Author: Rob Walker

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TCR No.5 – Day 4

3am sees me padding around another sleeping hotel – breakfast has been left out at reception as promised, although it takes me a few moments to figure out the latch on the low wooden door to get behind the desk,. The bag is wet in one corner – the culprit, a large dill pickle, slips out of the hole as I pick it up. Bizarre as it sounds, pickles are a well known aid for cramp, although I’m fairly sure it’s inclusion is just a coincidence of regional cuisine. I rescue the pickle, and stuff it in my mouth, putting the rest of the food bag in my musette.

As the basement door opens to the garage I’m greeted by the tracker lights, still flashing away exactly where I had last seen them. Continue reading “TCR No.5 – Day 4”

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TCR No. 5 – Day 3

Honau, 640km – 6:25am (race clock 02D // 08H // 25M)

Much to my surprise the coffee was there, and it was darned good – properly strong, dark espresso in a cup just large enough to take a small shot of milk. It was the perfect accompaniment as I sat outside on a concrete step rigging all the gear back onto my bike. Before setting off., some extra cable ties are needed for my front mudguard fix – it’s still rubbing occasionally on rough ground.

The air was cool and skies clear as I rolled out onto the fast run back down the hill, just the odd patch of damp still from the night before. Continue reading “TCR No. 5 – Day 3”

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TCR No.5 – Day 2

Kaltenengers, 320km – 30 Jul 1am (race clock 01D // 03H // 00M)

A thundering herd of buffalo would have been quieter than my attempts at sneaking out of my room and retrieving my bike from the broom cupboard. It’s somewhere after 1am, and the hotel is closed up and asleep. I do my best to prop the door out to the garage open with a large rock – I’m more than a little paranoid it will lock shut behind me whilst half my gear is still inside. It’s a relief after a couple of trips to have everything safely outside so I can reverse the process of the night before, and get everything back onto the bike. Continue reading “TCR No.5 – Day 2”

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TCR No.5 – Day 1

GERAARDSBERGEN – 28 Jul 10PM (RACE clock 0D // 0H // 0M)

The market square is packed with 280 odd riders. My room-mate from the B&B, Kurt, and I stand somewhere towards the back of the group. Conversation has now faded to a few words of nervous banter, and the obligatory good lucks with the other riders directly around us. Up front is a small gazebo where the organizers are gathered, and beyond that a orange glow of torches line either side of the first short cobbled ramp out of the square. Continue reading “TCR No.5 – Day 1”

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TCR No.5 – T minus 1

There’s a build-up of nervous excitement over the final days and hours towards before the start of a big event. Anticipation steadily grows as the list of final preparations gradually gets ticked off. For me, and I think many riders, it’s an essential part of the experience – but if you’d rather just skip the preamble, then feel free to dive in and go straight to Day 1.

BRUSSELS – 27 Jul, 8am (RACE clock -1D // 12H // 0M)

Thanks to Qatar Airways and a ridiculously good-value Business Class flight, I landed in Brussels feeling fresh and rested. After a short wait by the baggage carousel the nagging doubts were at last silenced. A porter arrived with my bike box looking exactly as it had in Cape Town a few hours before – no signs of any form of distress. What a relief! My taxi was a little delayed reaching Arrivals, but eventually we were underway. The beginning of my TCR adventure was now just down the road towards Geraardsbergen. Continue reading “TCR No.5 – T minus 1”

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TCR No.5 Prologue Part 3 – Route Planning

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”

Mike Tyson’s famous quote seems oddly appropriate for this third and final part of my pre-TCR blog series. Ironically, despite covering the aspect which has taken by far the most time of all my preparations it’s going to be the shortest entry. You see, under TCR rules, we’re strongly discouraged from sharing details of the actual routes we have planned. The four checkpoints are well known and common to all riders. But what lies in between them remains a closely guarded secret that each of us will hold until the wheels start to roll, and the trackers reveal our various directions. Continue reading “TCR No.5 Prologue Part 3 – Route Planning”

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TCR No.5 Prologue Part 2 – Preparation

“One doesn’t train, one prepares”

It’s a phrase oft quoted in the Audax world, but it’s even truer for TCR – especially so in my case. Early on in my preparation came the realisation that I was likely to reach the start line considerably shorter on kilometers than most of the other entrants. In other words my actual physical training was in all probability going to be under done. It wasn’t really a conscious decision, more of an accepted reality of the need to balance my time. But I also knew there was something I could do about it – focus on quality over quantity. Rather than endless hours without purpose, I’d aim at rides with targeted goals. Kit testing, pacing, sleep deprivation, terrain – everything longer than a regular training session would have specific aims. Continue reading “TCR No.5 Prologue Part 2 – Preparation”

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TCR No.5 Prologue Part 1 – Kit

Be careful what you wish for

Regular readers will have noticed the blog has been rather quiet for the first six months of 2017. There’s a reason for that – the letter right arrived in my inbox on January 5th. Reading it was both a moment of elation, and also a stern wake-up call. An immense and sudden ground-rush of hopes and dreams about taking part in an ultra-endurance cycle race. It was actually going to happen, in seven months’ time, ready or not, I’d be lining up to start #TCRNo5 (the PedalED Trans Continental Race No5). Continue reading “TCR No.5 Prologue Part 1 – Kit”

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TCRNo5

Funding the Unfunded

For some riders, The PedalED Transcontinental Race No 5 (#TCRNo5) is a full blown race. A gargantuan ultra-marathon across the continent of Europe. Battling it out alone, unsupported, around the clock, for a distance of close on 4,000km from the start in Belgium to the end in Greece. For other riders, like me, it’s an adventure. A physical and mental challenge unlike any we have undertaken. Victory for us will be simply to reach the finish inside the 18 day cut-off time. Or better still within 14 days to arrive in time for the party! But for all of us taking part, one thing this is not is a sponsored event. Most riders, like me, are privateers – funded from their own pockets, and using up precious annual leave for their race across Europe. Not being sponsored or funded does not mean that no funding can be raised though. And for me, there are a couple of local causes which I’m passionate about and have chosen to raise funds and awareness for.

Continue reading “TCRNo5”

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Not a fluke

Cape 600km, 17th March 2017

With no Argus for me this year my March riding highlight was the Cape 600km Audax. With near perfect timing, my Niner RLT9 rig was complete in close to it’s planned final TCR form the week before.  And just to top things off, we’d be riding a new variation on our regular route, with around half of the Randonneurs – myself and Theunis included – taking a novel ant-clockwise option on account of the wind forecast. There was much to look forward too. Continue reading “Not a fluke”