You are reading a single comment by @cliveo and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@cliveo
So now Neil Matthews is the sole racer left and aiming for the lanterne rouge, if he can finish.
We know a little more about him than we did. He has suffered. Problems with heat stroke early on in the race set him back and put hhim off his desired pace. He took to riding at night but has suffered issues with contact lenses and with his Garmin before smashing his phone. He has been rding out of the sun which has restricted his time on the bike. A storm, just before CP3 forced him to hold off for the night and meant that he had what was only his third night in a hotel since he started four weeks ago. He has been rough sleeping for a month.
What we also know about his is that, despite the hand that he has been dealt, he is determined to finish.
His average distance covered is around 80 km a day which is a pace designed to keep him on the road for a very long time. In the past few days, however, he has been riding further and longer. Yesterday his total was 144.9 km and already "today" (ie since 10 pm local time yesterday) he has covered 86.4km.
He is currently at the border between the Czech Republic and Austria. He has taken the same route back from CP3 through the Czech Republic as he took on the way out. This is probably because he detoured via Vienna on the way out hoping to resolve navigational issues.
He is 733 km away from CP4. He should be there within 5-7 days if he maintains his current pace. It will be interesting to see how he tackles that parcours. Lionel set aside a day for it, a move that proved to be very wise.
I reckon that he could easily finish within two weeks as the weather gets cooler and the days shorter but we could be in for another three or possibly longer if he reverts to his earlier pace. However much longer, one can only admire his tenacity.