP1. Rider 160, who entertained many with their creative routing involving all sorts of circles, going back the wrong way etc... has scratched. Roger Seaton, rider 34 looks to have been in time at CP1. Rider 179 (Ede), is first woman, she's just arriving at the Parcours for CP2. It's interesting the variety of routes that a small minority are taking, 80, and 195, surprised many by deviating from the pack on their way to CP2. Rider 138 (Meg), who was one of those who took the more northern route has slotted in about the middle of the women's pack. I wonder if her flatter route to get there means she has more in her legs now the mountains begin properly.

This dot watching is compulsive.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: JohnR on 02 August, 2018, 11:16:39 am
Just been watching the parcourse for cp2, and i don't understand it, are they going up to come back down to cp2 just for the fun of it, or are they going the wrong way or do they have to go up to come down just to make it a bit harder for them?

it is a bit compelling to watch though.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 02 August, 2018, 11:18:36 am
Just been watching the parcourse for cp2, and i don't understand it, are they going up to come back down to cp2 just for the fun of it, or are they going the wrong way or do they have to go up to come down just to make it a bit harder for them?

it is a bit compelling to watch though.

They enter about part way up, head to the top, fly down to the bottom, get a stamp, then head up the otherside, and then north. At least that is my understanding of it.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: JohnR on 02 August, 2018, 11:34:19 am
Oh I see, thanks, as if it's not hard enough for them!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 02 August, 2018, 11:54:56 am
Oh I see, thanks, as if it's not hard enough for them!

Well it's better than entering at the bottom by CP2, and then having to go up one side, back down, up the other, and onwards... they do seem to be finding creative ways of being evil to the riders...

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: matthew on 02 August, 2018, 12:06:37 pm
I have a colleague riding!! One of the guys on the same floor of my base office, though a completely different team, is riding as 249b and currently at CP1. I have no doubt there will be tales to tell when he returns to work.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: paddyirish on 02 August, 2018, 12:13:03 pm
It is gripping watching it - James heading W of Bjorn on the Czech roads.  Already looking like a 2 horse race, though Bernd Paul's tracker seems to keep disappearing and reappearing, so not sure exactly where he is.

Was on holiday in the area around CP1, was absolutely stunning and amazing for cycling.  I wanted to do the road up to the CP, but missed out as time ran out.  Kudos to the organisers for finding such amazing checkpoints.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyLion on 02 August, 2018, 12:16:46 pm
It looks like #15 scratched.

Can I just say I'm loving the fact that CrinklyUncle found time to tweet a bridge for CrinklyLion :D
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 02 August, 2018, 07:00:00 pm
It looks like #15 scratched.

Can I just say I'm loving the fact that CrinklyUncle found time to tweet a bridge for CrinklyLion :D

Latest news is that #15 crashed, not badly injured, but can't really go on. Poor sod. Hope he heals fast.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hatler on 02 August, 2018, 08:02:30 pm
In our office of 150 we're all cheering on #174. A first timer and he's in the top half at CP1. I've been appointed as official updater.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyLion on 02 August, 2018, 10:34:04 pm
I got another bridge!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Graeme on 02 August, 2018, 11:19:00 pm
I got another bridge!

He's a star!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 03 August, 2018, 03:36:23 pm

Dot watchers woke in horror this morning to discover track leaders glitching and the dots were not watchable! Seems to have resolved itself now, but lots of confusion on social media earlier.

James seems to have eeked out a lead of something in the region of 300km. Is that unassailable?

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: paddyirish on 03 August, 2018, 03:54:21 pm
From James blog

"For my first TCR in 2015 I studied and copied the strategy of the master, Kristof Allegaert. Last year in my preview this is how I described what I thought it was:

Get in front.
Get ahead by a sleep.
Stay ahead.
Try to win comfortably."

