Day 4 -The fine line between heaven and hell – Sterzing-Vipiteno, ITA – Bovec, SLO

My alarm goes off somewhere between 0300 and 0400. My ears alert me to heavy rainfall, and my bleary eyes confirm it moments later. A quick check of the weather radar confirm it passes within an hour, so I allow myself an extra 30 minutes snooze. When I do finally set off, the roads are …

Day 3- Hank gets the blues – Gaschurn, Aus – Sterzing-Vipiteno, Ita

After packing up my bivvy from the worlds least comfortable car park floor I went upstairs to the hotel to indulge in one of life's most underrated pleasures, a buffet breakfast. Adam(#211) Stu(#194) Joseph (#165) and Danny (#9) were all enjoying the same fare, and it was good to chat to people after a second …

Day 2- Saverne, FRA – CP1 Gaschurn, AUS

I set off just before 06:00 on Day 2, aiming for Strasbourg; a McDonald's breakfast and an anxious wait outside one of the bike shops I'd selected at random. The ride to Strasbourg was pleasant enough in the early morning sun and I saw a couple of other TCR riders. Strasbourg proved easy enough to …

Day 1- Creaking my way through France. Geraardsbergen, BEL – Saverne, FRA

The roar of the Muur is followed by the eerie quiet of the Belgian night, save for the buzz of freewheels and hushed conversations between riders. The road ahead is a sea of blinking red lights but it doesn't take long for these to be swallowed by the darkness, as people begin following their own …

Keeping calm in the face of adversity. (Or how I flapped my way to the start of the Transcontinental Race)

I decided to fly to the start of TCRNO6 as I live on an island and this seemed the most logical means of transport. Naturally, I feared for my bike's well being at the hands of various non cyclists, particularly as it wasn't in wrapped up in my nice bike bag but wedged into a …