The Transcontinental Race 2013

[frank9755]

Edward Pickup used a strange route to CP2 - and it worked. Looks like he has now made a break for the south instead of following the leaders ... can this race be won on navigation?

His route was a good bit shorter while Rimas' was longer. Maybe the hilliness offset the distance. But maybe not. Choosing the best route is certainly part of the challenge.

Meanwhile, Rimas is bowling along in Northern Italy. Will he go round the mountains, like Mr Pickup, or over them, following Mr Wilkins?
Knowing Rimas, I think he will go over them.

• Recep Yesil : explanation http://t.co/dAfHB1dLlB

That pizza looks nice!

 

[Aperitif]

Edward Pickup used a strange route to CP2 - and it worked. Looks like he has now made a break for the south instead of following the leaders ... can this race be won on navigation?

Rimas now has a choice: he can either pick up the pace, or pace the Pickup!

From Abs informative post, poor old Zoran Mihelcic - he finally...ran...out of...vowels... No, actually he was suffering from mineral deficiency ' Race zinc him lo'.
Good going for the withdrawers anyway - no disgrace, and you'll be first to the turkish delight shop.

'Sigma Or!'

 

[Aperitif]

Rimas is only about 10kms shy of Signor Wilkins..."onSword and upward", Rimas!

 

[rich p]

Edward Pickup used a strange route to CP2 - and it worked. Looks like he has now made a break for the south instead of following the leaders ... can this race be won on navigation?

He's using the Via Claudia Augusta by the look of it and it's downhill all the way to Venice virtually. It forks off towards Bassano del Grappa IIRC. Venice to Slovenia is also pan flat after that too - boring as fark but he could make good time.

 

[Aperitif]

^ Knowledge is power.
I suppose blasting away 'at sea level' is as good as it gets when in hot pursuit. He's still going to need a massive engine to combat the drive of Allegaert*, hilly or not - from what one can see. Plenty of seaside stops for an ice cream though.

*It's not as though he's stopping to take in the views is it?

 

[Aperitif]

I wonder if the sea breeze is cooling? Inland, has anyone noticed the temperatures that Allegaert is nudging into? 96F - 97F. Doesn't augur well for those slicing through Croatia midday or afternoon tomorrow. Rain forecast Friday evening though, so things might freshen up.

 

[rich p]

I wonder if the sea breeze is cooling? Inland, has anyone noticed the temperatures that Allegaert is nudging into? 96F - 97F. Doesn't augur well for those slicing through Croatia midday or afternoon tomorrow. Rain forecast Friday evening though, so things might freshen up.

Rimas doesn't need hair conditioning though.

 

[Aperitif]

Good morning intrepid riders. I see that you are all going steady (well, the first few anyway) and today will see just how the seaside variation takes shape I hope. Allegaert will be passing by Belgrade sometime soon...one can't help but be reminded of the atrocities that happened in that part of the world in the early 90s. IS this the first running of this race - I admit to not looking at much more than maps, rather than blogs or other online media? (Except for the Abs link to the riding partners earlier...yeah, nice pizza, Frank eh?)

 

[Aperitif]

Rimas doesn't need hair conditioning though.

VO2 Max...think what he'd be like with VO7!!! (No use trying for the contemporary puns here - not a clue what shampoos are called these days / 5yrs / 10yrs ago etc)

 

[frank9755]

Yes, it's the first time. The organiser, Mike Hall, won a longer distance variation to break the round the world record (which I think has since been broken again) last year.

The jury is still out on Rimas' Austrian alpine route vs the Italian Pickup line, taking a longer but flatter route. Although on further investigation, it seems that EP had a good 8 hour break overnight while Rimas rode through so might have another low this morning. Therefore I expect Edward to pick up more speed today and vindicate his route selection!

Looking at the overall tracker, EP seems to have started a few hours later than everyone else. Not sure why:
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace13

 

[rich p]

It may be a worthless stat and many a slip twixt Pickup and lip, but the official estimates of finishing times have Kristof A 01.23 10th Aug
Richard D 09.25 11th Aug
Rimas 05.13 13th Aug
Edward P09.24 13th Aug
James J 08.26 13th Aug
Matthew W 01.19 13 Aug
Doesn't make a lot of sense to me (but I am dense) since Edward is ahead of James for instance.

 

[frank9755]

I think your assessment is a fair one, Rich.
Thanks to Stuart, above, I think that is based on the number of miles they've ridden, rather than where they are, or how many to go. So they don't get credit for taking a shorter route, as EP seems to have done.

 

[Aperitif]

The heat will sap Rimas. To think that Allegaert has 1000kms +/- to go and he's only parked up for 17 or so hours and 100 hours riding (9-10 weeks commuting time for the pleberati, most part), is something else. A photojournalist needs to 'claim' this bloke and tell the world!
G(o)rigenas, Rimas!

 

[HaloJ]

Yes, it's the first time. The organiser, Mike Hall, won a longer distance variation to break the round the world record (which I think has since been broken again) last year.

World Cycle Race

The record distance was changed to 18000 miles.

The record was broken by Thomas Grosserichter on 31st December 2012, with a total travel time of 105 days 1 hour and 44 minutes beating Mike Hall by 2 days. The difference Was Grissericter was supported whereas Hall wasn't. Guinness don't recognise the difference, yet.

Abs

 

[frank9755]

FWIW I rode with the guy who held the record before Mike Hall. Alan Bate, who lives in Thailand, joined us for a couple of days on a tour in winter last year. He told us about the ride, other things he's done and showed us round his bar/cycling museum. Along with his round-the-world bike, he has all sorts of things including lots of Tokyo post office bikes, a Lotus carbon TT bike and a few penny farthings. Must dig out the pictures some time....