Steps 1 and 2 achieved...
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: paddyirish on 03 August, 2018, 09:30:06 pm
Quote from TCR Instagram page

"Second place rider @bjoernlenhard #TRCNo6cap2 has had a bad day. He was forced to walk to the CP after his tubeless tire got sliced on the parcours. The previous day was rough, traffic and a headwind was made worse when he ran out of food and water. He arrived at CP3 close to tears, yet somehow, still smiling. He’s had two cakes and two sprites and he’s now fixing his bike, eager to get going again. Hero!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmBVI1RHc1T/?taken-by=thetranscontinental (https://www.instagram.com/p/BmBVI1RHc1T/?taken-by=thetranscontinental)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 03 August, 2018, 10:38:25 pm
James Hayden now hit a real easy stretch. Of the 550k to the next control 450k will be quite easy sailing. But there's a nasty bit in Croatia where he'll have to cross the old UNPA West so he and other riders really have to be aware of landmines and booby-trapped houses. Most have been cleared in the last 25 years but especially in some villages there are still quite a lot around.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 04 August, 2018, 02:42:09 am

I've been trying to get to bed for the last 4 hours, but these dots are so damn addictive. Have been focusing on the area around CP2. It closes in just over 5 hours. Riders 97 and 124, who I met in Geraadsbergen, have had me on the edge of the seat. At midnight both had stopped, but after a 90 minute nap 97 has got moving up the 2100m climb to CP2. 124 is still asleep tho, and is going to be cutting it fine to do the 63km and 2100m climbing to get to cp2 by 0900. Fingers crossed.

*refreshes dots*

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 04 August, 2018, 08:58:15 am
Interesting, James seems to be heading east of Lake Balaton. I doubt if this is the faster route. Especially in Bosnia this could mean more hills for him, and more former battlezones to cross. That gives an opportunity for Björn to catch up, if he at least stays west of Lake Balaton.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 04 August, 2018, 10:45:22 am

124 posted on instagram that she made it to CP2 in time (with 12 mins to spare) tho her tracker is not showing her as at CP2. Not sure what is going on there. 97 Made it int time too. Was worried.

Now they just have about 500km as the crow flies to CP3...

Ivo, remind me next year to run my route past you for advice, you seem to know the best places to cycle!

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 04 August, 2018, 05:01:38 pm
Interesting, James seems to be heading east of Lake Balaton. I doubt if this is the faster route. Especially in Bosnia this could mean more hills for him, and more former battlezones to cross. That gives an opportunity for Björn to catch up, if he at least stays west of Lake Balaton.

East is much flatter.
The difference is something like a couple of thousand metres.
Bjorn looks like he is going to go west which would be a serious mistake!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Phil W on 04 August, 2018, 05:14:47 pm
Parky doing alright, around pos 130
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 04 August, 2018, 10:15:05 pm
He's plugging away, but I thought he'd be a bit nearer the front as usually such a strong rider. Also Paul Alderson.
Maybe they've struggled with the heat?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 04 August, 2018, 11:18:50 pm
Interesting, James seems to be heading east of Lake Balaton. I doubt if this is the faster route. Especially in Bosnia this could mean more hills for him, and more former battlezones to cross. That gives an opportunity for Björn to catch up, if he at least stays west of Lake Balaton.

East is much flatter.
The difference is something like a couple of thousand metres.
Bjorn looks like he is going to go west which would be a serious mistake!

Only on safety (landmines) I would recomend the western route. When carefully chosen you can cross the hills of Western -Slavonia relatively easily, there are a lot of roads here. Eastern Bosnia has a lot less roads as western Bosnia and as said earlier, there are a lot more nasty area's to cross.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 04 August, 2018, 11:42:32 pm

12 and 157 are almost at the point where James and Bjorn diverged. Will be interesting to see which they both choose.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyLion on 05 August, 2018, 07:24:54 am
CrinklyUncle (#23) had some bike issues yesterday which took some time.  Seems to have bivvied down for a few hours and got back on the road early this morning.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 05 August, 2018, 08:08:06 am

12 and 157 are almost at the point where James and Bjorn diverged. Will be interesting to see which they both choose.

