Ultracycling

I've actually ridden most of the route on other events but anything that starts and finishes near home is always going to prick my ears up. Also scratches part of the Bryan Chapman without having to faff getting to Chepstow.

BGB and LAL both sound great (much more interesting than LEL) but the timing isn't ideal. BGB is half term which is a bit of a no for me, and LAL is a bit late if you want to do something else.
Audax-wise there's also the Inverness 1200 in September which I have half an eye on.

I guess after four TCRs you have had your fill of riding full-on on the A-roads of Europe!

I saw that Spain just brought a new law in saying that cars have to move completely into the other lane to overtake bikes. Their government seems to get what is required much more than elsewhere.

I'm sure Transiberica would be really fun (and hard, even people who do loads of ultras and are so hard they never DNF have had to DNF this one!) and more likely to go ahead. That's a pretty strong argument in its favour.

My reservation is that it's not quite as epic as the Alps. I've never ridden in the Alps apart from TCR 2016 and would like to do a few more of the famous climbs, ideally in daylight.

I think it is hard for TCR to stay in Schengen without either turning it into NorthCape-Tarifa, or a compromised route like last year. And, even with Schengen, they couldn't run it last year.

For something off-road, I found this, which looks pretty good.

2,800km/56,000m, Germany to the Black Sea. I did think about it but probably a bit of a stretch for me.

https://www.transost-challenge.de/en/home.html

That does look interesting. Like any off road riding in eastern europe does really.

I don't have anything planned and might not do any race, but some kind of a challenging adventure would be nice. But more like an off road route that's just challenging in itself to get through. And wile the ultraracing community is wonderful, events have sometimes felt like an organized group trip while it would feel more adventurous if you're there alone. So I might just tour around the wilderness in Lapland or on some mountains far away.

GBDuro is probably the most interesting one for me. I had NCT in my list to investigate but it's longer than TABR so that would blow all my holidays away for the year and I have other shit to do (and I don't only want to do a part of it). I could use unpaid leave again but it's not THAT interesting to me. I'd do Transiberica again (Spain is rad) but it would depend on the route and what else I'm doing.

When is that? I keep missing their 400k because of event clash.

Romanian roads.

I'm in no rush to go back there. The people were lovely, but the driving and the dogs made the roads fucking sketch.

Whats particularly bad about it?

Neat. I reckon waiting for other people to do it and then nicking the route to tour though would be more fun. Then not tied to a time and I could take the missus when we're actually free.

Romania? The drivers are lunatics and there's dogs running at you on the road everywhere - so you're being attacked from both directions. I was run off the road 5min in to the country - they have a habit of doing head-on overtakes with very little room to spare (or none, if you're on a bike because they don't give a fuck). Minor roads are a bit better since there's fewer terrible drivers but the dogs are still there.

Rural roads better or worse? More dogs less motors?

I'm going to have to risk it soon enough.

"Minor roads are a bit better since there's fewer terrible drivers but the dogs are still there."

There's an Italian one that I'm sure goes over the Stelvio etc whose name escapes me, which is in the back of my mind.

I thought it was the Miglia Italia but the 2021 route doesn't seem to head over the Stelvio https://www.1001migliaitalia.it/en/route-2021/

It's 13 July. A bit too late for me as it gets in the way of other stuff

some kind of a challenging adventure would be nice. But more like an off road route that's just challenging in itself to get through.

Yes, this resonates with me. The best challenges are the ones where you're not sure that you can do it.

Yes - I remember the days of touring as a couple - great fun while you can do it. It will take a few more years before I get my daughter tackling these routes. She's not got the hang of the balance bike yet...
Some compensations though: I do get to do some different / fun things like going around with a tagalong, and I've got my eyes on cargo bikes / tandems.

I'd have to swim the channel or something then. I go into everything assuming I can do it.

Longer term, I want to be out of London and go car-free so a cargo bike would be a neat addition. If I could convince the missus to get on a tandem we could smash some TTs :D

Ta.

That will probably clash with training for that stupid 12hr..

That's me in Calabria and Sicily this summer.
Fucking rabid dogs everywhere try to bite my balls (or bags).

http://www.lesperitdelbikepacking.org

Ooh, you haz website.

Looks good!
I like the serendipity flow chart - very clear

Well that's got my attention.