So the plan was to knock out a solid 100km tonight. The reality was vastly different. I had to start with climbing a hill, and at the bottom I could see black storm clouds. I wasn’t phased until I heard the thunder, when I started to think about how sensible climbing a hill in a lightning storm really is.
Check Point 1
So I’ve made it to check point 1. I have to be honest, this isn’t going nearly as well as I’d hoped.
The worst
Today, the worst thing happened. One of the racers was hit and killed. I’m still processing it at the moment. I have no idea what happened and am sure more details will be released in time. I wanted to post this now though because I know that people are worrying about me, and hearing that news they will worry more.
We live in a dangerous world, and disaster can strike even for people at home on their own couch. Having said that, I work to minimise my risk. My plan for last night was to ride through, but I changed the plan after deciding that it was not safe. I am actively changing my actions to improve my safety. Things can always go wrong, but I’m working to minimise the chances, so don’t worry.
Rowan
Biggest little village
Apparently the people of this village come from many miles around to drink from this fountain. I’m a bit confused because it is a pretty small village, but the water tastes great!
Brute force and zip ties
Quick update from the road – got to the start, great atmosphere, great fun, beautiful girl to send me off, all good.
Half way through the parade lap, technical issues. Continue reading “Brute force and zip ties”
Race day!
It’s race day! I’m super excited. So excited that I keep losing stuff. And can’t spell. But I’m sure I’ll settle down soon.
I’ve registered and got my tracker activated, so pretty soon you will be able to follow the race live. There are two sites which show different aspects of it (tracking for this is a bit more complicated than for most races, because other than 6 sections totalling about 50km each rider can choose their own route, making it much harder to say who is in the lead) and they are:
https://www.frrt.org/tcrno5/
And
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace17f.php
If you want to find me particularly you can search by my race number, which is 108.
Nup, just kept busy until the start. Racing now, whoo hoo!
Less than two days…
Good news! It turns out that my bike handles superbly under emergency braking! Even better, I didn’t even lose any skin finding that out!
It is very close to start time. I’m in Germany right now and I put the bike together the other day and took it for a spin to get the cobwebs out. It turned out to be a really good training ride for TCR Continue reading “Less than two days…”
Finally!
I’ve been planning and preparing for this race for almost a year now. I’ve worked and worried and hoped and wondered, and now finally I’m on my way. The last couple of weeks have been hugely
So much to do!
I have so much left to do! I have barely ridden for the last two weeks, just because I’ve been so busy. But things are coming together. The bike feels fantastic. The bags are brilliant (I planned on small bags so that I wouldn’t end up carrying more than I need. I’m sure I will never regret that at all…) and I have Continue reading “So much to do!”
Why beyondblue?
Well this post isn’t about bikes, and you might think it is a little bit (melo)dramatic, but a few people have been asking me why I am riding for beyondblue so I thought I’d let you know.
Continue reading “Why beyondblue?”