J

157 west of Lake Balaton, 12 and 214 east of Lake Balaton.

James will bypass Tuzla. Back in the days it took 2-3 weeks for a roundtrip Zagreb-Tuzla with this truck:

(https://fotoalbum.dds.nl/ivo_m/pakrac/large/Scan3235.jpg)
(Photographed at the Zagreb Peace Hostel).

BJörn looks to head for the stretch Daruvar - Pakrac - Banja Luka, that would be my preferred route.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: zigzag on 05 August, 2018, 09:57:04 am
having cycled the alpi4000 audax which ended in bormio i was not too far from the cp1 of the tcr, so decided to pop over for few days to see and cheer riders coming through. it was a great experience to see it from the other side, inspect the bikes and setups, talk to riders and hear their stories. most riders were still fairly fresh after ~850k, the main trouble being climbing hills and mountains in the heat (~40'c) on loaded bikes. here are some our members (that i knew), all in good spirits and all still in the race!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180805/71c80d112c4aa5e6cf46656d3084ce16.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180805/c4b7980a902fbf0feb80659aa2d8fd77.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180805/12096cfbaf8f7caf3e67fcd24c48a818.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180805/e7721332007168832928eccf8dfb8af8.jpg)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 05 August, 2018, 06:49:54 pm
Great pictures!
Sorry I wasn't there to meet you
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Karla on 05 August, 2018, 07:32:41 pm
Parky certainly looks to be in good spirits!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 05 August, 2018, 07:34:20 pm

James has made it to CP4, he's done the Parcours. All he has to do now is get to the finish, just over 500km away. He's targetting a Tuesday morning finish.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 05 August, 2018, 07:45:27 pm
Ha he said thats his aim?
It looks possible if he rides through tomorrow night.
If he finishes before midday UK time he would have beaten Kristof's 2016 time, which would be a massive achievement.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 05 August, 2018, 07:51:04 pm

12 and 157 are almost at the point where James and Bjorn diverged. Will be interesting to see which they both choose.

J

157 west of Lake Balaton, 12 and 214 east of Lake Balaton.

James will bypass Tuzla. Back in the days it took 2-3 weeks for a roundtrip Zagreb-Tuzla with this truck:

BJörn looks to head for the stretch Daruvar - Pakrac - Banja Luka, that would be my preferred route.

Agree western Bosnia is pleasant for cycling. But when I did my route it was a lot less hilly to go further east. There is a gap in the his just after Osijek which makes a big difference.
Having said that, I'm surprised so many are going west. It could be that there is a flatter route that way that I didn't find!
In 2016 people said the road from Bania Luka down to Sarajevo was unpleasant for traffic.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 05 August, 2018, 09:44:45 pm

12 and 157 are almost at the point where James and Bjorn diverged. Will be interesting to see which they both choose.

J

157 west of Lake Balaton, 12 and 214 east of Lake Balaton.

James will bypass Tuzla. Back in the days it took 2-3 weeks for a roundtrip Zagreb-Tuzla with this truck:

BJörn looks to head for the stretch Daruvar - Pakrac - Banja Luka, that would be my preferred route.

Agree western Bosnia is pleasant for cycling. But when I did my route it was a lot less hilly to go further east. There is a gap in the his just after Osijek which makes a big difference.
Having said that, I'm surprised so many are going west. It could be that there is a flatter route that way that I didn't find!
In 2016 people said the road from Bania Luka down to Sarajevo was unpleasant for traffic.

