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| Riding across Slovenia |
I thought it was going to rain again that night but it held off. Now I was heading into what I deemed as unknown territory. I've cycled through France and Italy before so I knew I could handle myself. This was a different part of Europe and only going to get stranger. There was a big headwind and a fair amount of climbing. I saw a sign saying 83km/h winds and another that said 7km of 8% gradient.
Once I was past Ljubljana I followed a river to the other side of the country. It was a nice change of scenery and it wasn't too taxing. I finally found my way to the border and got through with only a little bit of difficulty. I headed on into Zagreb and it took me a long time to get into the centre and to find a place to sleep.
DAY 9
I headed out early and put some miles in before getting some food. As it was a Sunday, food was going to be hard to find. There was a steady headwind which picked up a bit more in the afternoon but at least it was mostly flat. I got to Slavonski Brod but I hadn't been drinking enough.
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| So hungry... |
I was looking for somewhere I could eat but nothing was open. While looking around in vain hope, someone asked if I was looking for something. I stopped and had a chat and ended up getting a pizza delivered while I sat at a bar and had a couple of beers. While I was sitting there, another guy came up and asked if I was riding in the Transcontinental, he had been following it from home and saw that one of the riders was there so went looking for them. He was a nice guy and he showed me that Juliana was right behind me. That is pretty much when the race began for me.
I jumped on my bike to get into Serbia. At the border the officers were having a good laugh at my destination, Šid, pronounced "sheed" but making it sound like "shit". Those Croatians... At the end of the day there was about 1200km to go and fantasies of knocking it off in three days were popping up.This was the biggest ride of my life. 329km
DAY 10
I hunted around for a map of Serbia and found one which helped me a lot over the following days. I decided to head for the shortest route but what I didn't realise was that it meant going through more hills. I realised that I didn't have enough left in me for more climbing I changed direction to head for the Great Morava river. I had to climb my way out to get there but I was glad I did.
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| Route planning |
Along the way I encountered some of the worst roads I have ever ridden on. No more complaining about English roads. I also saw a Ferrari which was out of place with all the poverty I saw around me.
At one point I needed to stop and ask for directions from a group of locals. Unfortunately I don't speak a word of Serbian and they didn't speak any English. Luckily, one of them spoke French and I was able to continue on my way.
When I stopped off for dinner I had to order in German, of which I speak very little. It caused me some issue when I apparently shortchanged the guy and I had ridden about 30km when a car pulled up behind me and I looked to see a familiar face.
As it was now getting dark I was seeing some of the cities start to come to life. I think it was the holiday season as I saw so many out. There were carnival rides, music, and bouncy castles. Oh how I wanted to stop. I was still keeping ahead of Juliana though, but not by much. I found shelter that night in one of the many abandoned buildings along the road.
DAY 11
Today I was aiming to get out of Serbia. I got to Niš, and as I was leaving was told that Juliana was behind me. I got on the bike and for the first time in a few days I had a small tailwind. There was a bit of climbing to do but at an easy gradient and a lovely road I was so happy.
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| On the other side of the Bulgarian border, my final destination |
I had to stop a couple of times for drinks and ice cream as the temperature was getting near to 40. I had a slight problem when I was riding. My left quad started to hurt when I was pushing down on the pedal. For a while I was basically pedalling with my right foot. I was still climbing which put a damper on my mood.
Once over the border it kept going up for a little before the nice downhill into Sofia. The first sign I noticed was the Golden Arches and counted down the distance. Back on my bike and I went hunting for the road out. I found the motorway and was riding along it. I got off at the next exit and regretted it immediately.
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| Getting closer |
I pulled out my spare, fitted it and began pumping. In my haste I snapped the valve off and I said a few bad words. I then had to get my first tube out, find the hole and patch it. I had cars passing so close to me and there was no shoulder and it was one of the most dangerous moments of the race. I got back on to make it to Novi Han where I had a beer and spent the night.
DAY 12
DAY 12
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| Crossing the final border |
I had to pump up a few times on my way to Plovdiv where I stopped in at a bike store for more tubes. I saw that Juliana had nearly two hours on me and I determined to get to Istanbul without stopping. I was on the E-80 which was nice and I made good time. By the border I knew I was catching her up.
Finally into Turkey, I was nearing the finish. I chose to go through Edirne which wasn't my greatest idea. It was dark and the city was full of life and it looked amazing but it was slowing me down and I had to climb to get back onto the E-80. I got to the toll gates and wondered whether I was going to be allowed to ride on it.
Three guards waved me over and asked where I was going. I thought they were going to tell me to go another way, but instead they filled up my water bottles and offered me my first Turkish tea. I thought it was a bit funny standing there with my bike, all sweaty and having these guards watch me drink a scalding hot tea.
I then began the most boring part of the race. I cycled in the dark along the road and couldn't see anything apart from cars and trucks. My first stop was for dinner and to get an energy drink. 185km to go. The road was beautiful. Smooth tarmac with a shoulder lane just for me. In my head this road was going to be flat. It wasn't. It gently rolled and in the darkness I didn't know how long or how big they were.
I stopped at the next point at about 2:30am. I had one of the oddest conversation there. I tried to eat some food and I had a guy just watching me eat. I was cold when I started again and I had 115km to go. I was feeling a bit droopy so I knocked back my energy drink and although I felt ill, I felt awake.
The road signs could not come quick enough. At about 5am and with about 65km to go I was chased by some feral dogs. They were massive and bloody fast. I had to cycle over 30km/h up a slight hill to get away from them. That woke me up. With 40km to go, the road signs to Istanbul stopped.
The sun began to show and I began to see signs of civilisation. I was getting close but I wasn't prepared for the end. The E-80 turned into a proper motorway and I stayed on it as I knew it was the most direct way to go. What I didn't count on was how hilly Istanbul was and how far away the finish line was and how mad the motorway is there. For some reason no one seemed to care about a cyclist, not even the police. I saw a horse on the way. I also had arrived in time for the morning rush hour.
I rode all the way to the bridge which crosses into Asia and then I had to jump a few fences to get down to where I was supposed to be. I ended up on the wrong side of a hill from the finish. One final obstacle and then I'll be done. I started riding up but the road was so steep at about 18-19% that at halfway I had to get off and walk. On the way down I had to go down 23% and I felt like I was pointing straight down.
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| The finish |
AFTERMATH
I sat at the cafe nearby and dozed while I waited for the team to arrive. I was so tired, my neck and back were aching, my feet were in bad shape, my ass was so painful and my leg was hurting. But it was over. I had finished 8th and Juliana finished a few hours after me.
Thirteen tube changes, one tyre, one spoke and one shower. For my results go here.
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