The Transcontinental Race 2013

[Aperitif]

'Teef, I'll have to trust you to keep an eye on them in the closing stages. I'm off on the bike again. A cheeky long weekend tour down to the New Forest and Isle of Wight. Perfect for a wet summer weekend

Be perfectly Frank.
Have fun, and don't go scaring the kids in Blackgang Chine...you rascal.
Mikko's transponder was a bit pants this morning...he's now only 19kms from 'doing the double' back to back! I suspect he'll have just as big a smile as the one in the photo above. 'Where there's a wheel, there's a way'.

Anton Hunt and Chris Holden are the next pair to tussle for a place, with Chris just under the 100k to go, and Anton slightly more but riding quicker at the moment. It all favours CH...

 

[StuartG]

MM taking the country route into 'Bul. Should be there for lunch (well my lunch).
He may not have 'won' this race but LEL & TCR back to back must be up for some very special prize ... if only four years in the loony bin

But then everybody deserves a prize for have the b*lls to even try the TCR ...

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

MikMak is taking the elliptical approach to Istanbul, and looks to be aiming for the finish along the coast route from the north*. Either that or his satnav is taking the Mikko.

Has anybody followed the same route into Istanbul yet?

EDIT: *He's now heading directly away from the finish line - but somehow he seems to have finished because his next waypoint is showing as CP1

 

[Aperitif]

Brian looks to be in the merde also, with ramping temperatures and a decidedly lumpy-looking traverse through Greece, but he'll do his best I'm sure. Nasty looking navigation in close-up on the satellite setting!

And Anton H has steered too far to the right this time, and hit the sea...Chris Holden is on course, with 53kms to go - 25 or so kms ahead of AH.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Does MikMak have a lot of friends north of Istanbul?

 

[Aperitif]

When he wakes up he'll realise that he has to stop pedalling! Go and catch him Rimas! "Take Me Back Off My Bike"
Also, from where he is, surely he can see that big blue flag waving about?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

When he wakes up he'll realise that he has to stop pedalling! Go and catch him Rimas! "Take Me Back Off My Bike"
Also, from where he is, surely he can see that big blue flag waving about?

Maybe he thinks it's a clean bathing beach and he's forgotten his trunks?

 

[Aperitif]

He's there now...the tracker is even showing...

This pic from the Transconrace Tweet at the Finnish...

Here's another Turkish tweet or two...

Get stuck in, Mikko. Go demolish!

Mikko Mäkipää ‏@mkpaa
13 days, 5 hours and 6 minutes at #transconrace missed finish line by 10km.

 

[swarm_catcher]

Does MikMak have a lot of friends north of Istanbul?
View attachment 27825

He's doing the zizag ®. Did I just repeat a teefism or did I beat him to it?

 

[Aperitif]

Interesting that Anton has veered right and is now following the coastline, and Chris did a left and turned upwards for a bit of Boyalik action! Both were homing in on their target at one stage. Still not much in it between them - CH still holdens the advantage, but AH is still in the hunt.

 

[Aperitif]

He's doing the zizag ®. Did I just repeat a teefism or did I beat him to it?

A swarm_catcher could bee anyone to it.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

He's doing the zizag ®. Did I just repeat a teefism or did I beat him to it?

Navigating by triangulation?

 

[Aperitif]

The Scamp just wanted to write an 'M' on the map.

 

[Scoosh]

​

​

Mikko Mäkipää ‏@mkpaa

40m​

Great ride. Now I feel somewhat tired. Next find some hotel and then figure out how to not cycle home from here. I was 11th btw.​

"Somewhat tired ".

Masters of understatement, these folk.

 

[Aperitif]

The next two in have realised where the flag is now...Anton has got a body of water in the way of his 'straight line' though. and he's 20k in arrears. Whatever, well done both of them. I get lost on the bike regularly...and that's just on my commute.

Edit at 15:00 BST Max. 17 hours left in the race now. One more nice early morning to cheer the stragglers home - and...Brian.

I was going to save this for a bit later, but would like Brian to be encouraged by the stats. and realise that he might just have a chance to 'accelerate' for closure...