It now looks a fairly even split between the western and eastern approaches. A few riders even go down to the Zagreb outskirts and probably will follow the Sava valley. So after a day or 2 we might have enough data to make a good sample of riders times for the western and eastern approaches to determine what's really the fastest route ;).
The route as taken by Björn hugs the old frontline between Pakrac and Lipik before crossing inter former RSK territory when turning left near Lipik. James on the other hand crossed the #1 and #2 of most destroyed towns in Croatia, Björn hat to settle for the 3rd ranked town (Pakrac).
James crossed near a few former UN protected pockets in Eastern Bosnia. Any of these pockets and former frontlines require a certain degree of care because of left overs fromt he war.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 05 August, 2018, 10:12:39 pm

Roger, Rider 34, the guy trying the TCR on a Brompton Scratched this morning, seems he had mechanical issues with his alfine 11 speed hub. He still managed 1200km.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 06 August, 2018, 06:36:51 am

It now looks a fairly even split between the western and eastern approaches. A few riders even go down to the Zagreb outskirts and probably will follow the Sava valley. So after a day or 2 we might have enough data to make a good sample of riders times for the western and eastern approaches to determine what's really the fastest route ;).
The route as taken by Björn hugs the old frontline between Pakrac and Lipik before crossing inter former RSK territory when turning left near Lipik. James on the other hand crossed the #1 and #2 of most destroyed towns in Croatia, Björn hat to settle for the 3rd ranked town (Pakrac).
James crossed near a few former UN protected pockets in Eastern Bosnia. Any of these pockets and former frontlines require a certain degree of care because of left overs fromt he war.

James' route is very similar to what I had planned to do. 

I routed it on RideWithGPS.  When you first put the start and end points in it defaults to going west of Balaton.  It's only when you start playing around with things that you suddenly realise there is a big saving from going east.  Checking back, it looks like that, when I pulled hte line East of Balaton the climbing went down by 3000 metres, for a very similar distance.  Going east looks like it would be a bit of a detour so my hunch is that some riders might not have bothered to look at it and just optimised the western route, so could have eroded some of that distance.

How would the worst war-scarred areas be to ride through now?  Obviously one might not bivvy off the road.  And I'm sure there would be visible signs of damage (there were in places like Otocac and Vrhovine (W Croatia) in 2016, which is upsetting to see - but a reminder of how things can go wrong.  But is there any reason to avoid those places now, if looking for the fastest racing route - eg mistrust of foreigners, lack of shops, etc...?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 06 August, 2018, 07:06:55 am
Looks like Bjorn had a disaster with his route.  Was on a mountain road that turned to rubble and he had to backtrack.  He lost all of yesterday evening's riding from 7pm. Now he's heading east towards the route that James took. 

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: D.A.L.E. on 06 August, 2018, 08:35:56 am
CrinklyUncle has scratched (#23)  :'(
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 06 August, 2018, 10:12:52 am
Looks like Bjorn had a disaster with his route.  Was on a mountain road that turned to rubble and he had to backtrack.  He lost all of yesterday evening's riding from 7pm. Now he's heading east towards the route that James took.

I was already a bit surprised that he didn't take the southern bit to Travnik.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 06 August, 2018, 10:20:17 am

It now looks a fairly even split between the western and eastern approaches. A few riders even go down to the Zagreb outskirts and probably will follow the Sava valley. So after a day or 2 we might have enough data to make a good sample of riders times for the western and eastern approaches to determine what's really the fastest route ;).
The route as taken by Björn hugs the old frontline between Pakrac and Lipik before crossing inter former RSK territory when turning left near Lipik. James on the other hand crossed the #1 and #2 of most destroyed towns in Croatia, Björn hat to settle for the 3rd ranked town (Pakrac).
James crossed near a few former UN protected pockets in Eastern Bosnia. Any of these pockets and former frontlines require a certain degree of care because of left overs fromt he war.

James' route is very similar to what I had planned to do. 

I routed it on RideWithGPS.  When you first put the start and end points in it defaults to going west of Balaton.  It's only when you start playing around with things that you suddenly realise there is a big saving from going east.  Checking back, it looks like that, when I pulled hte line East of Balaton the climbing went down by 3000 metres, for a very similar distance.  Going east looks like it would be a bit of a detour so my hunch is that some riders might not have bothered to look at it and just optimised the western route, so could have eroded some of that distance.

