Transcontinental Race (London - Istanbul) - #TCRNo4

Also, how can you ride for 2 1/2 days and only stop for 2 hours ish, like the current leader? Just from a sleep perspective?

Some people can just do it. I need relatively little sleep (I can get by on 2h a day on rides up to 5 days) and not have to catch up afterwards. Short naps (25m) or just one full sleep cycle (~90m for me). Haven't gone past 5 days so I don't know how I'd react, I may be able to continue that or it may all come crashing down at the end of day 6 and I'd find I needed a full 6h or so to catch up. That's part of the fun, finding out.

Kristof just seems to have the luck of the draw in having an efficient and strong engine and a body/mind that requires little sleep.

Hippy being Hippy or legitimate issues?

Twitter

Edit - Can anyone find a pub nearby?

I've done a couple of 8/9 day rides averaging around 120 miles/200km a day. At worst, we were out for 12=14 hours, getting lost, having breaks and mechanicals although, more usually 8-10 hours a day. We therefore had a good 12=14 hours a day to recover and ready bikes for the next day. In both cases, by the end, I had ridden myself into fitness. Sores and other issues from earlier days were healing and I felt that I could have gone on further.

The TCR doesn't give the respite for healing and recovery.

If (when) I attempt it, my plan will be to take time but to try to cover 120-150 miles a day and rest and recover each day. It may well take almost a Coulon length of time to complete but will give me a chance of finishing (accidents, fatigue, illness, dogs, mechanicals etc permitting).

To ride twice that far each day. Just wow!

David Coulon 30km off CP1

Tracker says he's still moving (4min ago) and has been consistently moving.

I guess it depends on whether his arse can survive the saddle.

Did he get it changed?

Arse or saddle?

Actually... maybe he's just heading to CP2 for a lift out of there.

Who knows. Will have to wait and see.

OK, one of the competitors is Lara Prior-Palmer, niece of 1980s equestrienne Lucinda.

Lara has won the Mongol Derby, which is a 1000km horse race across the steppes. They change horses every 40km.

Not yet I don't think. He Twittered that 3 bike shops were closed in a place he was at recently. He's about 30km from CP2 at the moment.

He seems to be twittering at 30km/h.
Keep it up!

Current view. Not bad

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1st August is a public holiday: 'Swiss National Day'

The 1st of August is Swiss National Day, so most shops will be closed.

Blimey

Tracker suggests that @hippy has made the turn away from Interlaken and up the valley towards CP2. Of course we can't read his mind, but I'd have thought that Interlaken would have been the place to stop if he was genuinely going to scratch.

I hope he's ok.

The tracker suggests he is keeping the same pace as Ilic and Sallnow, and he only lost time to them by taking the southern side of the Thurnersee. Of course the tracker can't tell us how he, or any of them, are feeling, awaiting his next tweet with trepidation.

Emily Chappell audio report: https://t.co/w1q37D5lvm

Shes sounds pretty chilled. But yes.. Alps to come..

Quite how she has the energy to speak let alone speak so cheerfully is beyond me. She is amazing.

And here's the CP1 video if you've not seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjPTJDrcCjY

So the latest on Jesper Sorensen

He rode into Paris via CDG terminal 2 where hhe stopped briefly (to buy a ticket?) He then rode into Paris and hung out around and near the Eiffle Tower. He is now cycling out seemingly in the direction of CDG. Presume that means a flight home.

Thanks for posting. The coverage this year on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram as well as Emily's audio blogs and various other sources, is much improved on last year. Really enjoying it.

Is that @econodog at 0:56?

The pass hippy is just about to ride over: http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Grosse-Scheidegg&qryMountainID=5368