Ultracycling

^ I saw that link on facebook, brilliant idea and you don't have to pay 75 bucks to subscribe unlike Mike Dions new Sectretz website

TransAfrika is starting this weekend. Chris Phillips (TCR in 2015), who I did a couple of audaxes with this year, is riding. But there is a tiny field, only 6-7 riders! Don't know why it's so small.
http://www.transafrikabikerace.com/

Because. Africa.

Has it been run before? I've never heard of it.

I want to ride South Africa at some stage, maybe I could incorporate this event just to remove all fun :)

I think it has been run before but don't how many times.

It's offroad?

edited because I was being a dick

"Riders are autonomous and not bound to one fixed route; they must only visit the mandatory checkpoints below. Riders must not use the N1 N2 N3 and N4 during the race."

So I guess you could do it on or off road. Although maybe the roads are 'off road'

It's on-road (unless you want to make it a bit harder). Chris is riding a normal bike, with 1x11, so presumably not mega-steep.
It's been run the last couple of years, with bigger fields. Steffan Streich (spelling? - the guy who lost the Trans Am) won it last year.

Are the guys above in the same event? They have very little kit and race numbers like they're doing a sportive or MTB race or something.

Haha. The guy who lost trans am.
Good title.

https://twitter.com/1ookmumnohands/status/781420883525169152

Movie about Spiz guy's RAAM at LMNH

Have you considered a RAAM attempt @hippy?

Yeah, I've considered it and dismissed it hundreds of times.

I'm of the opinion now that it's too expensive and requires too much organisation for me to bother with but I would ride in a team or similar if someone else was running it.

Are the guys above in the same event? They have very little kit and race numbers like they're doing a sportive or MTB race or something.

Yes - I don't know. They do look like randoms. In the TransAfrika bivvying is pretty much off limits so people tend to carry a bit less gear, but Chris's bike has drops, Alpkit / Apidura luggage - just like most on TCR.

The site isn't great (but then neither is the TCR one and it's been v successful!)

McDonalds is very successful...

So you going to ride Africa next year?

No, if I have time for anything long, I wouldn't really fancy it as much as doing TCR again.

Spots are gonna be sort after next year. Every year it gets more attention. I wonder what the limiters for numbers are (insurance and management I guess).

Yes, it's going to get tougher to get a place. If it gets massivley oversubscribed there might be a copycat event, or Mike might do two!
I reckon he has tried to keep the numbers tight to keep it manageable, prevent it becoming a group ride and also give it a bit of exclusivity. What insurance would he have, I wonder? I guess organiser's liability. I reckon if you could get anyone to cover you at all, they would be willing to cover bigger numbers so don't think that will have been the constraint.
Going through 220 traces to look for motorway usage must get a little tedious!

Everyone needs to grass :)

Transafrika tracking looks a bit crap. Chris seems to be in second place - but I can only see 2 other riders!

Someone here knows him and apparently I do too but I can't for the life of me remember. Is there a pic of Chris somewhere?

On Facebook

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=547196184

You've probably seen him on audaxes. He's been on the last three I've done, about my speed, so ridden with him a bit.

I just did an 8 day LeJogLe sleeping in a camper van, as prep for TCR next year (if I get a place) with no standing climbs in order to prevent my knees from exploding. The knee thing worked (yay) but now my arse is in tatters.

Aside from that my biggest niggle was swelling at the ankles just above the tops of the shoes, leading to painful rubbing between the tongue of the shoe and the front the of the ankle when my socks were wet, which wore away the skin. Has anyone else had this happen on ultras ? Should I wear compression socks, tape the front of the ankle and/or cut down the tongue of the shoe ?

I had that on TCR. I've now cut the tongue of my shoes and it seems ok.

Good ride BTW! You'll probably find TCR easier than that

Depends if the swelling was caused BY the tongue or by ankle movement and just annoyed by the tongue? Adding compression socks won't help if it's a tendon overuse issue like mine was. Loosening shoes off to reduce/remove any pressure from the area helps. Moving cleats back to stop excess ankling helps (midfoot is my somewhat extreme end of the scale).