How would the worst war-scarred areas be to ride through now?  Obviously one might not bivvy off the road.  And I'm sure there would be visible signs of damage (there were in places like Otocac and Vrhovine (W Croatia) in 2016, which is upsetting to see - but a reminder of how things can go wrong.  But is there any reason to avoid those places now, if looking for the fastest racing route - eg mistrust of foreigners, lack of shops, etc...?

I visited Pakrac again last month for the former volunteers reunion (NGO project which started in '93).
The safety situation isn't the same everywhere. Already during the wars there were completely ravaged pockets while others were completely untouched. It all depended on which nation dominated a certain village. So the destruction is very irregular. It also depends on who destructed, more or less regular army troops or irregular forces. Irregular forces tended to destruct a lot more with mines and leave a lot more booby-traps behind.
Several area's hardly recovered. These are the ones where whole area's were depopulated. Luckily the Pakrac-Pozega road is unlogical for this year's TCR, that's one of these roads. You'll find more of them in southern Bosnia where the depopulation was even worse.
For the western route one should note that a lot of the population south of Lipik is replaced. So these people don't have intricate knowledge about the minefields laid during the war. In the northern part of the former UNPA West (UNPA= United Nations Protected Area) enough inhabitant stayed for the information to be transfered to nearly all.
The main roads in Bosnia are quite often already reconstructed and demined by locals + UN forces in the late 90-ies, they often tend to be in a surprisingly good condition. In fact, my experience is that Bosnia has less issues with this as Croatia.

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyLion on 06 August, 2018, 03:14:43 pm
CrinklyUncle has scratched (#23)  :'(

CrinklyUncle has indeed scratched, in Austria northbound.

I'm incredibly proud of quite how unbelievably far beyond his comfort zone he has pushed himself. It's about 8 years since he came out on his first forum ride - a 30odd mile night ride from the rally in York, led by the EldestCub who at the time would have been about 9, which my sister rode on a hand-me-down shopper bike donated by Tiermat's wife and her (then) FWHTBAB (friend who happens to be a boy) rode on his slick-shod hardtail. A better bike and some mild audaxing followed, then a road bike and more audaxing leading to a heroic ride around the 2013 LEL, finishing with a handful of minutes in hand. Illness during the qualifiers put paid to hopes for PBP 2015, but he came back for LEL 2017 (a married man by then!)  and made it look almost easy - even quite like fun.

TCR is a whole new level of hard. No cosy controls with volunteers to mollycoddle you every few hours, riding through multiple countries (often in one day) and a distance roughly equivalent to one and a half LELs before you even get to the turn in Poland and start riding south towards the end. Not to mention the elevations. Or the heat. Or the surfaces. Or the navigation challenges. Or the language barriers. Or a whole load of things!

I _think_ that, apart from a little tourist bimble round Paris with my l'il sis, his nephews and me, this _might_ have been the first time he ever rode a bike overseas. I reckon that's quite an impressive way to try it out.

#GoCrinklyUncle
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: D.A.L.E. on 06 August, 2018, 03:55:11 pm
This might have been covered elsewhere, but how many of the racers this year have an audax background?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Graeme on 06 August, 2018, 04:39:49 pm
CrinklyUncle has scratched (#23)  :'(

What an amazing effort from CrinklyUncle - well done for making it as far as you did!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: grams on 06 August, 2018, 05:46:31 pm
Roger, Rider 34, the guy trying the TCR on a Brompton Scratched this morning, seems he had mechanical issues with his alfine 11 speed hub. He still managed 1200km.

I'd love to know how the Alfine idea came up, and what alternatives were also considered. The easy way to give a Brompton lower gears is to fit a double chainring (or just a smaller one!).

