The Transcontinental Race 2013

[Aperitif]

Chris is in the Finisher's Enclosure now, and Anton looks set to arrive just as the first round of Aperitifs are being dosed out...then it's a long, weary 174 kms back to Seb Gassner who is leading the rest home. 15 hours to go so 15 into 174 = 11.6kph to the finish assuming (that word again a non-stop finale.) Eelco Weijmans is a surprise - he's managed only a short distance since surfacing this morning - albeit in the heat. He's still showing 285kms to go...
Sergei Konov, who is at the back of the 'bunch' trying hard to arrive, is left with 236kms. Not impossible, but it has been two weeks in the saddle, and 90F + temperatures have ensured that he's getting well baked today. A rest and then a race for the line I think..in the 'cool' of the evening/ night. Good luck all - it's your last 900 or so minutes of effort before that moment...

 

[StuartG]

I vote they 'stop the clock' at 07:59 tomorrow until the party starts. However, if you are late for the party - tough. Well they are used to that!

 

[Aperitif]

Colin Woof has had a great ride today, and has only 70kms + to go. Anton is guzzling Efes, along with Chris Holden. Lots of mishaps and adventures being reported on TwitTweet - along with some lovely photos. Imagine hard, but one is never going to imagine that feeling of relief those folk must have. Stuart's got the right idea though - true Corinthian spirit, which I'm sure these people have already had a taster of... Many buckets of metaphorical red paint are being prepared for the arrivée I reckon, and the town is bracing itself!

Anton Hunt - from Transconrace. "Not showered since London, no cleats on his shoes..."

Chris Holden...for Efes sake! A priceless smile.

 

[Aperitif]

I vote they 'stop the clock' at 07:59 tomorrow until the party starts. However, if you are late for the party - tough. Well they are used to that!

A further note from the Organiser's Pages:

Finish / Istanbul
The race will finish at the Rumeli Hisari (Rumelian Castle) – a 14th Century Ottoman fortress in the Sariyer district of Istanbul. The Rumeli Hisari is situated on the Western shore of the Bosphorus at its narrowest point, so the riders will finish with the tip of Asia, just 660m away.
The lead riders will be hoping to reach Istanbul in under 10 days, the target for most will be to make the finish party on the eve of day 15.

It's going to be one heck of a party!

 

[Aperitif]

A European beer tour might have appealed to some on this forum...Rimas going rideabout in Romania didn't help much, but it added to the beer tally!

Come on everyone - one last big effort and get as near as you can!

 

[Scoosh]

Do I detect a CC Tour

in the planning ... ???

 

[zigzag]

rode to rumeli hisari today to see Mikko arrived, there were about fifteen of us enjoying Efes, reflecting on a journey sharing wicked stories. photo shoot at 2pm tomorrow, then party at 7 - i really wish the guys that are still on the road can make it! come on Colin, Sergei, Sebastian, Eric, Eelco, Iain!!
@Aperitif - awesome beer map; riding through romania i was quite worried about finding/getting enough food, but beer was always at hand's reach. urSus!

 

[Telemark]

Colin doesn't have far to go, 34.11 km (a minute ago) - Go Colin!
(He has been known to do wee detours along the way though ...)

T

 

[Aperitif]

rode to rumeli hisari today to see Mikko arrived, there were about fifteen of us enjoying Efes, reflecting on a journey sharing wicked stories. photo shoot at 2pm tomorrow, then party at 7 - i really wish the guys that are still on the road can make it! come on Colin, Sergei, Sebastian, Eric, Eelco, Iain!!
@Aperitif - awesome beer map; riding through romania i was quite worried about finding/getting enough food, but beer was always at hand's reach. urSus!

A great ride by Colin Woof yesterday ended up as this:

The Transcontinental ‏@transconrace

1h​

Colin Woof arrived at 4:23am at the Rumeli Hisari having ridden the last 30 miles on a flat tyre pic.twitter.com/ioGO5F2GkM

Fantastic - particularly the last day's riding...once the ticking clock grew louder.

 

[Aperitif]

Good morning, Rimas and your fellow competitors...a little stiffness finding its way into the crevices of your body after two days? No problem...at least nothing that the odd injection of 'efesthetic' can't sort out, along with a bit of music...'Wooly Istanbully, from Sam the Sham - who else?!


Where was I?
Hmm. less than four hours to go, and, whilst there are some mighty sleeps going on in one part of Turkey, others are squeezing the last drop of effort from their weary bodies...a few more kilometres, push up the pace for a minute or two...welcome every downhill earned from grinding uphill...come on everyone - last big effort! Brian is camped up in the Greek mountains, a comparitively chilly 59F still with a long way to go - 646kms.
Eelco Weijman's - camped up too...tracker has run out of battery maybe...yesterday he spent 'coming round the mountains' like a Netherlands train, and is still shown at 269kms.
Recep Y and Erik N are more or less 'together' at 100kms Sergei has veered to the left on approach, and given himself a few more kms 120 to be precise (as far as the tracking allows, of course). Daniel Wilson and Seb Gassner at 146kms...still time to make the party, although they'll not be doing much twisting the night away. Iain Findlay has 306kms to go and is probably 'all-in'....resting at the moment.

6 days and 6 hours ago, Kristoff Allegaert crossed the finishing line.

Every rider achieved their 'personal best.'

On the day that this epic event finishes, soccer's 'Premier League' begins...sigh.

L'important dans la vie ce n'est point le triomphe, mais le combat, l'essentiel ce n'est pas d'avoir vaincu mais de s'être bien battu
The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well

 

[Aperitif]

Colin doesn't have far to go, 34.11 km (a minute ago) - Go Colin!
(He has been known to do wee detours along the way though ...)

T

The Transcontinental ‏@transconrace

2h​

Colin Woof arrived at 4:23am at the Rumeli Hisari having ridden the last 30 miles on a flat tyre

(Thought I posted this at 4am..it has disappeared! Should it crop up twice, pls delete one mods, ta.)

 

[zigzag]

A great ride by Colin Woof yesterday ended up as this:

Fantastic - particularly the last day's riding...once the ticking clock grew louder.

Colin and i walked 10km back from the party yesterday - i haven't yet met a person more passionate about bike related things! he's now entered a uni for a degree in mechanical engineering with a dream to work in bicycle design area/industry. a truly awesome chap!

the top award of the race for "adventurousness" and embodying the spirit of the race went to Mikko, who, after finishing LEL couple of days before completed this race and chose to climb mortirolo - one of the toughest mountain passes in the alps! mega chapeau!!

(and as a rider with the longest route i won a set of continental tyres)

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

The tour tracker thingy isn't up any more but I hope Brian Welsh has managed to untie the knot he got himself into yesterday.

 

[Aperitif]

Yes, it's working, Chris - Brian is now 350kms to go and taking the Coastal route...sort of...(for now). he has certainly got himself into a bit of a pickle this ride. He's still on it though - 'shap-o' or, as zee Ingrish says...'at. Well done Brian.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Yes, it's working, Chris - Brian is now 350kms to go and taking the Coastal route...sort of...(for now). he has certainly got himself into a bit of a pickle this ride. He's still on it though - 'shap-o' or, as zee Ingrish says...'at. Well done Brian.

Ah, good. I thought it had stopped tracking. He's made pretty good progress today - I reckon he must have got some good rest in a Thessalonika bed and freshened up a little before setting off anew.