Transcontinental Race No. 6 - TCR6 - #TCRN06 - 2018

Cheers everyone. On the plus side, accommodation in Meteora looks cheeeaaaapppp.

Make sure you have aircon!

It's all about the hotel bar.

There's many of nice restaurants and cafes in Meteora to spend a few days trying to be a normal human again, but it is a small place. And after a couple of days of eating and sleeping, the monasteries are interesting. I think it cost few euros to get in. Some of the monasteries are not open to public every day but I think at least one of them is open every day, they take turns. There's like five of them around the mountain. There's a couple of places to rent a scooter from, to get there up the hill, it only takes 10 minutes or something to get there from the town on one of those.

I went to meteora when I was backpacking around Greece when I was at uni, before some of the people on this thread were born. I remember it being very pretty and a chilled out place to spend a bit of time. Probably changed a bit since then!

backpacking around Greece when I was at uni

Lazy bloody students...

Comments above on imposing deadlines on yourself are absolutely right.

I can't even immagine the luxury of riding a bike without a deadline.

/dad-to-toddler-who-has-a-career

#noproblem #thinkinsidethebox

That's fine for children, but can you lock your customers in a cage? :-)

That seems to be definitely enough training. As @skinny said I really didn't do much training - about <1000km in the 12 months leading up to both TCRs. I had done some long rides, e.g. a few 400km + but that is mainly confidence building, in fact, those kind of long distances are almost certainly detrimental to your riding ability as you'll end up breaking down a lot of a muscle. If your aim is to do 320km per day and you sleep for 8 hours you only need to average 20km/h.

These are the things which I think are more important than training if your goal is to finish in time for the party.

1. Riding comfort - get the best bike fit you can afford, figure out which saddle, handlebar tape, etc. you like.

2. Pain relief - I carried tonnes of Ibuprofen, Paracetamol, Nurofen plus (it has codeine in and available over the counter in the UK), Chamois gel and some of that numbing spray. If I did it again I'd probably take some tape too.

3. Keep cycling all the time. On day 1 last year I was constantly getting overtaken by other riders only to then find them in the next town buying stuff. So make sure you have the capacity to take enough food and water for the entire day. Also, try and have your luggage set up so you don't have to stop, e.g. a frame bag for your essentials. I ended up doing everything whilst cycling including brushing my teeth, putting on extra layers and occasionally urinating if it was quiet.

I don't go anywhere near our customers unless I really have to.

#cooties

about <1000km in the 12 months leading up to both TCRs

My commute would've netted me more miles. Are you sure you didn't ride TCR by accident? :P

Riding comfort

Don't be fat. #sigh

Pain relief

Wuss! I think I had two paracetamol on the last TCR.
Ibuprofen is bad news most of the time. Codeine makes you drowsy and stops you shitting. Chamois gel and numbing spray? What were these? These sound like something I should be investing in :)

Yeah, numbing spray - why didn't anyone mention that before? [Googles...]

What is it about Ibuprofen? I have been known to eat a good few of those on long rides - are they bad news nowadays? They never seem to work very well in killing pain, although one thing they are good at is reducing the swelling if you get a saddle sore which swells up (which I have done on the first day of PBP the last two times but no other occasion)

Sure, there are always deadlines but I try not to impose one if I don't have to.

Numbing spray = Deep Heet.

What's the problem with Ibuprofen?

The amount of codeine in the Nurofen stuff isn't strong enough to make you drowsy / stop shitting. Also, I can only see not shitting as an additional time saver.

Keep cycling all the time. On day 1 last year I was constantly getting overtaken by other riders only to then find them in the next town buying stuff.

After 2016 TCR, when I couldn't think about anything else other than TCR, I did analysis of how long people had spent riding per day vs stopped. I looked at all the people I knew and you were the only one who had less stopped time than I had.

First result for "numbing spray":

My Adventures With 'Penis-Numbing' Spray - The Cut
https://www.thecut.com/2013/03/penis-numbing-spray-nearly-ruined-my-sex-life.html
13 Mar 2013 - In a bold step toward remedying the world's least pressing health issue, the FDA recently approved an over-the-counter topical spray to treat premature ejaculation. (Similar products have long been available, but this is the first to win FDA approval.) Manufactured by Absorption Pharmaceuticals, ...

There's a few studies that show they do bad things to your guts and in my case in the TABR when I was trying to deal with the weird shin tendonitis thing they give you crazy cankles. My physio also warned me off them but for what specific reasons I can't recall.
I would consider using Voltaren but I stopped taking Ibuprofen after TABR, as in, didn't even carry them with me on TCR.

All the savings you make when you don't shit. Guess what?

When you need to shit... and you can't shit... bye bye time + bye bye anus.

Orders double

https://www.verywellfit.com/risks-of-ibuprofen-before-athletic-exercise-3120492

Fluid retention is what caused the TABR cankles too.

For those interested in training:

MH (RIP)

Josh Kato on TD

Some random dude on the internet, can't remember where I found this

I drank more beers than both of you though. So, you know, swings and roundabouts... :P

Don't get worried about how other people train. Just do what you can and works for you./
I don't do ANY rides over 6h ish.

#lazystudent