Well done CrinklyUncle!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 06 August, 2018, 06:23:39 pm
I'd love to know how the Alfine idea came up, and what alternatives were also considered. The easy way to give a Brompton lower gears is to fit a double chainring (or just a smaller one!).

Not sure, As someone who rides a Brompton with an 8 speed hub, and twin chain rings (manual shift on the front). I'm not sure it's as good an idea as an Alfine 11 would be. I think it's not just about being low on the gears, but the range of gears. I did the maths of what he was running, and his smallest gear is about 2.2m, which isn't that big.

The big problems with the Brompton for this type of ride are the tyres, and the suspension block. The options for tyres on the Brompton are limited, Roger was running Marathon Greenguards as the other option of Kojaks just don't have the puncture resistance needed for a ride like this.

The suspension block, Roger had a prototype unit, but I don't think it's enough to deal with the amount of losses in suspension.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 06 August, 2018, 06:51:37 pm
This might have been covered elsewhere, but how many of the racers this year have an audax background?

I know if a few: Parky and Paul Alderson spring to mind. Hippy is also a regular audaxer nowadays. And a few younger guys got into audax to prepare for the this.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Neil C on 06 August, 2018, 07:14:08 pm
Anisa Aubin, rider 21, has done a dozen or so audaxes over the last year. And she only finished the 7300km of North Cape to Tarifa a couple of weeks ago!!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mr ben on 06 August, 2018, 07:22:04 pm
Awesome job CrinklyUncle! I knew nothing about the TCR a week ago but I’ve been caught up with the dot watching and inspired by your ride!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivo on 06 August, 2018, 10:46:19 pm
Ede, first woman at the moment, rode LEL last year.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 06 August, 2018, 10:51:07 pm
There's quite a gathering appearing at Cp4. Looks like the race within a race, for 2nd, is going to be an exciting one. I wonder if they will start off together again, or if it will be a who sleeps least... If they don't get moving soon, James is going to have 2 whole countries between him and who ever is 2nd.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 07 August, 2018, 06:06:27 am
Bjorn is the faster rider, and the last section is straightforward with little route variation so he should get second fairly comfortably. 

Third will probably be closer, but I'd go for Stephane as he was first there so should be faster / fresher. 
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 07 August, 2018, 09:07:20 am
CrinklyUncle has scratched (#23)  :'(

CrinklyUncle has indeed scratched, in Austria northbound.

I'm incredibly proud of quite how unbelievably far beyond his comfort zone he has pushed himself. It's about 8 years since he came out on his first forum ride - a 30odd mile night ride from the rally in York, led by the EldestCub who at the time would have been about 9, which my sister rode on a hand-me-down shopper bike donated by Tiermat's wife and her (then) FWHTBAB (friend who happens to be a boy) rode on his slick-shod hardtail. A better bike and some mild audaxing followed, then a road bike and more audaxing leading to a heroic ride around the 2013 LEL, finishing with a handful of minutes in hand. Illness during the qualifiers put paid to hopes for PBP 2015, but he came back for LEL 2017 (a married man by then!)  and made it look almost easy - even quite like fun.

TCR is a whole new level of hard. No cosy controls with volunteers to mollycoddle you every few hours, riding through multiple countries (often in one day) and a distance roughly equivalent to one and a half LELs before you even get to the turn in Poland and start riding south towards the end. Not to mention the elevations. Or the heat. Or the surfaces. Or the navigation challenges. Or the language barriers. Or a whole load of things!

I _think_ that, apart from a little tourist bimble round Paris with my l'il sis, his nephews and me, this _might_ have been the first time he ever rode a bike overseas. I reckon that's quite an impressive way to try it out.

