Last time I saw Des was on one of Look Mums Great Escape rides a couple of years back. Good to hear he's well.
Transcontinental Race - Heads up
- Thread starter steveindenmark
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Yes, he was on good form.
I did bump into him last year on the way to the start of the Westerley audax in Ruislip earlier this year, but his gang jumped into a McDonalds, while I was rushing for the earlier start, so was a similarly brief meeting.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Dotwatching news: One more finisher as I type this (well, tracker shows him 100m from the finish!), no 215 has about 57km to go, and that leaves Els & Marie-Lou out on the road, with about 560km to go.
Hey Frank very good to see you - completely understood you were in race mode and keen to get rolling. Always keep an eye on dots I've met before and was disappointed to see the Shermer's scatch - same thing happened to another rider i know. Hadn't realised that you'd had a crash as well - Doug came in later that night and was asking about you. A fantastic event and across the broad field of riders epitomises most of the things I love about cycling. Really enjoying the sterling efforts of pair 250 at the moment. I need to pluck up the courage to enter...
Good call Ian - it was the Great escape. I missed it this year for the first time, but always keep an eye out for you guys. Still keep up with the fnrttc threads and often think about popping out for a spin, but I've been organising a Saturday ride for the last few years and like to keep that regular. Not sure that I'd know anyone anymore. One day though, if i see a flurry of familiar names signing up... Given how long it takes me to get my sleep back on track after Dunwich each year I often wonder how I managed to fit in those regular Friday nighters.
Good call Ian - it was the Great escape. I missed it this year for the first time, but always keep an eye out for you guys. Still keep up with the fnrttc threads and often think about popping out for a spin, but I've been organising a Saturday ride for the last few years and like to keep that regular. Not sure that I'd know anyone anymore. One day though, if i see a flurry of familiar names signing up... Given how long it takes me to get my sleep back on track after Dunwich each year I often wonder how I managed to fit in those regular Friday nighters.
U
User169
Guest
Hi Frank - it looked from a picture I saw of your setup that you went with flat pedals. How did that work out for you and what shoes did you wear?
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Yes, you'd know people!
Would be good to see you back some time!
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
It was great in that I didn't have the knee, ankle or achilles niggles that I'd had on previous long rides.
Shoes were Innov-8 trail running shoes, chosen for zero heel drop. They weren't perfect, would have liked something slightly stiffer, but with specialized insoles they were stiff enough for what I needed. I'll keep using the pedals but may try some different shoes. TBH I don't think clipping in is helpful unless you are racing or doing high cadence over rough ground.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Yes, the crash was why I had lost a bunch of time and was right down the field. Really stupid, put my front wheel in a hole on a farm track 90 minutes in. Rushing when I didn't need to. Over the bars and hit my shoulder hard, snapped off my Di2 bar end shifters (front one completely, back one I could salvage with lots of tape). Was very lucky not to break something and / or smash up the bike. TBH probably the worst fall I've ever had off a bike; I've never had a particularly bad one.
It meant I was down the field a bit but the upside was that I got to chat to people like Doug. I rode with him for maybe half an hour on a country lane. That was quite handy as, after you have smashed yourself up a bit, an emergency doctor is just who you want to bump in to!
I did my 100km that night by 10pm, then had a good three and a half days. Don't know where I got up to in the field but I passed the guy who had been in 60th place at CP2 so I was making some progress! Victim of my own success though, had chosen a really flat and fast route, spent all my time in the aerobars, and my neck wasn't up to it. It was early stages so I could have gone on but it would have got worse and worse, and I didn't fancy the descents in the Alps, which would have started the next morning.
Young bloke like you, has time on your side Frank! I still fondly recall you having a brass neck problem years ago when you nicked my antique champagne flutes.
Nice to hear you're fit and well @des.o and thanks for Neil Maupay!
Rich P as well - this is getting old school. Good to hear from you. We all knew Maupay was going, still a lot of goodwill for him at Griffin Park
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Els and Marie-Lou, the final pair, have made it to Brest. 26 days, 13h, 44m. And as great an achievement as Fiona K, IMHO...
I, for one, am shocked to hear of this previously unsuspected kleptomaniac streak.
I've started to watch Antiques Roadshow expecting to see Frank on there with my dear old mother's champagne flutes one day...
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Good to hear you're keeping yourself busy!
Beebo
Firm and Fruity
- Location
- Hexleybeef
