There had been some discussion at CP2 about routes through Serbia. Several people said that they were going north around Belgrade because they didn’t want to get slowed down. I could see their point, but my route took me straight through the middle. I was basically going to ride north until I hit the Danube, and then follow it through the city before heading off towards Croatia.
Day 3 – Struggles in Serbia
Day Three started well, crossing into Serbia. I’m sure others have different strategies, but for me having landmarks and milestones helps with my motivation, and crossing a border counts as a milestone. It isn’t all good though – in this case it also came with a change of language (not that my Bulgarian was good enough to be much benefit) and a change of currency. Serbian currency is actually quite difficult to get outside of Serbia, so like many others I was relying on finding an ATM, or failing that people who would accept payment with card or Euro/Bulgarian Lev.
Day 2 – Bulgarian Heat
Riding strongly is an important part of winning TCR, but just as important if not more so is being efficient in everything you do. There are really only a few things that are important, and if you can do them all quickly and nothing else then you will be well ahead of most people.
Day 1 – the long version
Ok, my plan now is to do much more detailed write-ups and post them over the coming weeks. The fundraising has been going really well – thanks to contributions from a whole lot of wonderful people I have passed my goal, but I’ll keep it open here just in case anyone still wants a chance donate. Forgive me if these write-ups are too long, i had a lot of time to think on the bike!
Race day! It started perfectly – but that only lasted about 5 minutes. Many years ago I worked in Bulgaria, and had a great guy working with me who taught me a lot. In particular, there is an ancient Bulgarian saying that has been passed down from generation to generation, that this guy shared with me. I followed it for quite a while, but the night before had chosen to ignore it. I’m not sure if that was the cause, but it meant that in the hours before the race any spare fluids I had were rapidly exiting my body. The saying was “Don’t eat the small meat, Rowan”.
And finished!
Well, the short story is that I made it. I was nowhere near as fast as my original plan, but just completing the course is an achievement and to be honest I am satisfied – for now.
Days Seven & Eight: Small days but important
The last two days have had very small numbers, but been important and tough days. I’ve started having problems with a whole lot of different areas, but these two days have been about figuring out how to ride despite those problems. The good news Continue reading “Days Seven & Eight: Small days but important”
Day Six: Slovenia is beautiful
Today I’m in Slovenia (I should be in Italy). Slovenia is just beautiful. I’ve barely ridden today as I tried to work out a few little issues, but I’ve still enjoyed the day a lot, seeing just how beautiful the place is.
Anyway, I’m about 20km from Italy now and it seems there will be storms all night, and then all day tomorrow. I found a public camp area with a roof, so at least I’ll be dryish until I set out tomorrow!