#GoCrinklyUncle

That is a great write-up.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivan on 07 August, 2018, 01:04:15 pm
#60 Parky has scratched :-(
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: tonyh on 07 August, 2018, 01:14:36 pm
 :(   Hope he is OK.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Frank9755 on 07 August, 2018, 02:08:49 pm
Rumors that his frame may have broken...
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: zigzag on 07 August, 2018, 06:57:44 pm
Rumors that his frame may have broken...

very unfortunate especially as the frame was only few months old..

better luck next time!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Phil W on 07 August, 2018, 07:03:08 pm
Real shame as he was progressing steadily.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: seasider on 07 August, 2018, 07:11:28 pm
The cycling group that I ride with has  a rider Number 11, Chris, he is doing well plodding along somewhere in Austria on Monday morning .He has little history of this kind of riding so being alone he deserves top marks for courage to undertake this ride ,but then he is from The Fylde Coast and a Lancastrian.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 07 August, 2018, 08:00:57 pm

James has made it to the finish, 8 days, 22 hours, and 55 minutes. Bjorn is still 260km behind him.

He's gonna have a long wait for some company... And even longer for the finishers party...

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: paddyirish on 07 August, 2018, 08:53:20 pm
Stunning effort by James.  Seems to keep a remarkably high level for longer than all the others.

Anyone know what has happened to #12? gone from 2nd to barely top 10 since CP4. Assume some sort of catastrophic bike failure?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Ivan on 07 August, 2018, 09:03:36 pm
Stephane made a bit of a routing error: https://frrt.org/tcrno6/r/12-stephane/map?center=43.54204,18.56164&zoom=10
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hatler on 07 August, 2018, 09:07:15 pm
James is a phenomenon. Putting out about 130W for 19 hours a day. Superhuman stuff.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: TigaSefi on 07 August, 2018, 09:58:17 pm
Winning by a country length! Staggering. Just let that sink in for a bit....
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: seasider on 08 August, 2018, 08:31:15 pm
My cycling friend Chris N0 11, has had to scratch.On Tuesday evening he stopped at a T junction somewhere in Austria to check his route when a car ran over his foot.He went to Hospital but was forced to pack it in this morning. That was after me giving him a big build up last night. Chapeau Chris.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 08 August, 2018, 08:34:36 pm


Looks like Matthew Falconer has made it in 2nd, in 9d 23h 07m. Bjorn is due in any minute now, he's just coming down the Parcours. He lost 2nd by only a few km.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Phil W on 08 August, 2018, 09:54:48 pm
He lost it coming into Greece by taking a much hillier route.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Kev Sp8 on 09 August, 2018, 06:27:57 am
I'm just back from being a volunteer at CP1. (Rode there from Paris, then on from CP1 to Ljubljana to fly home.) Just to add to some of the stuff mentioned above;

Anisa arrived at CP1 with a knackered rear shifter, forcing her into riding 2 speed. She still had a smile on her face and was clearly loving life.  :)

I left CP1 on Friday morning and met Roger Seaton and his Brompton at the summit of Bielerhohe Pass (CP1 Parcours). Rode with him for an hour or so and thoroughly entertaining it was too! Sadly, I think he knew the writing was on the wall even then, as his Alfine hub was sounding distinctly terminal.

Lost more brilliant stories that I hope to scribble down before I forget. Had a mini adventure all of my own! I throughly recommend volunteering if you can. Probably the most inspirational thing I've ever been involved with.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Pickled Onion on 09 August, 2018, 05:54:43 pm
He loat it coming into Greece by taking a much hillier route.

A few people have been tempted to avoid Pogradec and take the route further South through Gramsh and Devoll Valley. On paper this looks like a good option, fairly flat along the side of the river most of the way. Unfortunately it's the site of a new hydro project, they have moved the road higher up but it takes massive roller coaster swoops down and up at every tributary. Then half-way the new tarmac disappears and the unmade road is battered by the construction trucks. This is all probably too new to show up on Google Streetview. Very scenic, though!
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: hatler on 11 August, 2018, 07:25:46 am
Sad news. Our man has pulled out.

