Transcontinental Race No. 5 - TCR5 - #TCRN05 - 2017

Classic in joke.

Has are the chances that @skinny will arrive CP4 tonight?

I think it will probably be tomorrow morning, he's got 230km as the crow flies but looking at the roads its probably more like 300km minimum via road, so about 12 hours at current speed and he seems to have a pretty consistent rest pattern which I doubt he will break yet.

I wonder if any of the chasers will try anything crazy to try to get past him and see if they can get to him mentally...

This is Google's profile from the town that @skinny is just a few miles north of all the way to the check point. It's using walking routing cos there's no cycle routing and the car routes go via, like, Moscow. No doubt he'll get to the foot of the climb, but whether he feels fresh enough to get to the check point is anyone's guess. I imagine if it's even a faint possibility he'll dig very deep to get there and have the piece of mind of the brevet stamped and a damn good sleep at (I guess) Conucal Ursurui (Bear Hotel)!! Eeek.

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Any danger of vampires ruining the show?

Wrong Trans

Here's the road route distance from Zalau (skinny just N or it) from http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk. Could be doable apart from that insane climb at the end...

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That's some sky sports level graphics you've got there....

That section of parcours up to CP4 is ridiculous

The street-view is terrifing, look at the size of those bastard mountains!
https://www.google.ie/maps/@45.7575904,24.5728773,3a,75y,161.32h,92.17t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEhMlP4xiu7AB8SDuMsblsA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DEhMlP4xiu7AB8SDuMsblsA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D91.86682%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Cycled that bit of it last week. Mountains are ominous to say the least.

This whole race is ridiculous

ftfy.

Truly I am amazed by the feat everyone is pulling to compete in this. from the first to the last. I would be broken doing even 100km each day. let alone 4/almost 5 times that. Fascinating. love it.

the state of that road...

Good news for @hippy the beer's way cheaper in Hungary

I take it that all comedy place name fans are looking forward to Turda...?

The climb looks brutal, but for views like this -
https://www.google.ie/maps/@45.627787,24.6141516,3a,75y,229.21h,99.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQuZI06lKE0y-XkDW_aGLPg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Yes, spotted that yesterday, giggled, felt too ashamed to post about

And as much meat and cheese as you can eat at the top! Wonder which day is market day.

Sighisoara was the home town of Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Impaler), inspiration for the character Dracula. Bran castle near Brasov is famous as Dracula's castle, but has little connection with the real Vlad.

I guess a bivvy bag is too small for inviting anybody in...

Does a bivvi bag just make a cyclist into a Vampire taco?

Fuck. Hope he's got a boot for it*

Apparently needed some serious hardware to get those tyres on!

* spare tyres apparently so all fixed now

Note that there is controversy about whether Stoker modelled the character on Vlad the Impaler:

Some historians are convinced that a historic figure, Vlad III Dracula, often called Vlad the Impaler, was the model for Stoker's Count although there is no supporting evidence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula

I suspect it would have been more of a case of nicking the name, which is definitely one of the reasons why the myth has taken hold in this way.

Apparently, Romanians were bemused when Western tourists started to turn up looking for Dracula's castle, but they have gamely accommodated it as a largely invented tourist industry.

That climb is not yer usual 1 car per hour jobbie - it's like Hayling Island on a bank holiday (pic from just off the road somewhere near the top. Jealous of the views, but not the fumes.

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Do it at night when no cars!

Skinny having a good day, really consolidating his lead.
Threat from Jonas Goy has not materialised as he is riding slower today. Skinny is the fastest of the top guys by a couple of kmh
Ian To doing best ok but he is a long way back. I expect he might do a short sleep tonight but he still can't get near Skinny.

No shame: I lol'd at Peonis.

Not that some of the competitors will be able to feels theirs, I'd imagine.

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