This year I took part in the Transcontinental Race, a 4000 km long bike race from Belgium to Greece. The clock never stops, you don’t have any support and you have to choose your own route to the checkpoints. I never knew where and how long I would sleep the coming night. I went to many countries I had never been to before. Where I did not know what to expect.
Unfortunately, I got bad neck problems the day before checkpoint 1 and had to do many short brakes and later a long one. Only with a lot of sleep deprivation I made it to checkpoint 2 in Slovenia in time. Shortly after that I was even falling asleep while standing so I decided I needed to have a long brake instead of several naps. This meant that I wouldn’t make it to CP3 in time. I decided to scratch, take a shortcut and do my own tour to Meteora. So I stopped racing and started touring. Somewhen I had to hurry up to make it to the finishers party in time, that takes place after 16 days. I stopped riding 15 kilometers before the finish line because I was too scared of the dogs and did not want to ride any further. I probably got chased by much more than 100 dogs while making my way through Europe. I arrived at the finish line in the late morning after I finally decided to get on my bike again.
There are some days I almost don’t remember and others I could ride a book about. I remember many things where I don’t remember when they happened. So writing about my almost 3000 kilometers from Geraardsbergen to Meteora would be really difficult and time consuming. Maybe I will write about it later…much later.
But somehow, I would love to write about my experiences. I just don’t know where to start. So here is my offer to you: Write me your questions (German or English) and I will try to answer most of them. What do you want to know?
I am curious about what you are mostly interested in.
You can find my route and many photos here:
„There are some days I almost don’t remember and others I could write a book about“ I love that line. Tells me so much about what riding TCR must be like.
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Is it the organised nature of the long distance events that appeals to you or the competition?
I have raced many times over my cycling life (in many cycling disciplines) and I have cycle toured (including a long jaunt from London into central Germany), I personally wouldn’t enjoy racing alone (I like joint enterprise) over long distances and pushing myself against the very limits of my endurance over a prolonged time.
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Congratulations. What approach did you take to sleeping – bivvy, tent, hotel, other – and why.
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How did you approach the race before staring? Say to ride at least 240km every day or leave it all to luck.
How did you get back?
How much money did you spent per day on average?
What would you leave at home, what would you buy?
Would you take a different route now that you know it?
How do you manage ups and downs?
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