“I am gutted to scratch from the Transcontinental for safety reasons. My top priority was to return home safe and have gone to great lengths to route around busy roads. My experiences this afternoon and tonight after the Bosnian border have led to this. I cannot see a safe route and the risks are too high. I am hanging up my cap. Good luck to all those continuing #tcrno6 #mykinesis #tcrno6cap174#ikhethelo”
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Graeme on 11 August, 2018, 08:45:13 pm
Sad news. Our man has pulled out.

“I am gutted to scratch from the Transcontinental for safety reasons. My top priority was to return home safe and have gone to great lengths to route around busy roads. My experiences this afternoon and tonight after the Bosnian border have led to this. I cannot see a safe route and the risks are too high. I am hanging up my cap. Good luck to all those continuing #tcrno6 #mykinesis #tcrno6cap174#ikhethelo”


#safetyfirst

Glad a sensible decision has been taken despite being gutted. Chapeau.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 22 August, 2018, 09:43:35 pm
Hey up.
  cap#81 back at home, shell shocked with the travel and all the riding.
Immense highs and lows.
Managed to extend my adventure for a day or so by getting lost in gravelgeddon in Southern Bosnia.
Wrote a few missives en route that were posted on the TCR Eng FB page.
Hippy how you do that race so fast AND the American thing is completely beyond me. You are a sad individual.
What a ride.

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: D.A.L.E. on 23 August, 2018, 11:22:23 am
Am I right in thinking there's only one person left out on the road?
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: CrinklyUncle on 23 August, 2018, 11:27:27 am
Am I right in thinking there's only one person left out on the road?

2 People

Cap 44 - Lionel Bobb - approx 571 km to go.
Cap 171 - Neil Matthews - only just half way

Info taken from https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/315512/?offset=3075#comment14382991 (https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/315512/?offset=3075#comment14382991) where WornCleat has been giving a daily update on everyone left in the race.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Scrantaj on 31 August, 2018, 09:20:17 am
Not sure if this is the right place for it but I can't think on anywhere else appropriate.  Mod's feel free to move it.

Anna is trying to raise enough money to get out to Australia for the inquest into Mike's death and hopefully get some proper legal representation.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mikehall2018?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socpledgedesktop&utm_content=mikehall2018&utm_campaign=post-pledge-desktop&utm_term=eMpxd6M9A

Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: mattc on 31 August, 2018, 10:43:30 am
I *think* it was posted over in the Audax forum yesterday. The £6k was raised rapidkly, and checking now, they're over £8,600 :)

( non-FB link if you want to go have a read: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mikehall2018   )
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: quixoticgeek on 16 November, 2018, 09:51:15 pm

Official results are now out.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g351CGhq4TtP0sB_DP93GI_phRTdA23H/view?usp=sharing

Congratulations to all involved.

J
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: Nuncio on 21 November, 2018, 12:50:44 pm
It's mentioned elsewhere in the forum but the first of The Cycling Podcast's 6-part Explore series ('Explore is our new six-part series looking at the world of bikepacking, endurance and ultra-endurance riding') features the TCR, with a long interview with James Hayden and another interesting one with Richard Abraham, who DNFd at 2000km.

Download link on this page: https://thecyclingpodcast.com//explore (https://thecyclingpodcast.com//explore)
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: rob on 22 November, 2018, 01:09:47 pm
It's mentioned elsewhere in the forum but the first of The Cycling Podcast's 6-part Explore series ('Explore is our new six-part series looking at the world of bikepacking, endurance and ultra-endurance riding') features the TCR, with a long interview with James Hayden and another interesting one with Richard Abraham, who DNFd at 2000km.

Download link on this page: https://thecyclingpodcast.com//explore (https://thecyclingpodcast.com//explore)

The James Hayden interview is really good.   It's interesting how he says he wasn't that good on the road as he was a prolific winner when he was a part of my club's junior squad.
Title: Re: Transcontinental 2018
Post by: morbihan on 25 November, 2018, 03:45:57 pm
Release date for TCRno7  is this coming Friday. Nov 30th.